Resource information
Violent conflicts typically cause significant changes to land tenure and its administration. A widespread conflict
lasting for a number of years may result in successive waves of displacement of people. People may lose their land because they have been forcibly evicted, or they may abandon their land because of fear of violence. Those displaced are forced to seek land to settle, either within the country as Internally Displaced Persons, or externally as refugees. People living in safer areas may have lost access to their land with the
arrival of those who are displaced. At the end of a conflict, many people return home only to find that others occupy their property. In some cases such occupants may not have a valid claim. In many other cases
the waves of displacement result in several people having legitimate claims to the same parcel of land. Many people will not be able to return to their original home areas and will have to settle elsewhere. Providing secure access to land is particularly complex in situations following violent conflicts.
