Critical Reflections on the Role of an International NGO seeking to work globally on Land Rights – with specific focus on Oxfam’s experiences in Southern Africa

January 2006
Robin Palmer (Oxfam GB Global Land Adviser)

Explores some dimensions of an international NGO seeking to work globally on land rights. Draws upon the author’s own work as well as Oxfam’s historical experiences. The first part looks at some of Oxfam’s recent work on land rights, at the involvement of DFID on land rights in Africa, at Oxfam’s engagement with the World Bank, and a brief word on USAID. The second part examines some of Oxfam’s work on land rights over the past two decades in Southern Africa – in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, and Angola. There are concluding thoughts at the end of each section.

International Conference on Social Movements Perspectives: Land, Poverty, Social Justice and Development, Institute of Social Studies, The Hague