Jim Clarken is the Chief Executive Officer of Oxfam Ireland.
"We were chased away like dogs, our crops burned, our homes destroyed"
Over recent years Oxfam’s work with communities affected by the growing number of land grabs in the developing world has highlighted possible roles for public interest legal work. Our research and other studies have shown the negative impacts on many communities, especially rural women (Click here for more information). Land and water that farmers and pastoralists depend on for their livelihoods is simply being lost.
It is clear that communities, and even their leaders, are generally not aware of their rights, nor well-equipped for effective negotiations and contracting with large investors. Rural women with already weak land rights and little voice in decision-making lose out more and gain less as their interests are sidelined. The investors take advantage of the disequilibrium in information and power to secure extremely advantageous deals.
Some cases involve threats and evictions. In others communities agree to deals – arguably under pressure from government officials and leaders ‘facilitating’ the processes – but are later disappointed. Expectations of good quality jobs turn into grinding labour in poor conditions with workers struggling to get a dollar or two a day. The hoped-for schools and other services have not materialised or not been sustained in many cases. Even community leaders who agreed to deals rarely have copies of the contracts entered into and some who do realise too late the absence of promises companies made verbally. Increasing demand for land has also manifested in local elites, often from urban centres, securing land for themselves.
Tens of thousands of hectares on long leases (up to 99 years) are signed away or taken for as little as $20 (€15) per hectare and in some cases much less.
Despite these challenges, rural people are increasingly taking action themselves to defend their land or get it back. A key focus of Oxfam’s work is supporting people to exercise their rights as citizens. In Tanzania, for example, we are assisting a number of communities asking for their land back; taking up their cases with government officials, investment authorities, members of parliament and relevant ministries.
Public interest legal services could play a major role in areas like:
· Advice and support in negotiation processes and in contracting;
· Legal defence when there are evictions and other violations of rights or when deals are not honoured;
· Legal advice and perhaps legal action on behalf of communities trying to get their land back;
· Providing technical inputs for law and policy reforms to compliment the advocacy we and others take up to ensure an environment in which people can defend their rights; and
· Ensuring that rural women are heard and their interests addressed within any cases worked on.
Oxfam is exploring how to make better use of legal expertise in our work to advance people’s rights. A legal officer was recently appointed in our Pan Africa programme to take this work forward with a focus on women’s land and other rights. Lawyers with local knowledge are needed and at the same time international experience could add value given the global nature of the new demand for land and the companies involved. If you would like to share ideas, please get in touch. Together we can continue to help people to assert their rights and make their voice heard.
If you are interested in sharing your skills, please contact Marc Wegerif, Oxfam’s Economic Justice Campaign Manager in Horn, East and Central Africa, at MWegerif@oxfam.org.uk and Moreen Majiwa, Oxfam Legal Officer Pan Africa Programme, at MMajiwa@oxfam.org.uk