BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS / Šturma, Mozetic (eds)

How problematic the “foreignization” of land is can be illustrated in the fact that some of the EUMember States (e.g. Slovakia 43 ) retained legislation restricting sales of lands to foreigners despite the end of the period agreed to with the EU and despite the fact that such moratoriums run counter to the free movement of capital as one of fundamental freedoms, which the EU is based on. 4. Conclusions Large-scale acquisitions and leases of land constitute a complex and multi-faceted phenomenon, which the international community will continue to face simply because its key driver is the growing demand for agricultural commodities. Thus, there is no doubt that land grabbing requires coordinated response of all actors involved and requires action at both the international community level as well as the national level. International community is thus called to action to share best practices and create common standards. This is particularly important since those facing the negative consequences of land grabbing are usually in a considerably weaker position to their opponents. Finally, what is at stake are human rights, and human rights are a vitally important common value. States are obliged to respect, protect, and fulfil human rights at stake (right to food, which includes the extra-territorial obligation of states to prevent anybody under their jurisdiction from undermining the applicable human rights, such as the right to adequate food; right to property; right to adequate housing; right to an adequate standard of living; and rights of minorities and indigenous people). As De Schutter points out, “ these principles are not optional; they follow from existing human rights norms ”. 44 Not only states, but international organisations also play a crucial role. As it has been shown in the example of the EU, they can equally be the drivers of land grabbing, either through the involvement of EU based corporations and capital in land grabbing outside of the EU, or through the shaping of the various EU policies. The EU (or more precisely the European citizens and small farmers) is also a “victim” of land grabbing, since foreignization of land and land concentration constitute a problem, the severity of which has been already recognized by EU institutions. Their human rights dimension is inherent and thus the solution must reflect this fact. Taking this as a starting point it becomes apparent that land grabbing is another example of a challenge that the international community is facing today, the challenge of how to ensure effective implementation of human rights.

43 The end of the moratorium period was scheduled for 30 May 2014. Slovakia however adopted new legislation on 2014 (zákon č. 140/2014 Z.z. o nadobúdaní vlastníctva poľnohospodárskeho pozemku), keeping the limitations on acquisitions of land by foreigners. 44 De SCHUTTER, Large-scale Land Acquisitions and Leases , op. cit. 4, para. 5.

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