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