Securing land rights in post-conflict settings: experience from Eastern Democratic

Republic of Congo

Oumar Sylla,

Chief Technical Advisor, Land and Property Program in Eastern DR Congo

Remy Sietchiping

Deputy Chief Land, Tenure and Property Administration Section

UNHABITAT

WORLD BANK ANNUAL WORKSHOP ON LAND AND POVERTY

23rd to 26th of April 2012

washington

I. Key Findings • Mediation is a sound way for addressing long standing grievances.

• Mediation is able to address complex land disputes (ethnic, concessionaries, communitarian).

• Working with ‘champions’ and the importance of community empowerment.

• A way of protecting women’s right to land in traditional context.

• Paper is not the absolute means for securing land rights in post-conflict.

• Fostering land disputes resolution with livelihood activities.

• As a continued process, securing community land rights requires follow up mechanisms.

II. Overview of Key land tenure insecurity factors

• Claims resulting from protracted displacement (adverse possession, ethnic division).

• Conflict between statutory and customary land laws (land laws of 1973, prevalence of land customary tenure).

• Demographic pressure and mounting competition to access to land ( park and reserve, insecurity in various areas).

• Lack of efficiency of the land administration ( non respect of procedures of land allocation, non respect of principles of good governance).

• Unclear procedures for reallocating land concessions (advantages for elites and businessman/ mounting sharecropping practices).

• Involvement of military and army groups in land competition (land grabbing, ethnic manipulation, claims of land rights using forces).

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Population

locale

Rapatriés Déplacés Retournés Autres

38.99

8.05

45.45

7

0.51 Fig 1: # of disputes registered: 2009-11

Fig 2: Categories involved on land disputes

III. Why the formal land title system is not relevant in the post-conflict context?

• Title does not apply to disputed land (return areas, concessions).

• High cost for land titling in vulnerable context ( 1Ha> 800-1000 USD)

• Prevalence of customary practices (failure of program promoting formal titles).

• Disappearance of land records.

• Protracted displacements.

• Land titling may create disequilibrium and exclusion for a large majority (Practices by Humanitarians: securing one part and exposing another).

IV. How tenure insecurity should be addressed in Post-conflict settings?

Consider the political and institutional context

State failure

Gap between land administration and administrated

Absence of Judicial system at the community level

Erosion of traditional authorities

Frequent land disputes

2. Clarify land rights by addressing land disputes

• Set up land disputes resolution mechanisms.

• Build capacity in Alternative disputes resolution mechanisms for local institutions.

• Support to the Ituri Land Commission in dealing with land disputes.

Facts and figures on land disputes resolution

• Establish a typology of land disputes

• Develop a deep understanding of land tenure issues

• Involve community members in the process for solving their disputes

• Develop system of recording land mediation outcomes

# of Land disputes Resolved from October 2009- March 2012

Impact of mediation outcomes

3. From mediation to securing land rights through alternative mechanisms

• Participatory enumeration; Low key surveying tools.

• Community engagement (collective action social consensus)

• Security of tenure tool.

• Maps and sketch.

• Delimitation (using local resources, trees and stone).

• Delivering evidences of rights: Customary certificates/ Jetton.

Photo 1: using GPS for the circumvent of community land

Photo 2: Restitution of the GIS results with community

Before demarcation After demarcation

Collective Customary Certificate

Jetton delivered by the land administration

Plot allocation in Peri-urban settings-North

Kivu

Impact of the process

• Social cohesion and peace building;

• Promoting secondary rights of occupancy.

• Triggering economic development and self-resilience

Market place created through the process in Luhonga-Nord Kivu

V. Policy implications • Contribution to the process of harmonizing customary with statutory

laws (recognition of informal tenure; scope of collaboration between traditional authorities and land administration)

• Integrate alternative disputes resolution mechanisms into formal institutions (judiciary, land administration).

• Improve process of land reallocation to avoid land disputes (states concession, check and balance mechanisms involving communities).

VI. Way forwards

1. Promote the concept of integrated land tenure security with livelihood improvement component (UNHABITAT-UNDP-FAO).

1. Assessment of displaced land rights in areas of origin (IDP’s camp)

1. Advocacy and support to the provincial initiatives for revising land concessions to avoid overlapping claims

Land occupation contrasts in Eastern DR Congo Post-conflict

Tea Plantation in Katsiru Human concentration in Nyanzale

Pasture hill in Kitchanga