Articulating a Rights-Based Argument for Land Contract Disclosure Jesse Coleman and Kaitlin Y. Cordes World Bank Land and Poverty Conference – March 2017

Context Systemic lack of transparency around land investments persists Lags behind extractives sector Land contracts* negotiated behind closed doors and rarely disclosed  “black box” nature of land investments *Land contracts = investor-state contracts for commercial agriculture and forestry projects

Why Land Contracts? Addressing lack of transparency is critical for a range of reasons Disclosure can: Enable monitoring of investor and host state compliance with obligations Provide affected communities with evidence-based leverage to demand accountability Facilitate negotiation of improved deals Mitigate risk of instability and conflict Caveat: transparency is critical throughout the contracting process and investment life cycle

Consensus Guidance calls for transparency generally, and in certain cases land contract disclosure specifically Examples: Guiding Principles on LSLBIs in Africa Guide to Due Diligence of Agribusiness Projects OECD-FAO Guidance for Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains New Alliance for Food Security Analytical Framework See CCSI’s Recommending Transparency in Land-Based Investment: A Summary of Relevant Guidelines and Principles (2016) https://goo.gl/0DT7NJ

Legal Weight? Whether and to what extent best practice recommendations are reflected in existing obligations? International human rights law Rights to participation Right to take part in the conduct of public affairs Rights to effective participation Right of access to information

Why Human Rights Law? Rights-based arguments can: Lend legal weight to policy arguments Inform and shape implementation measures Reinforce initiatives in different fields Strengthen advocacy efforts Support human rights claims

Rights-Based Arguments Agreements between the state and private companies + key source of legal rules Agreements governing natural resources that directly affect rights to effective participation Agreements that affect (directly and indirectly) the realization of a range of other human rights Argument for land contract disclosure = particularly strong, as these agreements tick all three boxes

Practical Implications Host state Undertake to disclose Enact and/ or modify domestic requirements Include contractual provisions on transparency Home state Condition outward support Disclosure requirements Protect policy space

Key Messages Calls for land contract disclosure can and should be advanced as best practice and as being required for compliance with existing obligations under human rights law Legal and technical assistance available to support implementation

Thank you! jcoleman@law.columbia.edu