This study was requested by the Ministry for Coordination of Environmental Affairs (MICOA), through the National Directorate of Territorial Planning (DINAPOT) in conjunction with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT); for this purpose, the team of the Cruzeiro do Sul – Research Institute for Development counted with the participation of a group of students of the Master degree course in agricultural development at the Faculty of Agronomy and Forestry Engineering (FAEF) of the Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM).

Contains sections on the effects on women of Rwanda’s civil war, the legal system, the gap between customary law and land legislation, research findings about Rwandan women’s rights, a number of dispute case studies, including methods of dispute settlement. Argues that a gap exists between customary and modern legal systems, creating both land access opportunities and constraints for women. Demonstrates the creativity with which women are bridging that gap in a state of legal uncertainty.

A series of submissions by the Zambia Land Alliance on these topics: land as a right; women’s rights to land; vestment and administration of land; conversion of customary land to leasehold tenure; land and the environment; land information; mode of adoption of the Constitution.

Land distribution and access to land are key issues in Zimbabwe. In recent years, nearly all of the country's commercial farm land has been re-designated, leaving most farm workers dislocated from their farm villages. The government of Zimbabwe argues that the land reform programme is needed to achieve historical and social justice. However, this article concludes that the government is engaged in serious human rights violations and is appropriating land to distribute to its followers for political not social justice ends.

Land in Uganda is the core factor of production and one of the three basic resources, next to people and time. Women’s struggle for gender balance with particular regard to land is a direct result of the fact that their central role in economic development has not been recognised; tradition and customs (such as polygamy, bride wealth and succession) have deprived them of actual ownership of land.

Seeks to move the debate and stimulate discussion of issues relevant to women’s land rights and social security beyond the unfulfilled demands for gender responsive land policies and land legal framework. Covers land tenure and ownership, provisions in Trust Land, for inheritance, for succession and matrimonial policy, the impact of HIV/AIDS on women’s land rights, land redistribution and resettlement schemes, land markets, institutional arrangements, the envisaged legislative framework.

The purpose of this Issues Paper is to move the debate and stimulate discussion of issues relevant to women’s land rights and social security beyond the unfulfilled demands for gender responsive land policies and land legal framework. It is based on lessons learned from various research findings, Kenya Land Alliance experience and discussions with colleagues with whom we work with in various capacities on land policy and law reforms in Kenya and others parts of Africa.

This paper argues that widows and female children in Tanzania have traditionally been denied the right to inherit property from their husbands, even when the property was acquired during the marriage. This is further complicated by a three-part legal system consisting of customary law (law grounded in customs or traditions), Islamic law, and statutory law (law set down by a legislature). As a result, Tanzanian women and their children are often left homeless upon the death of their husbands.

Este relatório considera um dos aspectos práticos mais importantes da participação local na Lei de Terras e outra legislação sobre recursos naturais: a consulta comunitária, através da qual os estranhos – o Estado, novos investidores, empresas madeireiras, grupos de hotéis – obtêm acesso à terra e recursos locais com a aprovação da população local.

Contains introduction; determinants of property rights and consequences of loss (including country examples from Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia); policy context: influencing strategies to promote property and housing rights; finding what works: mapping good practice in local and national activities (including legislative frameworks, judicial capacity and litigation, public awareness); lessons and suggested next steps; conclusion; appendices; references.

Women's access to land is a fundamental factor in food security. Yet women all over the world suffer under discriminatory property and inheritance laws and customary practices which restrict their rights over the land on which they live and work. Articles 15 and 16 of CEDAW state the rights of women to property and inheritance. This report is a tool to help non-governmental organisations and multilateral agencies in advocacy and policy dialogue using CEDAW and the Optional Protocol (which allows individuals and groups to make complaints directly to the CEDAW committee).

A Constituição de Moçambique (1990) refere especialmente a participação das comunidades nos diferentes níveis de administração territorial (Constituição, 1990 artigo 116: “Nos diversos escalões territoriais, os órgãos locais do Estado asseguram a participação e decisão dos cidadãos em material de interesse da respectiva comunidade.” A visão sobre a participação comunitária elaborou-se mais na Agenda 2025: “Moçambique é um pais onde, de forma regular, se pratica a consulta participativa e onde se fomentam iniciativas da organizações da sociedade civil na defesa e valorizaç