What do the Guidelines say about tenure rights to commons?
15 2. COMMONS AND THE GUIDELINES
2.3 What do the Guidelines say about tenure rights to commons?
The Guidelines have ive important messages for the governance of tenure rights to commons.
1. All actions regarding tenure and its governance must be consistent with international human rights obligations.
Although the Guidelines are voluntary in nature, they are of important legal signiicance, as they are strongly rooted in existing internationally-binding human rights law. They were
developed over three years in an unprecedented inclusive and participatory negotiation process between states, civil society organizations, peasant movements and the private
sector, and were unanimously adopted by the Committee on World Food Security CFS in 2012. The Guidelines repeat throughout that “States should ensure that all actions
regarding tenure and its governance must be consistent with their existing obligations under national and international law, and with due regard to voluntary commitments
under applicable regional and international instruments” e.g. §§ 4.2, 4.3, 9.3. For example, the Guidelines refer to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International
Labour Organization ILO Convention No. 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples UNDRIP, and the
Convention on Biological Diversity CBD. They also include provisions on gender equity consistent with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against
Women CEDAW, standards for transparency and government integrity as outlined in the United Nations Convention Against Corruption UNCAC, and the jurisprudence of human
rights tribunals supporting standards on free, prior and informed consent FPIC.
First and foremost, the Guidelines describe the obligations of states, but also the responsibilities of non-state actors including “organizations of farmers and small-scale
producers, of ishers, and of forest users; indigenous peoples and other communities; civil society; private sector; academia; and all persons concerned with tenure governance” §
1.2. They provide ten human rights-based implementation principles for how state and non-state actors should set up processes for the responsible governance of tenure: human
dignity, non-discrimination, equity and justice, gender equality, a holistic and sustainable approach, consultation and participation, the rule of law, transparency, accountability and
continuous improvement § 3B.
BOX 2: The 10 guiding principles
for the implementation of responsible tenure
governance § 3B
1. Human dignity: recognizing the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable human rights of all individuals.
2. Non-discrimination: no one should be subject to discrimination under law and policies as well as in practice.
3. Equity and justice: recognizing that equality between individuals may require acknowledging differences between individuals, and taking positive action, including empowerment, in order to
promote equitable tenure rights and access to land, fisheries and forests, for all, women and men, youth and vulnerable and traditionally marginalized people, within the national context.
Source: FAOCFS, 20124–5.
16 GOVERNING TENURE RIGHTS TO COMMONS