Land and conflict, and housing, land and property rights of displaced people
The region is extremely fragile, socially, and politically, with the vast majority of the countries having been affected by revolutions, major protests, civil wars, and protest-driven governmental changes in the last decade. Land and land-based natural resources (such as water, oil, extractives, etc.) are often the root causes or major contributing factors to conflicts, critical causes of countries relapsing into violence or bottlenecks to post-conflict recovery.
The enforcement and protection of housing, land and property (HLP) rights for vulnerable groups is an area of urgent attention, particularly in conflict-affected countries. HLP rights’ violations are very common among conflict affected and displaced people. The region hosts 21.2 million displaced people, including 8.9 million refugees[1] - of whom 7.4 million are from the region and 1.5 million from neighbouring countries, highlighting the role that Arab countries have in absorbing displacement.
Housing, land and property rights are necessary preconditions to physical safety and protection from extreme weather and other health hazards. They are an important enabler of other human rights – such as dignified life, education and employment – and are a foundation on which families can rebuild their life after conflicts, therefore a key component of resilience and reconstruction.
There can be no social reconciliation and sustainable peace without ensuring that people and communities can regain access to the land and houses from which they were forcibly evicted. Securing housing, land and property rights is an essential element for the renewal of the social contract between the institutions and the people, which is particularly crucial for sustaining peace and recovery in crisis-affected contexts and to allow people to rebuild their lives.
Addressing HLP issues is therefore the highest priority for recovery and reconstruction in countries ravaged by war and violence. The establishment of good land administration system with the use of conflict-sensitive approaches is crucial for deflating some of the most violent conflicts in the region that have land-related dimensions.
The approach:
The Arab Land Initiative’s partners, in close cooperation with UN-Habitat regional and country offices and the Global Land Tool Network, intervene on such issues through:
- Detailed studies and assessments of housing, land and property (HLP) issues
- Develop normative and operational HLP frameworks to align the efforts of HLP stakeholders
- Registration of HLP claims of displaced populations and returnees
- Restitution of HLP rights of displaced communities
- Develop stakeholders’ capacities to address HLP issues
- Raise awareness and promote women’s HLP rights
- Promote research and knowledge exchanges on land and conflict and HLP rights in national and international forums.
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