Making Equal Rights RealTranslating Formal Land Rights into Reality
Renee Giovarelli and Elisa Scalise
Overview
Why Land Rights to Land Who is vulnerable to unequal land rights What is required to ensure secure land
rights for all
Why Land?
Economic Access Agricultural production Income from rental or sale Collateral
Social Access Household decision-making Community governance (status)
Formal Legal Rights to Land Right to occupy, use, and
receive benefit from land Public takings with notice
and compensation Regularize rights of
informal occupants Eliminate discrimination
against socially disadvantaged groups
Access to credit using land as security
Customary Rights to Land
Critically important to understand interplay between customary rights and formal legal rights
Land rights have to be both legally and socially enforceable
Customary rights vary from country to country and within countries or regions of countries
Who is Vulnerable to Inequality? Discriminated against within
customary or formal land tenure regimes (widows and orphans) and have difficulty accessing dispute resolution systems
Rely on common property regimes (indigenous populations, pastoralist groups) when reforms individualize ownership and/or challenge local land institutions
Forcibly dislocated from places of origin (natural disasters or violent conflict)
How to effectuate legal rightsto land?
Requires a continuum of action:(1) Legal Reform(2) Legal awareness(3) Legal information(4) Legal capacity
(1) Legal Reform
Legislation must explicitly recognize equal rights
Regulations matter: What rights will be
recognized Documents required
(proof of marriage? Identification cards?)
Who is responsible for non-discriminatory implementation (Bolivia)
(2) Legal Awareness
General and broad knowledge of rights and obligations Communication
campaigns Political advocacy Social movements
Materials customized for geographic zone, local language, and cultural norms
(3) Legal Information
Beyond awareness: ongoing communication between provider and receiver of information Information kiosks Land rights
information centers Legal promoters
(Kyrgyzstan)
Lao PDR
Positive legal and cultural conditions for recognizing women’s rights Only men participated in
community information meetings
Language of form (household head)
Cultural practice of deferring to men in public situations
Prior documentation mostly handled by men Photo by Sue Nichols
Intervention
Lao Women’s Union took an active role Information
dissemination Education about rights
and responsibilities of land rights
Meetings with village women only (timing important)
Photo by Sue Nichols
(4) Legal Capacity
Information plus access to formal and informal institutions Community
mobilization (Uganda) Direct legal assistance Paralegals (Rwanda)
Global Lessons Vulnerable Groups
must participate in all stages of effort
Incentives for broad stakeholder support and involvement
Gain legitimacy via support from local leaders
Global Lessons, cont.
Customary law matters Work with traditional
dispute resolution actors
Regulations Matter Pilot models which can
be replicated
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