Women’s Land Rights Task Force Established

Liberia’s Land Commission, three and a half years into its fiveyear mandate, is working steadily towards finalizing a general land policy for the country. Among the many challenges confronting the Land Commission are a customary landscape and a governance framework that provide uneven protections for women. The existing framework is plagued by serious gaps and inconsistencies that frustrate the administrative and equity aims of the current laws. The Commission has expressed interest in effectively engaging on these women’s property rights issues, and needs help in creating a strategy for doing so. It also has not yet adjusted its policy development process to embrace recommendations from an earlier women’s land rights study performed under USAID’s Land Policy and Institutional Support Project (LPIS). In order to assist the Land Commission in laying the groundwork for an equitable and effective governance framework for land, the Land Commission and LPIS have established a Women’s Land Rights Task Force to engage on the issue of women’s property rights, and to help to inform the Land Commission’s efforts.

Last week, LPIS staff members from Landesa (Tetra Tech’s gender consultant on LPIS) facilitated a 2-day inception workshop in Monrovia to launch this Women’s Land Rights Task Force. The workshop was an important first step in creating and empowering a group of stakeholders to provide significant and detailed input on women’s land rights to the ongoing policymaking and future legal drafting processes. Task Force members include representatives from government (Ministry of Gender, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Lands, Mines, and Energy, Forestry Development Authority, National Land Commission, and others) and civil society (Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia, Green Advocates, and Women Journalists of Liberia, for example). As gauged by both internal and external measures, the inception workshop was great success, and provided the needed clarity and institutionalization of the Task Force to serve as a solid foundation for the large task ahead.

At the workshop, members were briefed on the context for their engagement in the land policy reform process, were provided an overview of some of the most pressing issues for women’s property rights, and discussed best practices for task force inception and formation. Members created a governing charter and a work plan, which include tasks that would send task force members to regional consultations on the draft land policy, generate a formal summary of women-related technical recommendations for the Land Commission, and, importantly, establish a “Land Desk” within the Ministry of Gender. The Land Desk would serve as a technical resource for both the ministry and the Task Force, contributing to the detailed legal and regulatory development process that will follow adoption of the broader land policy. By institutionalizing the Land Desk within the Ministry of Gender, important buy-in is obtained, and the impact of the Task Force will be sustained over the longerterm. This will permit the Task Force to not only inform the policy process, but also to help shape the legislative and administrative reforms that are to follow.

It is through focused attention to the nuanced details surrounding women’s land rights that they can effectively be addressed by the forthcoming legal regime. All twenty-one of the highly-energized Task Force members are committed to women’s land rights and to working to provide input and support throughout the policy-making, legal reform, and implementation process. Towards this end, the Task Force established sub-committees to work through the most pressing issues, and to facilitate effective engagement with the Land Commission and other key stakeholders. Initial committees include a Technical Working Group to lead the drafting of legal and policy recommendations; an Introductory Committee to forge a working relationship with the Land Commission; a Land Desk Coordinating Committee that will coordinate the recruitment and hiring of the Land Desk; and a committee to coordinate Task Force member delegates to the Land Commission’s regional consultations. Through the creation of these committees, institutional protocols, and an ambitious work plan, the Inception Workshop provided a strong first step to ensuring that the Task Force can provide well-informed input in a timely, productive, and cost-effective way.

The technical issues surrounding women’s property rights in Liberia are many, and there are no quick solutions for the problems that they pose. Sustaining support will be critical to the Task Force’s survival and impact. Having successfully launched this exciting and important body, realizing the Task Force’s potential for supporting the equity and efficiency aims of the Land Commission will require modest but sustained support. Task Force members are energized and eager to play their potentially important role in the Land Commission’s participatory process: the strong momentum generated through the inception activities must be sustained. Landesa is already in the process of seeking private foundation funding for ongoing support of the Task Force, and the resulting public-private partnership to support this critical work is realistic and likely.

This report presents a snapshot of the Women’s Land Rights Task Force, which is supported by the Liberia Land Policy and Institutional Support (LPIS) project. The Women’s Land Rights Task Force was established in order to assist the Land Commission in laying the groundwork for an equitable and effective governance framework for land.

Customary Tenure Studies Influence Land Policy in Liberia

The Land Policy and Institutional Support (LPIS) Project, supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), conducted field research on land and natural resource tenure in 11 administrative clan units in Liberia, including Ding, Dobli, Gbanshay, Little Kola, Mana, Motor Road, Saykleken, Tengia, Upper Workor, Ylan, and the community of Nitrian. The final report presented an analysis of critical implications of the findings of the study and provided recommendations for addressing sources of tenure insecurity faced by rural communities in Liberia. The research was carried out under the auspices of the Liberian Land Commission and was undertaken with the primary purpose of improving the understanding of customary tenure in rural Liberia. The information and analyses were intended to enable the Land Commission to develop sound law and policy that will strengthen the land tenure security of rural communities in Liberia.

LPIS drew from the research carried out in 11 clans to provide suggestions for actions the Government of Liberia can take to strengthen the tenure security of rural communities who rely primarily on custom to secure their rights to land and natural resources. These were structured around three principal objectives:

1) To provide legal recognition of customary land tenure and immediately protect rural communities from further challenges to their customary claims;

2) To develop an inclusive process for adjudicating and recording community-based tenure claims in a manner that reflects local norms and values and provides equitable access to land for rural populations; and,

3) To reform local land and natural governance structures so that they command social legitimacy and can be held accountable by their constituencies.

The Land Commission has already incorporated these recommendations in drafting a land rights policy that recognizes customary tenure and stipulates that the tenure category has the same rights as private tenure and should be protected accordingly.

This report presents a snapshot of field research on land and natural resource tenure in 11 administrative clan units in Liberia. The research was conducted under the Liberia Land Policy and Institutional Support (LPIS) project.

Reform within Liberia’s Center for National Documents and Records Agency

Liberia’s Center for National Document and Records Agency (CNDRA) has undergone ambitious reform over the last year, highlighted by the installation of OpenTitle. The USAID-funded Liberia Land Policy and Institutional Support (LPIS) Project initiated assistance at CNDRA by conducting a thorough baseline study of existing processes within the Agency, followed by developing numerous recommendations for modernizing the institution. A key recommendation was the need for a secure, electronic deed registry software solution.

In late 2011, OpenTitle, a Thomson Reuters software product, was installed for the management of the deed registry and, with additional support from the World Bank, a Digital Scanning Laboratory established. Twelve (12) CNDRA staff members were trained in document management, scanning, indexing and overall usage of OpenTitle. Director-General Bloh Sayeh, the head of CNDRA, commented how exciting it was to have a system that will for the first time digitize new deeds. “We have been digitizing old records, but now it will be concurrent with newly registered properties straight into the computer database.”

Such a software-driven deed registry is beneficial to CNDRA for numerous reasons. It provides an electronic backup for records, limiting wear and tear on historical handwritten paper records. Based on predefined workflows, it also eliminates the opportunity for manipulation of paper records. The deed registry is also now electronically searchable. OpenTitle allow deeds to be spatially tied to their geographic location and properties delineated, viewable from online maps, which allows CNDRA to quickly identify who has what rights to land and where those lands are located.

Since early 2012 when fully established, the Scanning Laboratory has digitized and indexed close to 6,000 deeds, representing almost 15,000 individual pages. The Digital Scanning Lab is only expanding, as it is anticipated that additional scanning stations will be added, and more staff trained. With an estimated four million deeds that still need to be scanned, much work remains to be done for the CNDRA.

This report presents a snapshot of recent reforms at Liberia’s Center for National Document and Records Agency (CNDRA), including the installation of OpenTitle. These reforms were assisted by the Liberia Land Policy and Institutional Support (LPIS) project.

Liberia Land Commission Drafts Land Rights Policy

The Land Commission has for the first time in Liberian history developed a policy that guarantees land rights to all Liberians. The Land Commission’s work in this endeavor has been supported by its development partners including support from the USAID and Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) funded Land Policy and Institutional Support (LPIS) Project.

The draft policy paper is a result of lengthy deliberations of a Real Property Task Force within the Land Commission including participation of related government institutions, NGO’s and civil society. The draft paper has been validated by the President and Cabinet and will now be taken to the public through a country-wide consultation exercise.

Government and local authorities have embraced the commencement of a robust outreach and education campaign which sets the pace for a series of public consultations throughout the fifteen counties, to be culminated in a national validation conference. The Land Commission believes that these consultations will provide the citizens, particularly rural populations, the opportunity to make the necessary inputs, indicating “most policies formulated in the past were never taken to our people for comments or observations.”

Two press conferences were held at the Ministry of Information and the Land Commission that triggered the interest of the Liberian media to report on more developments from the Land Commission. The eagerness of the 100+ journalists representing all of the media houses in Liberia who converged at the press conferences to question the Land Commission’s Chairman and his fellow Commissioners demonstrated just how important land issues are to every Liberian.

At the press conference the Chairman of the Land Commission proclaimed that no set land policy currently exists in Liberia. This statement quickly gave rise to public debates on radio stations as the public expressed their enthusiasm to make the necessary inputs to ensure that the Land Commission’s draft Land Rights Policy statement is validated.

This report presents a snapshot of the draft policy developed by Liberia’s Land Commission. The Land Commission has for the first time in Liberian history developed a policy that guarantees land rights to all Liberians. The Liberia Land Policy and Institutional Support (LPIS) project supported the Land Commission in the development of this policy.

Liberia Customer Service Center Opens

On September 17, 2012 the Center for National Document and Records Agency (CNDRA) opened its Customer Service Center in the Monrovia headquarters. The key address and formal ribbon cutting was performed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Augustine Kpehe Ngafua. The ceremony was well attended followed by a tour of the Customer Service Center and scanning facilities.

The USAID funded Liberia Land Policy and Institutional Support (LPIS) Project supported CNDRA in the physical reconstruction of the center as well as the provision of hardware and software to scan and register land deeds. LPIS trained CNDRA staff in the use of the computer software that will digitize all new land deeds registered in the Monrovia headquarters. The Customer Service Center will allow CNDRA staff to quickly scan land deeds and accompanying maps and return the original documents to the landowners. This will be the first time that both deed documents and parcel maps are being recorded which will ease all future title searches and aid in land dispute resolution. In the two months following the opening of the Customer Service Center, more than 500 deeds and other instruments were scanned and registered, compared with 806 deeds registered in all of 2011.

The Ministry of Finance will have an office inside CNDRA thus allowing people to pay the requisite fees in the same facility as opposed to having to travel downtown to obtain a ‘flag receipt’. Fees for all services are posted outside the main entrance. A second poster informs the public of the necessary documents required for registration and the steps to be followed Thus the public knows what is expected of them and what fees are expected to be paid thereby eliminating a constant source of nationwide complaint: that of having to pay ‘additional fees’ for government services.

The Customer Service Center is networked to the scanning lab thus allowing data to be logged in quickly. Added to this, the project procured customer tracking software which can be used to track each stage of a transaction thus allowing the center to monitor the time it takes to do each transaction and areas where improvements could be made. A fast internet connection has been installed which will be improved early next year when CNDRA is connected to the country’s fiber optic network.

This report presents a snapshot of the new Customer Service Center at Liberia’s Center for National Document and Records Agency (CNDRA). The Liberia Land Policy and Institutional Support (LPIS) project supported the reconstruction of the Customer Service Center and provided hardware and software to scan and register land deeds.

On May 11, 2012, members of the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS) unanimously endorsed the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests. The occasion signaled an unprecedented recognition by governments and civil society around the world of the importance of improving land and other resource governance systems as a strategy for improving food security and sustainable development.

In Tajikistan, as in many developing countries, a range of cultural, social, and political factors combined with a lack of awareness regarding legal issues prevent women from enjoying their rights to land and property, often subjecting them to unjust and sometimes fraudulent practices.

Ms. Fayzinisso Ashurova and her husband purchased a house near Khujand in 1998. The seller, Mr. Kubilov, took Fayzinisso’s money and promised to finalize the necessary paperwork in a few days time. However, Kubilov unexpectedly moved to Uzbekistan and never provided Fayzinisso with the proper title to the house.

Fayzinisso tried to find the seller for years, but to no avail. Having learned that Fayzinisso was widowed in 2008, Kubilov, still in Uzbekistan, sought to take advantage of the situation. Kubilov gave power of attorney to his friend, who in turn drafted a purchase agreement granting the title of Fayziniso’s house to Parvina, the friend’s daughter. Parvina then immediately evicted Fayzinisso and her five children.

“I did not know where to turn for help” said Fayzinisso. Her son suggested that she contact the USAID Land Reform Project in Khujand having heard that the project provides legal services to farmers and rural citizens. “I had nothing to lose, so I prayed and went to the office” said Fayzinisso.

Legal Aid Director Ms. Nodira Sidykova interviewed Fayzinisso and reviewed all her documents. After a thorough study of the documents and the relevant legislation and international conventions, Nodira took the case all the way to the Supreme Court of Tajikistan on Fayzinisso’s behalf. Court records reveal that the documents granting title to Pariva were void, based upon fraud and collusion. On June 18, 2010 the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Fayzinisso and returned the house to her and her children. Fayzinisso exclaimed “I can’t thank Nodira and USAID enough!”

The USAID Land Reform Project is one of the many assistance projects the American people, through USAID, have provided in support of the people of Tajikistan. Since 1992, the American people have provided approximately $900 million in programs that support Tajikistan’s democratic institutions, health care, education and economic growth.

USAID’s Land Reform Project in Tajikistan helps return a home to its legal owner.

Leading Southern Sudan policymakers, traditional leaders, legislators, and civil society representatives agreed on priorities for Southern Sudan’s land policy during a workshop convened in Juba by the USAID-funded Sudan Property Rights Program (SPRP) and the Southern Sudan Land Commission (SSLC), its Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) partner.

USAID and MCC-supported programs to promote strengthened property rights, development of land markets, and access to credit for small and large land holders will have significant impact on the sustainability of development investments. The connection between food security and property rights is particularly strong, and will continue to be a focus of USAID and MCC.