Arab Decision

The Land Center was established to defend the cause of farmers and the Egyptian rural
area from the point of view of human rights, since the founders of the Center had discovered that the field of non governmental work in Egypt had not yet any organization that works in this domain. Among the causes and real needs that furthered the establishment of this Center are:
•Dealing with the imbalance in the concern for farmers’ rights and the agricultural cause in Egypt, as well as rectifying the course of work under the new circumstances related to the liberalization of land market and prices, together with studying the impact and the results of these policies on the life of farmers and the agricultural economy.
•The lack of a legislative body that regulates the affairs of workers in the field of agriculture, thus exposing them to many almost daily violations, whether on the level of their economic and social rights or on the level of civil and political rights.
•The widening of the gap between the urban and the rural area in Egypt, especially on the level of services, which makes a wide range of country inhabitants more vulnerable to double the rate of violations because of the deterioration of social and economic circumstances.
•The aggravation of the problem of child labor in the rural areas in the field of agriculture as well as in other fields, in addition to an increase in the rate of illiteracy and absenteeism from schools among those children.
•The violations that the rural woman is subject to within her family or work, or as a result of the general social situation.
The fields of work of the Center:
•Defending farmers and agricultural workers because of the deteriorating situation of temporary and permanent agricultural labor, resulting from the absence of legal organization, especially in relation to work contracts, vacations, and lists that draw up their rights and duties.
•Supporting and encouraging the role of syndicates, cooperatives, associations, and farmers’ leagues.
•Confronting the phenomenon of child labor with its causes, effects, and forms from the perspective of children rights.
•Backing the rural women, especially those who work in the farming fields, to confront the violations that they are exposed to because of their gender and social situations.
•Defending agricultural environment and that of the rural society against the dangers of pollution, in addition to educating farmers about pollution issues.
•Contributing to the improvement of the economic situation in the Egyptian rural area.
•Assessing the violations of human rights that take place within the Egyptian village, especially those related to economic and social rights.
•Improving the knowledge of citizens by promoting human rights culture, supporting team work, coordinating civil rights institutions and confirming their dependence, and reinforcing democratic values and human rights.
• Contributing to the formation of the economic agricultural reform program that guarantees the rights of farmers and entrust them with the cultivation of their own land.
•Revealing the visions and needs of the poor classes in Egypt, to ensure their participation in decision making and the formation of programs that are being applied to them.
The mechanisms of work of the Center:
•Giving legal aid to farmers in cases related to their economic, social, civil, or political rights.
•Issuing reports, surveys, and data that reveal the violations endured by farmers in the Egyptian rural area in general.
•Organizing training courses and issuing documents that increase the awareness of Egyptian rural citizens of the rights related to their cases.
•Building a network of volunteers and activists to promote non governmental and voluntary work in the field of human rights.
•Organizing seminars and workshops to discuss issues related to the political, social, cultural, and ecological circumstances in the Egyptian rural area.
•Working to establish close relationships with local and international institutions interested in the field of development and human rights in order to contribute to the achievement of our goals.