Abstract
Civil war and violence often force large numbers of people to leave their lands. Multiple waves of displacement and (partial) return generate complex overlapping claims that are not easily solved. As people return to their regions of origin—sometimes after decades—they tend to find their land occupied by other settlers, some of whom hold legal entitlements. In the places of arrival, displaced people affect other people’s access as they seek to turn their temporary entitlements into more definite claims. The overlapping claims related to displacement pose serious dilemmas to land governance, which existing land laws and land governance institutions are not well-equipped to deal with. This paper outlines the main challenges for land governance as a first step to move the debate forward. The paper summarises the key challenges around three tensions: first, between short term conflict resolution and structural solutions; second, between state and customary/community-based governance; and finally, between principles (such as the right to return or restitution) and acknowledgement of the new situation.
Highlights
Civil war and violence often force large numbers of people to leave their lands
We argue that displacement leads to competing claims on land that pose serious dilemmas, which existing land laws and land governance institutions are generally not well-equipped to deal with
We hope that the discussion offered here can help to better understand the problems, and to chart ways forward in responsible and effective land governance in settings affected by displacement and return
Summary
The latest figures of UNHCR (the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) talk of 68.5 million forcibly displaced people worldwide, of which 40 million are internally displaced and the remainder are refugees [1] Such war-related displacement is a matter of humanitarian concern and, as we will argue, a land governance issue. Issues related to displacement and return featured in both research projects as complex and challenging to local populations as well as state agents and intervening agencies. Both projects included knowledge sharing workshops with local and international stakeholders and the collaborative formulation of policy recommendations. When we use the term land governance in this paper it is to talk about the ambitions, practices, interventions, and outcomes in the regulation of land access and land claims, of both governmental and non-governmental bodies, at a local, national, or international level
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