WCC News: Faith coalition at rural development conference demands land as human right

A coalition of Christian organisations issued a joint statement during the International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ICARRD), being held in Cartagena, Colombia from 24–28 February. Indigenous Maya Chortí men work with hoes during the occupation of land to secure some farmland for the indigenous people. Photo: Sean Hawkey/Life on Earth Pictures 2 March 2026 Peter Prove, director of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, introduced the statement on behalf of the coalition. "The harvest of justice cannot wait," Prove read. "We call upon all people of conscience to join us in advancing transformative policies that place human rights, ecological integrity, and the well-being of future generations at the centre of global food and land policies.” On the 20th anniversary of the conference, governments gathered to take stock of two decades of promises on land and food. The coalition of major Christian bodies told them plainly: the promises have not been kept, and the time for half-measures is over. The coalition included the World Council of Churches, Caritas Internationalis, CIDSE (international alliance of Catholic development organisations), Laudato Si' Intercultural Association, and Latin American Episcopal Council. Declaring that land is "not a commodity to be exploited, but a sacred trust and a fundamental individual and collective human right," the coalition made nine demands of governments and international institutions. The statement draws a stark picture. The faith coalition pointed to nearly 800 million people still facing hunger worldwide. Small-scale farmers, said to produce 70 percent of the world's food, remain among the most food-insecure. Rural communities are driven off their land and into city poverty while extractive industries operate, in the coalition's words, under "false environmental conservation narratives." Women, youth, and Indigenous Peoples face systematic exclusion from the very decisions that shape their land and livelihoods. The problem, the statement argues, runs deeper than bad policy. It is the financialisation of land itself - treated as an asset to be traded rather than a foundation for human life. Market-based climate mechanisms, rising debt, and the corporate capture of food systems have compounded the crisis rather than relieved it. The nine demands span land rights recognition and equitable redistribution, restrictions on speculation and corporate accountability, support for agro-ecological farming, direct financing for grassroots communities, inclusive governance, and integrated land and water tenure governance -including legal protection for environmental defenders. “It took 20 years for the United Nations and the international community to organize another International Conference on Agrarian Reforms,” highlighted Dinesh Suna, WCC programme executive for Land, Water, and Food. “We cannot wait another 20 years for the third conference. There has to be ambitious outcome of this ICARRD and strategically planned, periodic conferences in short intervals for effective follow up.” Link for the joint statement here More information about the ICARRD+20 conference here  See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland