Program Support To Land Governance For Peace, Stability And Reconstruction In Dr Congo Post Conflict And Cplup Program

Land disputes are fuelling security concerns, which have a huge impact on social cohesion and possibilities for reconciliation. At the same time, handling land disputes and promoting an effective land governance system enable economic recovery and help to tackle poverty, which removes one of the causes of ongoing conflict.

The linkages between land disputes, peace, stability and economic recovery require innovative approaches to deal with land issues in a holistic manner. Tackling land issues will contribute to reconciliation, facilitate return and reintegration for IDPs and refugees, reduce the risks of armed conflict, and enable a stable environment for livelihood improvement through secure land tenure and access to means of production. The recognition of the significance of land issues is gaining momentum in the agendas of both stabilization and development actors, and approaches based on lessons derived from previous interventions need to be adapted to the context.

3.1. Land disputes as a symptom of underlying causes and not as an end in themselves:

Many interventions in the land sector are focusing on dealing with land disputes through mediation. Mediating land disputes is a necessary step but it is not sufficient. There is a need to tackle the root causes of land disputes, knowing that conflict derives from various factors (legal, ethnic, political, institutions).

An innovative approach may need to perceive land issues through the lens of governance. The lack of state authority and the failure of the governance system as a whole have repercussions on land management and allocation. The former stabilization framework in Eastern DR Congo (ISSSS) only focused on superficial aspects while mitigating disputes and conflict over land. The approach did not, however, seriously consider land conflicts as a matter of governance.

3.2. Long-term approach to comprehensively deal with land issues

The long-term solution in DR Congo on land issues is to reconcile legitimacy and legality regarding land management and governance. The ongoing land reform process led by the national government becomes an avenue to capture changes in the land governance system and to reach durable solutions to the land conflicts. According to the strategic plan developed in 2013, the GoDRC is expected to come up with a new land policy from which should derive a new land legal framework adapted to the new context of the DRC, and this by end of 2016. But due to some delay on the land program implementation this timeline needs to be reviewed to be realistic. But in the meantime, some keys can be addressed as long as the government is committed (regulation of land customary rights, recognition of alternative disputes resolution mechanisms as part of the institutional framework.

3.3. Scaling up experiences from local to national:

Until now, most interventions dealing with land issues focus on the community level with weak linkages to provincial and national levels. Working with local communities should not exclude certain levels of cooperation with both the provincial and national levels. Evidence has shown that powerful actors with influence at the local level of the political crisis in DR Congo are not necessarily themselves present on the ground. Some are based in capitals of provinces while others are in Kinshasa occupying political functions; using proxy means to manage their interests at the local level.

Most of the interventions in the land sector are carried out by local NGOs, mainly focusing on land dispute resolution. The number of NGOs is very limited taking into account the number of land disputes emerging at the community level. Some community members do not have access to formal or well organized dispute resolution mechanisms in the areas covered by UN-Habitat program (For example, Irumu and Mombassa Territories in Ituri,, Haut Plateaux in South Kivu). Disequilibrium in the geographical coverage may lead to disharmony in the treatment of land issues, leading only to partial solutions to the problem.

At the same time, many NGOs lack the technical capacity to deal with land issues. Based of the inherent sensitivity of land issues, actors working at the community level require a minimum expertise to avoid doing harm when dealing with land disputes. Land interventions will always have the potential to aggravate conflicts. Building capacity for both community members and local organizations is a perquisite for a successful resolution of land disputes.

Despites progress made with regards to the perception of importance of land for peace and stability in the DR Congo through the various frameworks, interventions are still limited in terms of investment. In 2010, the UN Peace Building Funds allocated 900 000 USD to only one land program amidst large demand on land disputes resolution at the community level. The funding covered only two territories in North Kivu (Masisi and Rutshuru). There is a dare need to scale up interventions and to sustain investments on the sector to better address the issue.

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Country:
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the

Region: Africa

Donors: Department for International Development, DEPT FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT DFID/ UNITED KINGDOM

Theme:

Project Timeline

End Date: 31st December 2020

Start Date: 1st October 2014

Budget Utilisation

Budget: $19,349,013

Expenditure: $18,621,763

Program Support To Land Governance For Peace, Stability And Reconstruction In Dr Congo Post Conflict And Cplup Program

Outputs List