Welcome to this special issue on the ILC Conference and Assembly of Members 2009.

This issue is dedicated to coverage of ILC’s Conference and General Assembly, which was held in Kathmandu, 21-24 April 2009.
link to AoM webpage

Editorial by Madiodio Niasse, Director, ILC Secretariat

The Assembly of Members is ILC’s highest governance body. It meets once every two years. This year’s Assembly of Members in Kathmandu, Nepal, follows the one organized in 2007 in Entebbe, Uganda. Compared the previous Assembly of Members, the Katmandu meeting was innovative in many respects. In Kathmandu a clear distinction was made between the Conference part of the event (conference used as an open forum for experience sharing), and the business, governance part, reserved to members. A second innovation is that more than in previous meetings, ILC members in Asia played a key role in the preparation and animation of the Nepal Assembly of Members (AoM):  ANGOC (a regional civil society network based in Manila) managed the CIDA-funded components of the Assembly. CSRC and MODE helped establish and played a lead role in the Nepal Coordinating Committee for the AoM. A third innovation is the prominent role played by the host-government. The Government of Nepal, through the Ministry of Land Reform and Management co-hosted and c-organized the Conference part of the AoM. This helped ensure a high-level of participation by Nepali authorities in various sessions of the Conference. The Roundtable on the land reform process in Nepal was one of the most successful sessions of the Conference. The quality of the collaboration between ILC and the Government of Nepal was an excellent illustration of the feasibility and benefits for ILC to actively engage with governments.

These innovations, and an exceptionally favorable context, contributed to the success of the event. There is probably no better context than Nepal today to illustrate the high relevance of ensuring equitable access to secure land rights. The Nepal event also took place in a global context of unprecedented level of international land transactions. The 180 delegates who traveled long distances to attend the Conference part of the AoM and the many participants from Nepal had therefore much to talk about.

The governance part of the Assembly of Members made important decisions. These included the expansion of the ILC membership base from 65 to 84 institutional members, the adoption of a membership contribution policy, and agreement among members on a roadmap for the approval of the revised Constitution, from now on called “Charter and Governance Framework”.

The innovations in the organization of the event, the high relevance of land issues in the Nepal and global contexts today, and the important governance decisions made by members, have all contributed to the great success of the ILC 2009 Assembly of Members, a success hailed by most participants.

A day–by-day view of the Kathmandu conference

the collaboration between ILC and the The Conference which preceded the Assembly of Members and which had as its theme “Securing Rights to Land for Peace and Food Security,” brought together 177 delegates from 37 countries. Fifty of these delegates were from Nepal.

The conference was officially opened by the Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Pushpa Kamal Dahal; the Minister of Land Reform and Management, the Honourable Mahendra Paswan; and the Secretary of Land Reform and Management, Dr Keshav Raj Kanel.

Day1 - A message from the Nepali Prime Minister

The Prime Minister lit the inaugural lamp and welcomed delegates, emphasizing the value of this conference for Nepal’s progress on land issues. Read the rest of this entry »

Day1 - Welcome from the Minister and Secretary of Land Reform and Management

The Honourable Mahendra Paswan, Minister, and Dr Keshav Kanel, Secretary of Land Reform and Management, spoke on Nepal’s progress towards land reform. Read the rest of this entry »

Day1 - Welcome from the International Land Coalition

The Director of the International Land Coalition, Dr Madiodio Niasse, welcomed all the delegates, expressed his particular gratitude to the Government of Nepal and emphasized that, in today’s fast-changing world and in the face of globalization, land reform is more relevant than ever.
Read the rest of this entry »

Day1 - Plenary session 1

The first plenary session began with an overview of land issues in Nepal, both from the point of view of civil society and from the point of view of a Nepali farmer leader.
The second half of this first Plenary Session was taken up with two keynote presentations: the first on the need for a new approach to women’s land access, and the second on the prospects for pro-poor land reform, based on historic experience.

• Land Issues in Nepal by Jagat Basnet & Jagannath Adhikari
  
• Address by Baldev Ram, President, National Land Rights Forum, Nepal
  
• Land for Women and the Poor: Need for a New Approach by Bina Agarwal
• Dr Bina Agarwal was interviewed during the conference and gave her thoughts on land reform and the ILC Conference.
  
• One Billion Rising: Land Reform Challenges and Responses in Today’s Context by Roy Prosterman
  
• Dr Prosterman gave his thoughts on the conference, ILC and awareness of land issues in an interview.
  

Day1 - Plenary Session 2

During the second plenary session, facilitated by Liz Alden Wily, Fernando Eguren of CEPES, Peru presented on 21st century agrarian reforms. Responses were provided by Constance Mogale of LAMOSA, South Africa, Erpan Faryadi of KPA Indonesia and Sue Longley of the IUF.

• 21st Century Agrarian Reforms
• Fernando Eguren was interviewed during the conference in Kathmandu.
  Versione Esp
  

Day1 - Plenary Session 3

The third plenary focused on land policies of inter-governmental organizations & bilateral donors.

The roundtable of representatives of donor organisations included Frits van der Waal (Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Jean-Philippe Audinet (IFAD), Lasse Krantz (SIDA) and Jozias Blok (EC). Read the rest of this entry »

Day2 - Parallel knowledge sharing groups

Day 2 sessions focused on knowledge sharing and working together. Workshops focused on ILC’s role in four major thematic areas and how to move the agenda forward with members’ involvement and commitment.

The first two parallel sessions dealt with Land, Water and Forest Rights and Land Rights and Climate Change.

• Land, Water and Forest Rights
  
• Land Rights and Climate Change
  

In the second half of the morning,parallel working groups discussed Women’s Access to Land and Commercial Pressures on Land.

• Women’s Access to Land
• Commercial Pressures on Land (CPL)

Day2 - Regional caucuses

• African caucus
• Asian caucus
• Latin American caucus

Day3 - Field visits

Four field visits took delegates to four different community forestry groups on the outskirts of  Kathmandu.

Read the rest of this entry »

Day3 - Round-table discussion on Nepal

Sharing experiences and lessons in land reform
The round-table discussion on Nepal brought together ILC members, delegates and members of the Nepali government. The session was facilitated by Dr Madiodio Niasse, ILC; Dr Netra Timsina, NFN-Nepal; and Bimal Phnuyal, ActionAid Nepal.

• Introduction by Baburam Bhattarai, Minister of Finance, and Dr Keshav Kanel, Secretary of Land Reform & Management

The round table discussion on land reform featured speakers from Kenya, Philippines and Peru.

• Africa
• Asia
• Latin America
• Discussion from the floor & conclusion

Day3 - The Kathmandu Declaration

The closing session, facilitated by Shamsul Huda of ALRD Bangladesh, included the presentation of the conference declaration.  It expressed the combined will of ILC members and delegates who declared:

• Their collective commitment to work together for land rights
• The importance of land rights for peace
• The need for new land and agrarian reforms
• The role of civil society in complementing government’s role in policy formulation and implementation and ensuring accountability
• The importance of strengthening women’s land rights
• The need for implementation of ILO Convention 169 and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
• Support for processes of dialogue between government, civil society and international organisations in Nepal

ILC members voted unanimously to adopt the Declaration.

Day3 - Other events

Book launch: DfID and ANGOC launched two major titles on land reform.

The marketplace of ideas

Social events

Day3 - Closing session

The Director of the ILC Secretariat, Dr Madiodio Niasse, concluded the conference and gave a brief overview of the way forward for ILC in the specific areas discussed in the Conference:

• ILC must increase its understanding of the phenomenon of climate change and how it is connected to land rights and agrarian reform.
• The trend towards recognising common property, particularly as expressed in Nepal’s recognition of community forest rights, was encouraging.
• The role of women in agriculture must be made more visible and women’s rights and concerns must be integrated not just into laws but into their implementation and through participation.
• ILC must engage with the urgent challenge of commercial pressures on land that threaten the tenure security of the poor. At the same time, the poor must be able to benefit from the opportunities that such commercialisation provides. If land rights are protected, smallholders can contribute fully to global food demands and at the same time secure their own livelihoods.

Day4 - ILC Assembly of Members

On April 24, the Assembly of Members met to review ILC’s work over the past two years, and to make key decisions for its future. The meeting was chaired by Coalition Council co-chairs Jean-Philippe Audinet of IFAD and Laureano del Castillo of Grupo ALLPA.

Day4 - The biennial report (2007-2009)

The presentation of the Biennial Report 2007-2009 by the Secretariat provoked rich discussion on ILC’s engagement with emerging trends, its performance at national and regional levels, and the role of intergovernmental organizations in regional platforms. The report was approved by members, pending minor revisions.

Day4 - New CEF publication and discussion of CEF phase 2

Barbara Codispoti presented a new CD documenting the achievements of the Community Empowerment Facility (CEF) of ILC, active 1998-2008. Members agreed that the CEF had been a successful activity and approved on principle of the initiative to launch a new phase. Members discussed what form “CEF 2” might take, and the Secretariat agreed to develop a concept note for review by the Coalition Council.

Day4 - Approval of new members

Laureano del Castillo, on behalf of the Membership Committee, presented the Council’s endorsement of 19 organizations as new ILC members. All of the organizations were approved by the vote of the Assembly of Members.

The new ILC members are:

• CINEP -Colombia
• FUNDAPAZ -Argentina
• PROCASUR –Regional, Chile-based
• IBC –Peru
• CODELT -Congo
• MBOSCUDA –Cameroon
• RISD -Rwanda
• ReBeSeF/GDT –Benin
• SIF –Madagascar
• TRALSO –South Africa
• ARBAN -Bangladesh
• CDS -Nepal
• MGSA/Ekta Parishad -India
• JKS –India
• PAFID –Philippines
• ARnow! –Philippines
• CARRD -Philippines
• NACFPA -Albania
• TERRA Institute –Based in US

Day4 - The ILC constitution

Sue Longley, for the Constitution Committee, presented a number of proposed amendments to the ILC Constitution which were discussed by the Assembly. The Assembly agreed on a process to complete the revision of the document electronically over the course of the next five months. It approved immediate revision of Paragraphs 36 (increasing the number of members required for quorum at an Assembly of Members) and 66 (changing the number of votes to change the Constitution to a two-thirds majority of members voting).

Day4 - Establishment of a membership contribution

The Assembly voted to establish a membership contribution, and commented on the detailed proposal presented by the Membership Committee. Members noted that, while the contribution was flexible in response to ILC’s diverse membership, it established an appropriate expectation that every member organization to demonstrate its commitment to the Coalition.

Day4 - New Council members elected

The Assembly of Members elected representatives to serve on the Coalition Council from 2009-2011, confirming continuing members as well as new members nominated by regional platforms.

The new Coalition Council is:

• Laureano del Castillo, Grupo ALLPA, Peru        (continuing member)
• Marvin Ponce, COCOCH, Honduras         (new member)
• Odenda Lumumba, Kenya Land Alliance         (new member)
• Henry Machina, Zambia Land Alliance         (new member)
• Kasmita Widodo, JKPP, Indonesia             (new member)
• Jagat Basnet, CSRC, Nepal             (new member)
• Sue Longley, IUF                 (continuing member)
• Menotti Bottazzi, SPF                 (continuing member)
• ICRAF                         (new member)
• IFAD                        (continuing member)
• FAO                        (continuing member)
• IFPRI/CAPRi                    (continuing member)
• EC                        (continuing member)
• World Bank                    (continuing member)

Day4 - Other items

• The Assembly of Members voted to formally endorse the Kathmandu Declaration presented on the final day of the Conference.
• For their contributions to the ILC, the Assembly voted to give special recognition to:  Bruce Moore, former ILC director; and Hubert Ouedraogo and Kevin Cleaver, outgoing co-chairs of the Coalition Council.
• Laureano del Castillo (Grupo ALLPA) and Matthew Wyatt (IFAD) are the new co-chairs of the Coalition Council.
• The Membership Committee for 2007-09 was nominated and approved.
• Finally, the Assembly voted that the 2011 Assembly of Members should be held in Europe