CIDSE@ICARRD+20 Conference – CIDSE
Event

CIDSE@ICARRD+20 Conference

!!! Check this page on a regular basis for our latest updates !!!

BACKGROUND 

The second international Conference of Agrarian Reform and Rural Development+20 (ICARRD+20) under the motto “Land to Work, Land for Food, Land for Life” will take place in Cartagena (Colombia) from 24-28 February 2026. It will bring together more than 1,500 participants from the five continents, including country representatives, national and international social organisations, multilateral entities, the private sector, academia, and other key stakeholders.

The following events will be organised under the overarching theme of ICARRD+20:

  • 20-23 February: International Academic Conference “Land, Life, and Society”: Programme
  • 22-23 February: Forum of Peoples and Social Movements: Programme
  • 24-28 February: ICARRD+20 Official Conference: Programme
  • 24-28 February: Parallel Agenda: Programme (!!! Pre-registration to events required)

The ICARRD+20 conference is an important milestone as it relaunches the international agenda on equitable access to land, agrarian reform, and sustainable rural development. After the conference, negotiations will continue at FAO level with a view to agree on a ten-year road map.

OUR DELEGATION

The CIDSE member organisations involved in ICARRD+20 are Broederlijk Delen (Belgium), CAFOD (England and Wales), Fastenaktion (Switzerland) and Misereor (Germany). The delegation will consist of representatives from the Secretariat, member and partner organisations worldwide: 19 organisations from Latin America, 7 from Africa, 2 from Asia, and 5 from Europe will be present in Cartagena. They will join the voices of other civil society actors from the Global South and the Global North to urge governments to relaunch the international agenda on equitable access to land, agrarian reform, and sustainable rural development.

CIDSE’S ROLE & OBJECTIVES 

  • Amplify the voice of the Catholic Church of the Global South on the importance of agrarian and climate justice issues.
  • Connect partner organisations for more effective advocacy.
  • Build convergence between Church and non-Church actors: NGOs, social movements and academics.
  • Call for a ten-year road map and binding public policies on land reform.

CIDSE’S AND OUR PARTNERS’ KEY DEMANDS 

  1. Secure collective land rights: Legally protect customary, pastoralist and Indigenous territories and halt land dispossession.
  2. Protect rangelands and pastoralist mobility: Stop conversion of grazing lands to industrial agriculture, conservation enclosures and carbon-offset schemes.
  3. Shift finance to agroecology and community food systems: Redirect public and climate funds away from factory farming and land speculation toward agroecology and rangeland restoration.
  4. End land grabbing and corporate impunity: Regulate land speculation, stop large-scale land acquisitions, and enforce binding corporate accountability.


PROGRAMME OF ACTIVITIES (all events are indicated in local time: GMT-5 | CET-6) 

TUE 24 FEBRUARY

08:30-10:00: Parallel agenda: Workshop: “En-raizando las apuestas de las juventudes del campo por la Reforma Agraria / Rooting the rural youth’s commitment to Agrarian Reform”, Centro de Formación de la Cooperación Española, Salón Arevalo. Calle 36 N°. 2-74, El Centro. Co-organised by CINEP and Broederlijk Delen. Languages. Spanish/English interpretation.

12:00-13:00 (tbc): Press conference: Official launch of statement by the Catholic Episcopal Conferences and Councils of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean on the occasion of ICARRD+20. Co-organised by Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM), National Secretariat of Pastoral Social – Caritas Colombia (SNPS/CC) and CIDSE. Language: Spanish.

14:00-15:30: Parallel agenda: Panel: “Voces de mujeres que siembran futuro: un camino de retos y oportunidades / Voices of women sowing the future: a path of challenges and opportunities”, Corporación Universitaria Rafael Nuñez, Salon 1. Co-organised by National Secretariat of Pastoral Social – Caritas Colombia (SNPS/CC), Pastoral Social de la Arquidiócesis de Florencia. Language: Spanish.

WED 25 FEBRUARY

10:45-12:15: Parallel agenda: Panel: “Defendiendo la tierra a través del derecho a la alimentación: biodiversidad y cadenas de suministro globales / Defending the land through the right to food: biodiversity and global supply chains”, Corporación Universitaria Rafael Nuñez – Salon 2. Organised by European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR). Language: Spanish.

16:30-18:00: Parallel agenda: Panel: “Gobernanza Territorial y Agroecología: claves para la Reforma Agraria y la Resiliencia Climática / Territorial Governance and Agroecology: Keys to Agrarian Reform and Climate Resilience”, Corporación Universitaria Rafael Nuñez – Salon 2. Co-organised by National Secretariat of Pastoral Social – Caritas Colombia (SNPS/CC), SEPAS – Guaviare. Language: Spanish.

THU 26 FEBRUARY

08:30-10:00: Parallel agenda: Panel: Cuidar la tierra, sostener la vida: experiencias diversas de territorialidades colectivas / Caring for the land, sustaining life: diverse experiences of collective territorialities, Institución Universitaria Mayor de Cartagena – INNOVA. Co-organised by Programa Colombia de Fastenaktion, Siembra, CIDSE. Languages: Spanish/English interpretation.

08:30-10:00: Parallel agenda: Panel: Desde el Territorio: Seguridad y Soberanía Alimentaria para una Vida Digna / From the Territory: Food Security and Sovereignty for a Life of Dignity. Corporación Universitaria Rafael Nuñez – Salon 1. Co-organised by National Secretariat of Pastoral Social – Caritas Colombia (SNPS/CC), Secretariado Diocesano de Pastoral Social – Diócesis de Neiva. Language: Spanish.

15:45-17:00: Official programme: Panel: “Custodios del Territorio: Un Diálogo por la Casa Común y la Dignidad de los Pueblos/ Guardians of the Territory: A Dialogue for Our Common Home and the Dignity of Peoples”. Cartagena de Indias Convention Center, Emiliano Zapata Room. Co-organised by Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM), Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) and CIDSE. Language: Spanish/English interpretation.

FRI 27 FEBRUARY

08:30-09:15: Parallel agenda: Panel: “Reforma agraria: Una medida indispensable para la democracia y los derechos humanos en tiempos de crisis / Agrarian reform: An indispensable measure for democracy and human rights in times of crisis”. Corporación Universitaria Rafael Nuñez – Salon 1. Co-organised by Dejusticia, Ambiente y Sociedad, FAO Colombia and Siembra. Language: Spanish.

10:45-12:15: Parallel agenda: Panel: “Protect Our Land, Restore Our Soil: Collective Territorialities for Land Justice and Ecological Soil Restoration in Africa”. Corporación Universitaria Rafael Nuñez – Salon 3. Co-organised by Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA); Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), CIDSE. Language: English.

14:00-15:30: Parallel agenda: Panel: “Las recuperaciones de la tierra como estratégia comunitaria para avanzar en la reforma agraria / Land reclamation as a community strategy for advancing agrarian reform”. Corporación Universitaria Rafael Nuñez – Salon 2. Organised by Broederlijk Delen. Language: Spanish.


CIDSE ONSITE CONTACTS

Emmanuel Yap
Policy Officer Food and Landyap(at)cidse.org

Annia Klein
Communications Officer klein(at)cidse.org
Pedro Guzman
Volunteer pguzper(at)gmail.com

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

CIDSE

OUR MEMBERS

OUR PARTNERS AND ALLIES


Cover photo: Peasants sowing a field in Cañete basin, Peru.
Credit: 2013CIAT/NeilPalmer – CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Share this content on social media