Moved by solidarity and concern for the planet, a group of 480 organizations and xx individuals – convened by the International Land Coalition, Oxfam and the Rights and Resources Initiative –launched a global call to action to secure Indigenous and community land rights to action to secure Indigenous and community land rights. In August that year, organizations all over the world came together under the #LandRightsNow banner to call on world leaders to take action.

Our support of Oxfam’s Stand for Land campaign reinforced the central message about the role Indigenous Peoples and local communities play in ensuring ecosystem stability, which is fundamental to the entire planet. In Sri Lanka, community mobilization helped free up land ownership for 350 farmers who had been evicted from their lands.

In the context of Earth Day, we called on all signatories of the campaign to join a global mobilization, with actions ranging from letters to governments to public demonstrations, demanding territorial rights for communities in several countries, from Brazil to Nepal.

We supported the signature collection campaign led by Tierraviva for the Indigenous Peoples of Chaco and Oxfam in Paraguay. More than 12,000 signatures were collected, and Congress subsequently passed a law to comply with the IACHR ruling, guaranteeing the rights to the Indigenous communities Yakye Axa, Sawhoyamaxa and Xákmok Kásek to return to their land.

World Food Day global mobilisation: Indigenous Peoples, local communities, women’s groups, citizens, and activists from at least 25 different countries joined in two weeks of public action and events on occasion of World Food day to demand that governments respect their land rights. A policy brief highlighted the link between recognizing community land rights and ensuring global food security and climate protection.

We supported a network of more than 30 Liberian organizations calling on President George Weah to score again by signing the Pro-Community Land Rights Act. Liberia’s Senate passed the pro-community Land Rights Act into law later that year – and it wouldn’t have happened without thousands of people raising their voices around the world and in Liberia!

It was a year of growth. We expanded the network of organizations with which we collaborate closely: International Working Group for Indigenous Affairs, Defend the Defenders Coalition.

A global mobilisation #StandWithDefenders to demand the end to the criminalization of environmental defenders in countries around the world, including Guatemala, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, Mexico, Nepal, East Timor, India, the Philippines, West Papua, and the United States.

While 42% of the world’s land is under customary tenure, yet only 8% of it is legally recognised. Land Rights Now contributes to the creation and dissemination of thematic campaigns to raise awareness of the importance of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in protecting biodiversity and the climate.

Land Rights Now started supporting a campaign to Save Sinjaejvina, asking supporters to stand with Montenegrin local communities, and calling on EU leaders to play a key role in protecting the largest mountain meadow in the Balkans, a vital ecosystem for Montenegro and Europe, by stopping the establishment of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military training camp in Sinjajevina.

#CreateaSpark Throughout December Land Rights Now and organisations worldwide came together in a global mobilisation to raise awareness of how securing land rights for Indigenous Peoples and local communities is key to protecting biodiversity and preventing pandemics.

A 2020 ruling in favor of indigenous communities, had ordered the definitive titling of their territory and mandated the payment of oil easements by PlusPetrol and compensations from the Peruvian State for attributing indigenous land to companies without consultation or payment. LRN has been supporting communities to uphold their rights since 2016.

We launched a campaign to support the people of Kiryandongo, Uganda, who are demanding that communities be given back their land in addition to compensation for the forced and unlawful evictions of thousands of families as part of land acquisitions by multinational corporations. This resulted in a presidential decree halting evictions.

In commemoration of the International Day of World’s Indigenous Peoples, we gathered and shared stories from members of this community, highlighting their courageous efforts to defend their land rights. We received dozens of accounts from 18 countries worldwide, showcasing the courage, strength, and wisdom of Indigenous Peoples. These stories underscore the resilience of Indigenous women and men who, even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, continue to face undiminished attacks against their collective rights to lands, territories, and natural resources.

In Guatemala, a silent epidemic of forced evictions has devastated peasant and Indigenous communities. Corporate farmers, often with state endorsement, had violently displaced countless families to establish monoculture plantations on their ancestral territories, razing the land. Through the #StopEvictions campaign, we shared the stories of those who suffered the loss of their homes and lands to halt these unlawful removals and secure justice.

We centered Indigenous perspectives and demands at key global forums, including the COP27 Conference on Climate Change and the COP15 Conference on Biodiversity. With the #SheShouldMakeTheNews campaign coinciding with COP27 and COP 28, in 2023-24 we increased the visibility of Indigenous women leaders who are fighting for their land rights, as despite their commitment and active participation, their voices are often marginalized.

With Oxfam in Peru and Indigenous federations, we supported Cuatro Cuencas in a national campaign to support a landmark lawsuit involving 60 Indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon seeking justice and reparations for decades of land rights violations and environmental damage.

We contributed to the national campaign to defend the rights of Indigenous Peoples in Jujuy, Argentina, against lithium mining for the energy transition that began without free, prior, and informed consent and violated their territorial rights.

Local mass mobilisation and international solidarity supported the Bugsuk community in the Philippines to resist an invasion of armed guards as part of a corporate land grab to convert their island into a tourist resort.

To strengthen the movement from the ground up, we launched a storytelling and campaign design workshop. This initiative equips land defenders, especially young leaders, with the essential tools to powerfully share their narratives and shape the public conversation around change. This effort directly feeds into the Youth Should Make the News campaign, providing platform to amplify young activists’ voices and share stories of struggles and land rights COP30.

Mobilised to defend the Amazon forest, the land and the peoples, Land Rights Now is an ally of the Aliança dos Povos pelo Clima (Alliance of Peoples for the Climate), demanding direct, accessible climate finance delivered to the people on the frontlines, caring for the forest.