Exploring the Link Between Food Security and Climate Change

Our growing global population is demanding a more resource-intensive and so-called “Western” diet. And that change in demand has drastic impact on how we must change our supply

Making Agricultural Investments Work for Land Users & Communities

Earlier this year, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf made an unexpected commitment related to foreign investment in land and community land rights. In a meeting with communities who had raised concerns regarding a British company’s attempts to expand its palm oil production onto their customary land, the President effectively told those communities that they would have the right to say yes or no to further expansion, noting that the company could expand only with the affected communities’ approval

Draft Transparency Policy and DFC Board of Directors Public Engagement Policy

Submission to the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) regarding its draft Transparency Policy and Board of Directors Public Engagement Policy (2020)

Cameroon Pastoralists Fight for their Way of Life

After years of struggles against governments and private parties, the Mbororo-Fulani are gaining international attention. But is this too little too late

Land investments and human rights: how home countries can do more

The current failure of host governments and international law to protect human rights in the context of land-based investments highlights the need to employ other mechanisms. This Perspective discusses home country measures as one strategy for encouraging more rights-supportive outward investment in agricultural and forestry projects

Articulating a Rights-Based Argument for Land Contract Disclosure

In March 2017, CCSI presented a working paper titled Articulating a Rights-Basted Argument for Land Contract Disclosure at the World Bank Land & Poverty Conference. The paper explores whether and how existing state obligations under human rights law require disclosure of land contracts and more transparent contracting processes around land investments. It focuses on the extent to which guidelines for responsible land-based investment, which encourage greater transparency, reflect existing host and home state obligations. Based on a review of relevant human rights law and authoritative interpretations thereof, the paper articulates rights-based arguments for land contract disclosure, based in particular on rights to participation and the right of access to information. This rights-based approach, which has not been fully articulated to date, bolsters understanding of the extent to which best practice recommendations regarding transparency in land investments are reflected in binding human rights obligations, and thereby provides arguments for pushing the transparency agenda forward with states. Moreover, where uncertainty exists regarding how best to implement recommendations regarding land contract disclosure, rights-based arguments can serve to inform and shape measures adopted in pursuit of implementation. The paper also seeks to encourage greater discussion of the links between human rights law and transparency in land investments within the various for a and communities of practice focused on these issues, and to lend legal weight to policy arguments. CCSI is undertaking further research to finalize this paper. The final version will be published on our website

Outcome Report of Workshop on International Investment and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

On May 12, 2016, the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, and the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment hosted a one-day workshop on international investment and the rights of indigenous peoples. This outcome document synthesizes the discussions that took place during the May 12 workshop. The workshop was part of a series of consultations undertaken to support the Special Rapporteur\u27s Second Thematic Analysis on the Impact of International Investment Agreements on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Held at the Ford Foundation in New York, the workshop brought together 53 academics, practitioners, indigenous representatives, and civil society representatives to explore strategies for strengthening the rights and interests of indigenous peoples in the context of international investment. The workshop provided an opportunity for participants to share their diverse perspectives, experiences, and insights regarding the intersection of international investment and human rights, and to discuss creative and pragmatic approaches to short and long-term reform of both the investment and human rights regimes, with the ultimate goal of ensuring that indigenous rights are respected, protected, and fulfilled. The workshop also built on an earlier report by the Special Rapporteur setting out her concerns regarding the impact of investment and free trade agreements on the human rights of indigenous peoples. That report, which was presented to the 70th session of the UN General Assembly, outlined direct and systemic impacts of investment and free trade agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples, and called for a more thorough review of the implications of these agreements to develop and implement effective options for reform. This outcome document summarizes discussions that took place regarding: the interaction between investment and human rights law; the key challenges facing stakeholders seeking to improve the content of investor-state contracts; and options for strengthening the human rights regime to address the challenges posed by international investment. Workshop discussions on all three topics highlighted the challenges that remain, and the need for further solutions for strengthening the rights of indigenous peoples in the context of international investment

Corporate Agricultural Investment and the Right to Food: Addressing Disparate Protections and Promoting Rights-Consistent Outcomes

Over the past decade, the world has witnessed heightened corporate interest in large-scale land-based agricultural investment. While such investments can potentially have positive effects for local communities, they also can have wide-ranging negative impacts on human rights, including through forced displacement and the loss of livelihoods. This Article examines the impact of large-scale corporate agricultural investment on the right to food, as well as on human rights more generally. It considers the protections offered by the investment and human rights legal regimes to both corporations and individuals, including recent international developments relating to transnational corporate accountability and efforts to integrate human rights considerations into investment treaties and arbitration. The current legal regimes, however, offer imbalanced protections, and emphasize remedial solutions for human rights abuses rather than preemptive protection of rights. While improving redress mechanisms is important, governments must also place greater emphasis on ensuring the sustainability and rights-compatibility of investments from the outset. This Article thus explores measures that could be taken by both host and home states to prevent right-to-food abuses in the context of large-scale agricultural investment. Greater efforts by host and home states to regulate and monitor investors could improve the design and implementation of such investments. Better investments, in turn, could result in more rights-consistent outcomes that promote, rather than harm, the right to food

Memo to the Obama Administration on the Burma Responsible Investment Reporting Requirements

In September 2013, CCSI sent a memo to President Obama and his Administration in response to the first public reports submitted by U.S. companies in compliance with the Burma Responsible Investment Reporting Requirements. The memo applauded the U.S. Government’s efforts to encourage responsible investment in Burma, noting that robust due diligence is essential to ensuring that international investments contribute to sustainable development. Yet the memo also urged the Obama Administration to take steps to strengthen future reporting. In particular, CCSI urged the Administration to issue clarifying guidance that any U.S. investor submitting a report should (1) provide information on due diligence policies and procedures related to land rights, and (2) provide thorough information in response to each reporting question, regardless of whether its investments are “passive.

Measuring Land Rights for a Sustainable Future

Land rights, both for individuals and for communities, are critical for achieving sustainable development. Security of land tenure and other rights to the land (sometimes held communally rather than individually) can accelerate poverty reduction, strengthen food security, and empower women. Land rights can reduce resource conflicts, as well as encourage the responsible use of natural resources. As the UN member countries begin to implement the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), they should keep land rights in their focus, and measure and protect land rights in order to achieve the SDGs