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http://huairou.org/joint-cedaw-statement-land-rights-rural-women?utm_source=IDDR+%26+International+Rural+Women%27s+Day&utm_campaign=IDDR+and+International+Rural+Women%27s+Day&utm_medium=email

 

Joint CEDAW Committee NGO Statement on Land Rights of Rural Women

 

In Geneva, on October 9, 2013, Violet Shivuste of HC member group GROOTS Kenya delivered a joint statement on behalf of ActionAid, Global Initiative for Economic Social and Cultural Rights, Huairou Commission, International Accountability Project, International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), International Land Coalition (ILC) Secretariat, and Landesa at the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), 56th Session (30 September 2013 - 18 October 2013), General Discussion on the Rights of Rural Women.

For rural women, secure rights to land are essential to their ability to realize and enjoy the full range of their human rights, including their right to equality. Such rights also help to ensure that rural women are able to provide for the essential needs of themselves and their families. On the global landscape, secure rights to land for rural women are also increasingly seen as central to achieving many development goals, including sustainable economic development, global food security, and combating the HIV/AIDS pandemic. These rights are also important from the standpoint of risk management and mitigation for rural women, for instance, via-a-vis climate related shocks in rural areas. 

While women's land rights are vital to development, the reality remains that in many parts of the world these rights are often not shared equally between men and women, and are routinely violated, denied, and given insufficient protection and enforcement. Indeed, gender inequality when it comes to land often lies at the heart of rural women's poverty and exclusion. As highlighted by FAO, globally, "Gender inequalities in land rights are pervasive. 

Not only do women have lower access to land than men. They are often also restricted to so-called secondary land rights, meaning that they hold these rights through male family members. Women thus risk losing entitlements in case of divorce, widowhood or their husband's migration. Evidence also shows that women's parcels are generally of smaller size and lower quality."

The obstacles that prevent rural women from effectively enjoying these rights are complex. They range from inadequate legal standards and implementation, to discriminatory norms, attitudes and barriers at the local and community level which prevent rural women's enjoyment of secure rights to land. Indeed, in many communities gender disparities with regard to productive resources, including land, are linked to mistaken notions that men are the sole stakeholders in a household or the broader community. This includes ideas that women's productive resources will be lost to the husband's family in the event of marriage or divorce, that men will provide for women's economic security, or that women are simply incapable of managing productive land effectively. These are the kinds of attitudes which must be challenged and changed for women to claim secure rights to land in practice.

We believe that the General Recommendation on the Rights of Rural Women by the CEDAW Committee is an important opportunity to highlight the land rights of rural women, and to consolidate what has been already said by the Committee on these issues. General Recommendation 21 on 'Equality in marriage and family relations,' upholds women's property and inheritance rights within the context of marriage. It also provides that in countries undergoing agrarian reform or redistribution of land, the right of women, regardless of marital status, to share such redistributed land on equal terms with men should be carefully observed. In addition, General Recommendation 29 of the Committee on economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution, provides important guidance on property and land disposition of widows. 

With its General Recommendation on the Right of Rural Women, the CEDAW Committee can build on this foundation, as well as consolidate previous recommendations related to women's land and property rights, for example, as made within its Concluding Observations on States parties. For example, we encourage the CEDAW Committee to express concern and clarify the obligations of States over the following issues:

 

·                                 That States have an obligation to establish clear legal and regulatory frameworks to protect women's secure rights to land;

·                                 That States have an obligation to properly disseminate information on women's secure rights to land so as to ensure legal literacy, and that States have an obligation to ensure that women have effective access justice to secure their land rights. Clear and accessible mechanisms must be established for increasing access to justice for women in land matters;

·                                 That States have an obligation to ensure that prejudices and discriminatory customary law do not hinder the realization of women's secure rights to land. In this regard, positive measures and 'a comprehensive strategy' must be implemented to address customs and traditional practices, especially in rural areas, which affect full enjoyment of women's secure rights to land; 5

·                                 That States have an obligation to protect women from the negative impacts of confiscation of land by private and foreign companies, as well as the negative impact of development projects and megaprojects; 6

·                                 That States have an obligation to refrain from documenting and registering land only to male 'heads of household';

·                                 That States have an obligation to ensure outreach of gender-sensitive agricultural programmes and that extension services must be provided to women;8

·                                 That States have an obligation to ensure that comprehensive data is collected on the de facto enjoyment of women's secure rights to land;9

·                                 That States have an obligation to adopt and enact temporary special measures to accelerate the advancement of women's secure rights to land;10

·                                 That States have an obligation to ensure that clear and accessible mechanisms for land administration and management are established and maintained to protect women's secure rights to land; and, 

·                                 That States have an obligation to ensure rural women's participation and representation in all aspects of land related laws, policies and programs. 

We believe that articulating the obligations of States under the Convention with respect to each of these issues would help to ensure that rural women are able to enjoy their land rights in practice, and we look forward to being able to continue our engagement with the Committee on these issues.