Access to Land and Security of Tenure in the Resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly

Land governance has historically covered a crucial position in the sphere of national sovereign power and can be described as a matter “which is essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state.” Nevertheless, since the early years, the United Nations, through its bodies and agencies, has been releasing reports and recommendations on the governance of land. The first objective of this study is to see to what extend there is a degree of consistency—when the issue of land is considered—on the terms with which it is framed, pointedly land access, land/tenure/property rights, and tenure security; the values or more general objectives underpinning the discourse on the matter; the subjects that are identified as bearing a stake with regard to it. The second objective is to evaluate whether there is conceptual clarity on the terms that are employed or whether, on the contrary, in different moments and contexts the same terms refer to different meanings. What emerges from the analysis is that land issues have always been a relevant topic in the General Assembly agenda. Considered originally only for its agricultural production function, during the decades and especially since the '90s, the land discourse has been enriched with considerations pertaining not only to the economic aspect of agricultural production but also to more fundamental needs of individuals and rural societies, such as livelihood, food security, identity, and nondiscrimination. Conversely, what appears also quite clearly is that there is a lack of uniformity in the terminology used.