LAND
Most projects require land. How land is acquired plays a crucial role in enhancing or eroding human rights.
Pressure for access to land can lead to forced evictions and the displacement of local populations. People most at risk are frequently those with the least power to challenge it – the poorest and most marginalised members of society, particularly those living in informal settlements; and Indigenous people.
Click the overarching and stage-specific principles below to review the guiding questions across this stage. These questions will help you to identify the main human rights risks and opportunities and develop a tailored action plan.
Land acquisition is carried out with meaningful consultation and following due process
Guiding questions
Throughout the land acquisition process, have measures been taken to avoid infringing on the legitimate tenure rights and human rights more generally (incl. access to food, livelihoods, healthy environments), in accordance with international guidelines such as the FAO Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure, and the IFC Performance Standard 5 on Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement?
Has due diligence been carried out to ensure transparency and accountability in the land acquisition process, and the appropriate valuation of land?
Is there an understanding that some groups have informal tenure or traditional or collective ownership and access rights, and are these recognised as legitimate?
Stories and illustrative examples
International standards and tools
FAO standards, including the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure, and due diligence on land acquisition and tenure
IFC Performance Standard 5 on Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement
UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, with provisions on "Free, Prior and Informed Consent"
"Guiding Principles on Security of Tenure for the Urban Poor", OHCHR