Land, Control and Transnational Corporations Local Communities and the Adequate Standard of Living

Foreword by Jérémie Gilbert and Olga Martín-Ortega; Part I. Introduction; 1. Introduction; 2. Context and Concepts: The Global Rush for Land, Transnational Corporations, and Local Communities; Part II. The Control of Land by Transnational Corporations in Latin America; 3. The Control of Land by Transnational Corporations through Global Value Chains: Market and Technology Power; 4. The Impact of Land Control on Local Communities: Power Relationships Among Actors and the Role of the Host State; Part III. The Right to Land within International Human Rights Law; 5. The Right to Land of Indigenous Peoples and Peasants; Part IV. Reclaiming the Element of Control: Towards an Evolutive Interpretation of the Right to an Adequate Standard of Living; 6. Foundations for a Reinterpretation of Human Rights Standards; 7. The Right to an Adequate Standard of Living: Setting the Scene for a Comprehensive Scope of Land Protection under Article 11 International Covenant Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR); Part V A Human Right to –Control–Land; 8. A Human Right to –Control– Land; 9. The Proposal: A Human Right to Control Land; Conclusions

Biography

Verónica Torres-Marenco is an adjunct professor in international human rights law at the Universidad del Magdalena, Colombia.

'Torres-Marenco illuminates and critiques the neoliberal shift that has enabled transnational business to extract wealth – beyond damage – under weakened governments that no longer support the basic human rights of peasant and indigenous communities. The book is a tour de force connecting the profits of an unregulated global economic system to local pain and suffering. In explaining the structure and operation of extractive trans-national industries, the book also gives us insights into potential positive social and political response. It opens us to a whole new world of market-justice research.'

Jesse Ribot, Full Professor of Environmental Politics in the Department of Environment, Development & Health at American University, USA