ABSTRACT
Chapter 2 provides a review of land rights in the context of international law. Although a definition and explicit inclusion of a right to land are not included in the international human rights framework, it can be linked with other aspects of human rights that have been recognised at both the international and regional levels. This chapter presents land-related issues, including rights to property, women rights, and indigenous people’s rights, all of which are found in different branches of international law. These are examined while specifically focusing on violations related to land expropriation and forced evictions. Section 2.2 deals with land rights as property rights. Section 2.3 examines land rights as cultural rights for indigenous people. Section 2.4 describes land rights as an issue of gender equality and Section 2.5 discusses the right to housing. The main international rights with respect to land issues that are further recognised within international humanitarian law, under The Hague Regulation, the Geneva Conventions and Rome Statute, are detailed in Section 2.6. After reviewing the obligations linked with land rights, the chapter turns to the limitation of land rights in Section 2.7. Finally, Section 2.8 examines regional human rights systems’ protection of the right to land.
