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On December 15th, USAID and the Afghanistan Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MOWA) launched a nationwide public information and awareness campaign about Afghan women’s rights to inherit and own land and property. The campaign is part of USAID’s Land Reform in Afghanistan (LARA) which works with the Government of Afghanistan to build the local capacity necessary to design and implement transparent, effective land tenure reform.

Afghanistan has a complex, overlapping and often conflicting system of land and property rights, which includes informal systems, civil law, sharia law, and state laws. The LARA project works to clarify and strengthen property rights while improving public information and awareness so that Afghans – especially vulnerable populations, such as women and minorities – can better exercise those rights.

According to USAID Afghanistan Director Dr. S. Ken Yamashita:

“The campaign we are launching today is of critical importance to the citizens of Afghanistan, men and women. Many Afghan citizens still struggle to secure their rights to land and property.”

Oxfam is running a series of blogs on the Future of Agriculture. Day 6’s discussion includes a post by Madiodio Niasse, Secretariat Director of the ILC. Mr. Niasse focuses on the importance of securing women’s rights to land tenure as a strategy to improve agricultural productivity and food security. He writes: “FAO argues that closing the gender gap in agriculture would increase average crop yields some 20–30 per cent on women’s lands, equivalent to a 2.5-4 per cent increase in domestic food production, and a 10–20 per cent decrease in the number of undernourished people worldwide (100–150 million out of 950 million people). Evidence from around the world shows that when women have more influence over economic decisions (as is the case when they have secure land rights), their families allocate more of their incomes to food, health, education, children’s clothing, and children’s nutrition.” More than this though, providing more secure land rights would help promote the voice and participation of women – a key goal of improved governance: “Addressing the gender disparities in land access would also help improve rural women’s social inclusion and identity. Having a land title often means having a physical address and thus access to birth certificates, identity cards, and voting documents, all of which are indispensable if women are to exercise their citizens’ rights and take part in debates on issues of common interest.” Mr. Niasse makes the case that protecting these rights is “smart and it’s right.” USAID works to promote women’s land and resource rights around the world, helping build economically and socially communities.

In early December 2012, the Government of the Central African Republic officially launched a land tenure reform process. This process commenced with a multi-stakeholder workshop where two inter-ministerial committees were launched by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister indicated the government’s intent to lead a public consultation process that results in the formulation of a consolidated vision for land governance, taking into consideration international principals such as the Voluntary Guidelines for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests.

USAID’s PRADD project assisted with the launch of the land tenure reform workshop and will sit on the two inter-ministerial committees formed. Lessons learned from the project’s experience in documenting and recording customary property rights within artisanal diamond mining areas will be critical in informing aspects of the reform process. Media coverage of the land tenure reform launch workshop in Bangui, was broad.

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.