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The year 2020 drew sharp focus to land and property rights issues in India. The year began with protests against the National Register of Citizens (NRC), which if implemented would have relied on citizens having their land records in place to prove citizenship. Many commentators lamented how landless migrant labour would meet these stringent requirements in a country where land records management is in an abysmal shape with limited digitisation.

With the onset of the pandemic, and India going into an unprecedented lockdown, the shocking sight of migrant labourers walking the highways for days exposed the lack of inclusive housing in our cities. They were forced to leave cities not only due to the lack of affordable housing, but also because informal rent agreements enabled abrupt evictions. While many developed countries enforced rent moratoriums and protections against evictions, in India, authorities could not create such a safety net. Informal tenancy in urban and semi-urban India and landlessness in rural India plunged the most vulnerable populations into further despair.

Lockdowns across the world also forced businesses to consider diversification of their supply chains. This turned the attention of policymakers to the ease of doing business to make India an attractive destination for companies looking to invest in new locations. Again, land reforms became a central part of this conversation. While the central government explored the idea of creating land banks, some states focused on structural reforms. Karnataka amended laws to remove restrictions on buying and selling of agricultural land by non-agriculturalists.

Other developments that brought focus to property rights include the SVAMITVA (Survey of villages and mapping with improvised technology in village areas) scheme launched in April 2020. The scheme aims to survey non-agricultural inhabited land in rural India. The stated goals are connecting rural Indians with institutional credit through better property records, and empowering Panchayati Raj institutions through property tax collection.

In October 2020, in response to the migrant crisis, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs announced the Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHCs) Scheme. The scheme aims to fill the affordable housing gap in cities by utilising government-funded vacant houses along with construction, operation and maintenance of new affordable housing projects by private players.

In an unrelated development, the Supreme Court passed a landmark judgement; it ruled that daughters have equal coparcenary rights in Hindu Undivided Family properties, even if the father died before the enactment of the 2005 Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act. Gender activists celebrated the judgment as this ambiguity had presented a big hurdle for women across India in accessing their property rights.

Though these developments seem disparate, it is worth noting that land and property rights dominated peoples lives and public narrative even in an extraordinary year such as 2020. The year highlighted the fault lines in our land governance and exacerbated the effect of existing inefficiencies in our system. As we look to kickstart recovery in 2021, one hopes that policymakers will retain focus on making land records services citizen-friendly, undertaking surveys of previously unsurveyed areas, improving land markets and continuing to invest in affordable housing in our urban centres.

Presently, there are interesting policy proposals under discussion to achieve these goals. Apart from ARHC and SVAMTIVA that may be scaled up, a Model Tenancy Act aimed at bridging the trust deficit between tenants and landlords is under consideration. The Centre and states are mulling subsidies in stamp duty rates to boost the real estate market and property registration. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are making huge investments in new surveys and technology to improve land governance.

A continued focus on land and property rights is important these cross-cutting issues not only impact the growth of Indias economy but play an important role in the lives of all Indians. Among other things, 2020 has also been a stark reminder that governments must prioritise securing land and property rights for all its citizens.

Aparajita Bharti is founding partner and Bindushree D is policy associate at The Quantum Hub, a public policy research and advocacy firm

The views expressed are personal

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An unlikely common strand of 2020 land and property rights - Hindustan Times

WARSAW, 18 December 2020 In a year that has made our common humanity so clear as the world struggles to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic, greater efforts must be taken to safeguard and promote the human rights of all migrants, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said on the occasion of International Migrants Day.

As we look towards 2021 in the hope it will bring health, wellbeing, and new opportunities to us and our loved ones, let us not forget the plight of the many migrants across the OSCE region who remain on the move or trapped in overcrowded camps or shelters. Whether they are travelling with their families or have left them far behind, they too are hoping that the next year will bring them safety and stability.

The pandemic has exposed many challenges already present in our societies for this ever-growing group of people, and highlighted the precarious situation in which many migrant communities across the OSCE region live. They were affected by border closures and movement restrictions, continue to suffer from unemployment or face greater risk exposure as essential workers responsible for keeping our societies and economies running.

Migrants have also found themselves the target of intolerance and hate-motivated attacks following the outbreak of the pandemic, and often unjustly blamed for the rapid spread of the virus. Migrant women in particular have suffered from discrimination and hatred. Its important to understand that hate crime can lead to lasting trauma among victims, their families and communities as they struggle with a sense of fear and uncertainty that goes beyond the individual crimes perpetrated against them.

On todays International Migrants Day, it is therefore time for OSCE countries to strengthen their commitment to combat xenophobia and protect the human rights of migrants across the region. At the same time, better co-ordination between national services responsible for migrants is needed to ensure their long-term integration, as well as improved co-operation between host countries. Migrants should never be left unprotected due to a lack of policy at national or international level.

In recent years, ODIHR has provided opportunities for more than 2,000 officials, experts and civil society representatives working on different aspects of migration and human rights to learn and exchange good practices in areas ranging from alternatives to immigration detention through to border monitoring. Other ODIHR resources in this area, including policy recommendations and guidance, can be found here.

OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights

Public Affairs Unit

Office: +48 22 520 06 00

Fax: +48 22 520 06 05

PublicAffairs@odihr.pl

Katya Andrusz

Spokesperson

OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)

Ul. Miodowa 10

00-251 Warsaw

Poland

Office: +48 22 520 0640

Mobile: +48 609 522 266

Katya.Andrusz@odihr.pl

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Like all of us, migrants need safety and stability after this year of crisis, OSCE human rights office says - World - ReliefWeb

New survey data show children on the move largely excluded from pandemic response and recovery

NEW YORK, 18 December 2020 In countries around the world, migrant and displaced children have been largely excluded from national response and recovery plans to the COVID-19 pandemic and have experienced a significant reduction in access to essential services and care, UNICEF announced today. These findings are based on data collected through a recent UNICEF survey of 159 countries in which it has an operational presence.

Of the estimated 272 million international migrants globally, 33 million are children, including 12.6 million child refugees and 1.5 million asylum-seekers. Tens of millions more move within their countries India alone hosts an estimated 93 million internal child migrants. Across the globe, 21.5 million children have been internally displaced due to conflict, violence or disasters.

On International Migrants Day, the UN childrens agency is urging governments to ensure that all vulnerable children including those living as refugees, migrants or internally displaced are prioritized in pandemic response and recovery efforts regardless of their status and reached with quality protection, health care, water, sanitation and education services.

The results of this survey are a flashing red warning sign that the most vulnerable children are being left on their own to manage the fallout from the pandemic, said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. With the right support at the right time, children on the move can contribute invaluable talent to their new homes skills that countries should leverage to recover from the pandemic. UNICEF calls for more global investment to support these children, and stands ready to work with governments to achieve the positive benefits that migration offers children.

Some of the more pronounced reductions in services are occurring in countries with ongoing crises like conflict or disaster, where children on the move already faced barriers in accessing health care, clean water and adequate sanitation. According to the UNICEF surveys:

50 per cent of countries in which UNICEF has active humanitarian operations report a reduction in access to health care among displaced and refugee populations; and

Nearly a quarter of the same countries report a disruption in water, hygiene and sanitation services in refugee or displacement camps.

More broadly beyond fragile contexts, the survey data show that refugee, migrant and displaced children are not being reached as part of socioeconomic response and recovery efforts. For example:

58 per cent of UNICEF country offices surveyed report inadequate remote learning options for vulnerable child populations, including those living as refugees, migrants or internally displaced;

36 per cent report reduced protection services for migrant and displaced children; and

50 per cent report that refugees and asylum seekers are not covered under new or expanded COVID-19 related government social protection measures.

UNICEF is also concerned about increasingly negative perceptions and hostility expressed towards children on the move, a trend that is expected to intensify as the socioeconomic crisis generated by COVID-19 worsens and millions of migrants return home to countries with increasing rates of unemployment:

UNICEF is working with partners to help migrant and displaced populations protect themselves from the pandemic and its devastating socioeconomic impacts. This includes providing accurate, child friendly information on COVID-19 and hygiene practices in a language they understand, ensuring access to hygiene and water supplies wherever children find themselves, and ensuring that migrant and displaced children are not left behind in efforts to guarantee continuous access to education, health, nutrition and child protective services.

Media contacts

Christopher TideyUNICEF New YorkTel: +1 917 340 3017Email: ctidey@unicef.org

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COVID-19 has led to dramatic reduction in essential services and protection for migrant and displaced children in countries around the world - World -...

This SEWA facility helps train women garment workers and promises them a fair wage for what is an often-exploited industry in India. UUCSJ/Kathleen McTigue(CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

The COVID-19 outbreak plunged garment workers in India into a deep crisis. The 1.3 billion people that make up India's population, except those providing essential services, went into successive nation-wide lockdowns lasting nearly three months. Industrial output for many different sectors came to a grinding halt. The impact on jobs and incomes has been unprecedented. Not only has India lost more jobs due to the coronavirus lockdown than the United States did during the Great Depression, but reports show that nearly 400 million informal workers in India could find themselves in poverty due to COVID-19.

The textile and apparel industry contributes 2% to Indias US$ 2.6 trillion economy and 17% of its export income. It is the second largest employer in India providing employment to 45 million people. Critically, the industry is the largest employer for women in India as they make up for more than 60% of its workforce. Nationally, 60 to 80% of the workers are women in the garment sector with millions of them employed in informal, unorganised or home-based units.

Garment factories in India cluster around a few destination cities like Delhi/NCR, Bengaluru, Tirupur, Chennai, Mumbai etc. and a sizable proportion of women working in those factories are migrants from other source locations , predominantly rural parts of Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh. These women are often mostly from poor families and with low levels of education. Many of them come from marginalized and socially excluded groups in India, officially labelled as Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes who have historically faced stigma and discrimination. Invariably, they find themselves overrepresented in low-wage jobs with poor working conditions, with hardly any career prospects and, at times, even gender-based violence. Sadly, the COVID-19 crisis has evidently impacted these women harder than most other workers, who were already facing unfair working conditions.

In order to provide the women migrant workers with a life of dignity, security, and a sense of recognition at their workplaces, the three primary stakeholders of the garment sector supply chaingovernments, suppliers or factories and brands need to adopt measures both individually as well as collaboratively.

First, the government needs to actively work with factories to ensure the adoption of safe and responsible migration. Currently, the recruitment process of migrant workers, which involves middle-men (agents on contract with factories) or not following adequate ethical employment practices, leads to potential exploitation with low pay and poor living or working conditions for migrant women. This gap can be addressed by strengthening inter-state coordination cells, working units formed under the labor department, for oversight of the interest of migrant workers between source and destination states. These cells are already in place to register migrants and provide them safety nets during migration by ensuring third party monitoring mechanisms and effective grievance redressal systems. In addition, the government needs to ensure compliance of the long-standing Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act of 1979 (under consideration for amendment including change of title to make it gender-neutral) by the employers. These regulatory mechanisms need to be brought in line with current realities and simplified systematically so that the industry does not see them as hindrances.

The recent relaxation in labour laws, reported as an emergency measure to help the industry during COVID-19, seems to be a hurried decision and may not serve its intended purpose of increasing productivity. Among others, the dilution of the role of trade unions, the increase in working hours across the board, and the relaxation of the industrial dispute mechanism need to be debated precisely because of their impact on workers. Progressive and well-considered labor reforms need to replace the unilateral decision-making process through a tripartite (government, labor, and employers) joint mechanism of addressing employer and labor issues.

Second, the major fashion brands should come together formally and make a declaration of supporting human rights uniformly across their supply chain. Brands should consider the human costs of pushing factories to produce more for less and encourage better work conditions. Brands also must jointly invest in building systems in factories for better working conditions and incentivize better practices. Examples of such initiatives are already available such as the initiative of Swedish retailer H&M Group, which has officially stated that it is responsible for not only its direct employees but also for the 1.6 million workers employed by its suppliers. H&M is also a member of ACT (Action, Collaboration, Transformation), a collaboration of 21 global companies representing a broad range of brands and labels committed to helping transform the way wages and working conditions are currently set in the global garment, textile, and footwear sector. Initiatives such as this by brands will help recognise the challenges for women in workplaces and create a top-driven ecosystem to address current inadequacies and pave the way for improved conditions for them.

Factories are responsible for the conditions in their workplaces and have a direct bearing on the wellbeing of their workers. Progressive factories have shown that they care for their workers and do not just passively respond to market forces. With support from brands, they must take ownership and accountability for a better work environment and fair treatment of workers. By keeping an oversight on their recruitment contractors, the factories can promote ethical recruitment and employment practices.

The work of promoting and enforcing ethical practices in the garment sector needs concerted efforts. The unpredictability of the COVID-19 pandemic has emerged as an additional challenge as brands cancelled orders, leaving the supply chain dry of both orders and production. The suffering of migrant workers, who returned to their home states under adverse conditions with little savings, was a reminder of their subsistence living conditions over many years. This should make it problematic to continue business as usual. The window will not remain open for long, and it is time for governments, brands, and suppliers to act with a sense of urgency.

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From hardship to hope: women migrant workers in the Indian ready-made garment industry - OpenGlobalRights

Bhubaneswar: Corona virus pandemic has heavily impacted life and livelihoods of millions of migrant workers in the country. Despite slew of programmes rolled out by both Union and State Governments, migrants finding it difficult to get their livelihoods restored because of unavailability of suitable jobs and wages. It is high time, Government should make an Institutional arrangement to recognise their contributions for strengthening economy and enriching growth story, said speakers at the webinar Circular economy,Migration, COVID-19 and beyond.The Webinar was organised coinciding celebration of International Migrants Day by city based organisations Focus Odisha Foundation Adhikar and National level migrants Forum Migration Watch India. The programme was conducted both in physical and virtual platform simultaneously.While making his Inaugural address Cultural Anthropologist and Professor in University of California, Santa Cruz, California in USA Dr Arnapurna Panda highlighted the need for concrete plan of action and responding fundamental issues interwoven in rural areas like agrarian crisis, forest based livelihoods and exploring coastal resources etc. She expressed concern over laxity in implementation of government schemes.

Professor Gagan Bihari Sahoo of South Gujarat University, Surat underlined the need for setting up Institutional Structure to address the emerging crisis as it exploded through Corona Pandemic.Senior Fellow at leading New Delhi based thinktank Observor Research Foundation Dr Niranjan Sahoo spoke at length to ensure robust legal framework and Skill Mapping of Migrant workers to respond the crisis as Circular economy is paving way for Circular Migration.

UNDP state office head Abha Mishra stressed the need for addressing concerns of both distress and regular Migrants as both firm the part of large informal labour force.

Prominent among others who addressed the virtual event were former Joint Labour Commissioner of Government of Karnatak Vasantha Kumar Hitanangi, Retired Chief Labour Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Rath, Executive Director of Chennai based Foundation for Sustainable Development and Labournet Dr K. Krishnan, Associate Director of Action Aid India Ms Sarika Sharma, Coordinator of New Delhi based National Coalition of Dalit Human Rights Ms Lee Macqueen, Kolkata based Social Activist Ashoka Nayak and score of others.

The meeting was Chaired by President of Adhikar MD N Amin and Key note presentation were made by Director of Migration Watch India Sudarshan Chhotoray.

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Make Institutional Mechanism to Respond Migration Crisis! - Odisha Diary