This event, the second in the series Hungry for Change: The Politics of Hunger in the 21st Century, co-facilitated with the Heinrich Boell Foundation calls attention to the inequalities and injustices which characterise women's access to land, connecting this theme to the problem of hunger and the global goal of achieving zero hunger by 2030 enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The SDGs identify secure land rights for women as a necessary prerequisite for the eradication of poverty and hunger, and the establishment of gender equality (SDGs 1, 2 and 5). In a similar spirit, the first international land governance standard, the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries, and Forests (VGGT), calls upon states to 'ensure that women and girls have equal tenure rights and access to land, fisheries and forests independent of their civil and marital status.' Yet the persistent gap between these formal declarations of intent and their inadequate implementation draws attention to the question of how political rhetoric can become political action.

One answer lies in holding decision-makers at all levels politically accountable, noting the many intersections of the SDG and VGGT with states’ existing obligations under international law, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments. This webinar explores the potential for linking the political struggle for women’s land tenure security to the broader arena of human rights advocacy. Bearing the need for political action in mind, the webinar emphasizes sharing insights and lessons learned from actors and organisations who currently apply human rights-based approaches in their work. The emphasis on practical lessons raises a number of questions for discussion including: what are the preconditions for the success or failure of human rights-based approaches; what possibilities are there to improve or support existing work with such approaches; how can lessons from case-specific successes be transferred to other contexts?