REINFORCING THE LAND RIGHTS OF SMALL FARMERS IN CONFLICT ZONES: The Case of North Kivu (DRC)

1. REINFORCING THE LAND RIGHTS OF SMALL FARMERS IN CONFLICT ZONES: The Case of North Kivu (DRC) YAOUNDE , SEPT 2010. AAP DRC. Presentation AAP, Yaounde Sept 2010.

2. The Context of North Kivu • Access to the land, the armed conflict factor; • Democratic and commercial pressure on the land; • Displacement of populations; • Expensive land title acquisition process; • Poor land governance; • Lax legal administration; • Weakness of state authority; • Absence of evidence of land rights in writing; • Post-signing period of the tripartite RDC-HCR-RWANDA agreements. Presentation AAP, Yaounde Sept 2010.

3. Types of land conflict • Sale and transfer of exhausted land; • Occupation of land blocks and fields due to absence; • Conflict between concessionaries and local populations, returning and former workers; • Cascading land sales with no legal right (cases of stellionate); • Conflict between stock and arable farmers; • Administration versus locals in the Virunga National Park; • Reopening question of right to traditional rent; • Conflict between warlords and displaced populations/returning individuals Presentation AAP, Yaounde Sept 2010.

4. Major causes of land conflict • Sale and transfer of exhausted land; • Occupation of land blocks and fields following long absences; • Absence of evidence in writing about rights as claimed; • Conflict between customary land rights and the law (EC established on customary land unaware of basic rights); • Authority of customary chiefs questioned; • Unaware of land law; Presentation AAP, Yaounde Sept 2010.

5. Resolution of land disputes through the peace consolidation process • Everybody aware of the positive role of the decisions made by the CFs; • Recourse to the MARCs and raising awareness; • Flexible, fast mechanisms; • Mechanisms accessible more cheaply (if not free) in a context of indescribable vulnerability; • Mechanisms adapted to the social context of the beneficiaries (tendency to make use of the ‘conference tree’); • Solutions fragile and difficult to sustain, even so. Presentation AAP, Yaounde Sept 2010.

6. AAP experience • Conflict prevention (Youth Peace Forum); • Conflict resolution (Core Issues of the Land Conflicts Resolution); • Upgrading skills; • Information sessions; • Discussion sessions; • Contribution to plaintiffs for legislative reform • Etc. Presentation AAP, Yaounde Sept 2010.

7. Map - AAP structures Presentation AAP, Yaounde Sept 2010.

8. Results on the ground: statistics Presentation AAP, Yaounde Sept 2010.

9. Challenges • Absence of sustainable guarantees for out-of-court commitments and/or mediation; • Reticence of individuals involved in the disputes; • Reticence of some customary chiefs regarding the role of the mediation structures and other MARCs; • No alternative to land access for at-risk groups; • Absence of a legal and institutional framework governing rights of restitution and compensation for land rights; • Suspicion about a possible refugee return plan and possible involvement in facilitating land occupation by illegal immigrants; • Re-establishment of communities on which the still delicate stabilisation process depends; • Etc. Presentation AAP, Yaounde Sept 2010.

10. Towards the protection of the land rights of small farmers • Presentation of the decisions arising from alternative conflict resolution methods before a notary with a view to greater legal protection; • Codification of customary principles; • Reform of so-called land law, alongside an agricultural code in the process of development; hence the harmonisation of the entire legal system affecting the land; • Lodging pleas; • The offer of counters for dealing with land issues, as in Madagascar; • Upgrading skills and a cleanup of the land administration system; • Establishing a title review commission covering property acquired during conflict periods; • Promoting decentralised land management; • Urging inter-ministry coordination mechanisms for a multi-sector approach to the land (institutional and legal); • Providing legal support mechanisms (pro deo) for at-risk peasants to protect their land rights Presentation AAP, Yaounde Sept 2010.

11. Actions to be initiated in a multi-player environment The land question activists align themselves within a common front pursuing a common cause: Land issue coordination. • Protective ministry: the provincial ministry in charge of Public Works, Infrastructure and Land Issues; • Membership: STAREC, Provincial Ministries, UN Agencies, INGOs, NNGOs, ICCN, CEPAP, finance providers; • Mission: • To urge that the action procedures regarding land be taken over by the provincial authorities; • Harmonising action on the ground (Who Does What Where?); • Fine-tuning strategies for resolving and preventing land disputes; • Lodging pleas and exchanging information on land issues; • Establishing a database on land disputes. Presentation AAP, Yaounde Sept 2010.

12. Questions and suggestions???? Thank you! Contact: aapdrc@yahoo.fr Presentation AAP, Yaounde Sept 2010.