Starting from the previous implemented processes to recognize the human right to water, and the observation that human rights are indivisible, interdependent and interrelated, we argue that it is time to establish a human right to land under international law. Indeed, two strong arguments constitute a convincing pillar: the first is the importance of land for the realization of a number of internationally recognized human rights, and the second is the alarming situation of serious violations of human rights resulting from the expansion, in the recent years, of international investment in farmlands. Such basis is supported by providing a number of widely accepted international instruments and both regionally and nationally advanced jurisprudence. However, efforts to interpret and apply international standards remain a permanent challenge, and their effectiveness has not been definitively established, given the fragmented nature of international human rights law.
In recent years, the expansion of the international investments in farmlands, commonly known as "land grabbing", lead the European Union to play a major role in this new process. The strong involvement of European investors would not take place without the existence of incentive policies covering several areas ranging from renewable energy, investment, trade, agriculture and aid programs. However, starting from the analysis of these policies coherence for development, we should admit that these policies guidelines contradict the commitments made by the Union within the framework of initiatives and programs against poverty and hunger in the world, in the fact that these investments lead to the displacement and dispossession of rural communities from their land and, therefore, from their livelihoods.
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