Large-scale land transactions in Karamoja region, Uganda: a right to food perspective

This paper uses the socio-legal approaches of Legal Consciousness, Legal Translation and the Human Rights-Based Approach to development to address the question of access to land and the realisation of the right to food. This is in the context of an indigenous Karimojong pastoral community in Uganda, where large chunks of land have been allocated by the government to mining companies. Accordingly, the influence of international human rights norms on state behaviour at the local level is analysed. The empirical findings of the study illustrates how lack of access to land has affected the pastoralists’ realisation of their right to food, through denial of access to grazing grounds, contamination of water sources and lack of access to wild fruits. This is a consequence of a mismatch between the indigenous pastoralists’ conception of property rights; coupled with limited knowledge of the existing laws and procedures, and inadequate monitoring and control mechanism by the state. The none-fulfilment of the right to food is also attributed to limited involvement of the affected communities in the processes of land transactions. The paper argues that whereas the adoption of international human rights standards in relation to property rights and the right to food are necessary for addressing human rights concerns at the local level, the process of framing these norms to suit the local context determines its effectiveness.