Author: Amrit Bhandari

On December 11th, CNN’s Fareed Zakaria featured an article on strengthening women’s land rights in Kenya. The article appears in the CNN Global Public Square blog and was written by Tim Hanstad, President of Landesa, a Seattle-based NGO and partner in several USAID Land Tenure projects. The article highlights USAID’s Kenya JUSTICE project, which works with local customary justice systems to improve women’s land rights.

As Hanstad points out, Kenya’s 2010 constitution strengthened statutory land rights for women, but legal action alone is often insufficient to firmly establish new rights. Increased awareness and greater community acceptance of those statutory rights is required to make them a reality for many women. To address this issue, the Kenya JUSTICE project works with communities to raise legal awareness and train local leaders on aspects of the new constitution. The project has also been effective at elevating women to positions of authority within key customary decision-making bodies, such as groups of tribal elders. As elected elders, women are able to govern and exert cultural influence in order to enshrine their new land rights in reality, as well as in law. For more information on the Kenya JUSTICE project see here.

Last week’s 2012 Plenary Meeting of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme – which attempts to prevent the trafficking of conflict diamonds – featured two noteworthy achievements for USAID’s ongoing efforts to strengthen land tenure and property rights and prevent conflict. The first achievement was a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between USAID and the European Union to support the implementation of the Kimberley Process. Under this MoU, USAID and the EU will collaborate on the Property Rights and Artisanal Diamond Development (PRADD) program. The PRADD program, which currently operates in the Central African Republic, works to clarify and strengthen the property rights of artisanal miners, while increasing the benefits to mining communities through environmental rehabilitation, enhanced diamond traceability, and improved land and mining laws. USAID and the EU will co-fund the expansion of the PRADD program into Cote D’Ivoire.

This is the first time USAID and the EU have partnered on artisanal mining issues. This type of partnership allows donors to coordinate efforts and leverage resources for maximum impact, further opening the door for greater international cooperation in combating conflict diamonds and addressing other land tenure issues.

The second achievement was the adoption of the Washington Declaration, which formally incorporates development objectives into Kimberley Process implementation. The Washington Declaration – which was developed by the KP Working Group on Artisanal and Alluvial Production, with support from the U.S. Government, the Diamond Development Initiative, and others – contains several policy goals formulated under the PRADD program. The PRADD program has been instrumental in demonstrating the importance of economic development in bringing rough diamonds into legitimate chains of custody.

Statement by the spokesperson of EU High Representative Catherine Ashton on the outcome of the Plenary meeting of the Kimberley Process in Washington
Issued on November 30, 2012 by the EU.

Recent stories in the Globe and Mail, the Telegraph, BBC and the International Herald Tribune all highlight the significant tensions in Burma between various stakeholders over land, mineral, and other resource rights as the country undergoes significant political reforms. Though the reported details vary, communities in the Sagaing region are resisting attempts by the government to relocate them to allow expansion of mining operations by Wanbao Mining, a Chinese company. An estimated 7,800 acres of land were due to be expropriated for the expansion, requiring extensive forced evictions. According to the reports, the expansion would require the resettlement of approximately 26 villages.

The extensive reporting on the copper mine controversy, both in the international and Burmese press, as well as the on-going protests and advocacy by civil society organizations and citizens against the resettlement, reflect the sweeping positive political reforms taking place in Burma. A National Dialogue on Land Tenure and Land-use Rights recently convened in Rangoon, exemplifying the expanding political space for debate. Nonetheless, communities and advocacy groups claim that the government’s methods are heavy-handed.

According to the BBC, “Between 20 and 30 protestors, many of them Buddhist monks, were injured, some with severe burns after the camps were set alight” while The Globe and Mail opened its story with the headline, “Myanmar security forces assault protestors”. People in the affected villages also claim that the government used intimidation to coerce people to agree to terms that they did not understand. According to the BBC, one villager recounted the process of discussions with government representatives: “One of the farmers said he did not accept the deal – then they arrested him and they threatened us. We were all afraid, so we agreed to the deal, but they made us sign a contract we did not understand.”

The USAID Land Tenure and Property Rights Division will be undertaking an assessment in February, 2013 with the intent of helping the Government of Burma assess tenure and property rights challenges and identify potential opportunities for addressing them. As the Government of Burma expands its political and economic reforms, the use of more transparent, participatory, and equitable processes that recognize and respect citizen’s land and other property rights will be an essential step for reducing and mitigating conflicts and promoting economic growth.

On December 11-14, The United States Institute of Peace – in collaboration with USAID, the World Bank, and the International Organization for Migration – will host a Land, Property and Conflict training course. Tenure insecurity and disputes over land and property often play a major role in conflicts, both internally and intra-state. The international donor community recognizes the importance of addressing complex issues related to land tenure and property rights in order to mitigate conflict, promote stability, and foster peace and economic growth. The Land, Property and Conflict training course represents a collaborative effort of the international community to equip practitioners with the tools to analyze and address these critical and complex issues.

In Cote d’Ivoire, a UN-imposed embargo on the export of Ivoirian diamonds to other countries has been in place since 2005 due to concerns regarding the control of diamond-mining zones by former rebel groups as well as weak internal controls over the country’s diamond mining sector. Given these concerns and the role USAID’s Property Rights and Artisanal Diamond Development (PRADD) program has played in helping to improve countries with their Kimberley Process compliance, USAID commissioned an assessment of the land tenure and artisanal mining sector in Cote d’Ivoire in September 2012. Please see the report’s findings here.

Involving Local Farmers is Key to Success of Foreign Investment
Issued on November 13, 2012 by FAO.

According to a recent article from the IPS News Agency, women in Cameroon produce 80% of the country’s food needs yet own only 2% of the land. Though a 1974 Land Tenure Ordinance provides women with equal rights to property ownership, in reality customary tenure practices which discriminate against women sometimes trump national laws. In some cases, customary systems have provided women with secure rights to use land and resources however, recently women have experience greater difficulties protecting rights under these systems. Women’s property rights are particularly vulnerable after the death of a husband, as traditional tenure agreements often prohibit women from inheriting property.

“The inability of women to freely access and control productive resources places them in a weaker position in terms of agricultural productivity and economic growth, food security, family income and equal participation in governance,” said Fon Nsoh, coordinator of the Cameroon Movement for the Right to Food. Some local organizations, including Nsoh’s, are pushing the government of Cameroon to provide women with stronger property rights and communities with a greater voice in land negotiations, but the pace of change has been slow.

USAID’s JUSTICE project is attempting to address similar issues in Kenya. The project aims to strengthen women’s property rights by providing them with greater access to customary justice systems and raising communities’ legal awareness. Just last month, 14 women were elected as elders in the project area, meaning they are now part of the decision-making body for many disputes at the local level.