Continued stability and future development in Timor-Leste are dependent on establishing the necessary legal and administrative mechanisms for providing access to land, land tenure security, as well as preventing and addressing land-related conflict. The survey interviewed representatives of 1,152 households between 3 and 8 of September 2016 in Ainaro, Ermera, and the urban area of Dili and was conducted by The Asia Foundation and the Van Vollenhoven Institute. The survey provides new and relevant evidence for policymakers to ground their decisions on, both with the current draft of Land Law Package, and/or other land-related legislation.
Information such as the very high number of people that currently live without tenure security, the difficulty of households in accessing land, the structural discrimination against women in accessing land were not new findings, but are now better quantified, giving policymakers more guidance about what problems need to be addressed and how. In addition, the survey provides new information on the possible effects of current draft land legislation and areas where the current draft laws can be modified. This policy brief outlines the key findings from the survey.
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Steven Lanting
The Asia Foundation improves lives, expands opportunities, and helps societies flourish across a dynamic and developing Asia. We work with innovative leaders and communities to build effective institutions and advance pathbreaking reforms. Together with our partners, we are committed to Asia’s continued development as a peaceful, just, and thriving region of the world.
The VVI seeks to develop and disseminate socio-legal knowledge and theory regarding the interaction between law, governance and society. More specifically, the Institute studies the emergence, functioning, and evolution of legal institutions.
The VVI combines a top-down with a bottom-up approach; it considers perspectives of both state agents, citizens and other non-state actors. And driven by normative concerns, the VVI relies on conceptual frameworks that relate to the rule of law, access to justice and legal pluralism.
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The Asia Foundation improves lives, expands opportunities, and helps societies flourish across a dynamic and developing Asia. We work with innovative leaders and communities to build effective institutions and advance pathbreaking reforms. Together with our partners, we are committed to Asia’s continued development as a peaceful, just, and thriving region of the world.