LandNet Rwanda Chapter congratulates Committee on Food Security endorsement of Voluntary Guidelines on Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests

On May 11, 2012, at the  38^th Session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) in Rome, Italy, members States endorsed the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security. As a network supporting land rights for the poor, LandNet Rwanda Chapter commends the endorsement of these Voluntary Guidelines as a remarkable advance towards people-centred land governance that is firmly anchored in a human rights framework.

The Voluntary Guidelines are meant to serve as the global reference for the governance of land, fisheries and forests. Through these guidelines, the CFS, hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), aims to promote “sustainable social and economic development that can help eradicate poverty and food insecurity, and encourages responsible investment.”

The Voluntary Guidelines now anchor the tenure of land, forests and fisheries in food security, the right to food, poverty eradication and sustainable development. Crucially, the Guidelines are largely consistent with other international treaties, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and make a reference to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Through a two-year consultation process, and inclusive negotiations, shortcomings of the Guidelines improved substantially, increasing the likelihood that they will serve as a useful model that can be implemented by governments. An important innovation in the United Nations system was the creation of the Civil Society Mechanism of the CFS, which gave civil society organisations a strong role alongside governments and other stakeholders in the formulation of the Guidelines.

The Guidelines support access to systems of justice and transparent information concerning tenure, while promoting women’s land rights and gender equality. Moreover, the rights of indigenous peoples are protected through recognition of their ancestral domains. Non-state actors, such as multinational corporations, are given clear responsibilities to respect human rights. Furthermore  the Voluntary Guidelines represent a first important step towards people-centred land governance. 

Click here to read the final draft of the Voluntary Guidelines on the CFS website.

Musanze unveils master plan - The New Times, 14.05.2012

A state-of-the-art master plan for Musanze town, one of the biggest in the country and a major resort centre, will be implemented over the next 15 years.

 The district authorities presented the master plan to the Ministers of Local Government and Infrastructure, James Musoni and Albert Nsengiyumva respectively, investors and a cross-section of leaders from the village to the district level.

The new master would incorporate a residential zone, areas reserved for economic activities, administration, greening zones, protected area among others.

Musoni said that a cooperative spirit in the population coupled with a mindset change geared towards development would enable the area to realise its goals. 

“The secret to development lies in the mindset (change). We have to define what we want to do and the means of achieving that plan… we have to find solutions to our own problems,”’ Musoni said.

The Urban Sanitation Master Plan will for the next 15 years facilitate the systematic development of sanitation in Musanze town in solid waste management, sewage systems, storm, and water management.

The District Vice Mayor, Jerome Mugenzi, cited outstanding challenges in the town as increasing population in urban areas, poor road network in different residential zones, and the expropriation of residents in the congested suburb of Tete à Gauche, which requires a lot of money.

“Musanze town offers different opportunities to neighbouring countries such as Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, a good climate, hospitality and plots to all at cheaper prices,” Mugenzi added.

The master plan will involve rehabilitation of the town’s roads, orderly construction of houses, attracting investors and an awareness campaign to promote the master plan among the local community.

According to Mugenzi, the implementation process will be conducted in phases with the residential houses divided into categories that include lower, medium, and high class.

Musoni advised the provincial and district authorities to mobilise investors, partners and the private sector to invest in the town.

Rwanda Initiative for Sustainable Development signs contract with Embassy of the Netherlands on “Civil Society Contribution to the Effectiveness of Rwanda Land Reform"

Rwanda Initiative for Sustainable Development (RISD) recently signed a contract with the Embassy of the Netherlands to implement a three year project called “Civil Society Contribution to the effectiveness of Rwanda Land Reform”.

The project will be implemented in 48 Sectors selected from 10 Districts representative of all Provinces in Rwanda. Through specific training, about 1920 local leaders at Sector level will benefit directly from this project while indirectly the project will reach out to a population of 2.810.308 million in the respective 10 Districts.

The intervention aims at contributing to the effectiveness of the Rwanda Land Reform implementation process towards poverty reduction and sustainable peace in the country. RISD will implement this project in partnership with LandNet Rwanda Chapter member CLADHO (Collectif des ligues et associations de défense des droits de l’homme) 

This project will be implemented through contributions of the Embassy of the Netherlands,the German Development Cooperation GIZ and the Dutch NGO ICCO.

Land disputes still dominate petitions to the Ombudsman - The New Times, 30.04.2012

Land wrangles dominate the cases received at the Office of the Ombudsman, according to a report from the government’s anti-graft watchdog.

Out of a total of 3,662 cases received between 2010 and 2011, 525 were related to land wrangles, followed by 421 administrative cases from both public and private institutions.

The rest, according to the report, are social disputes arising from different parts of the country.

The report further indicates that 80 per cent of the land disputes registered during this reporting year are currently before court.

The New Times has since established that there was a substantial increase in the number of land-related wrangles compared to the previous years, with only 212 cases reported in the reporting year 2009-2010. 

Describing the probable cause behind the increase, Sarafin Rumazimisi, the officer in charge of prevention and fighting injustice unit at the Ombudsman’s Office, said that since the inception of land registration process, many cases had erupted with different people laying claim to given parcels of land.

“When one registers a piece of land, others come out to claim that same land and this is because many people somewhat are waking up to the reality brought about by the ongoing reforms like land registration.” 

According to another source from the Ombudsman’s Office who sought anonymity, most of the land wrangles are attributable to negligence by several local authorities. He observed that some officials fail to solve land disputes with some already riddled in corruption. 

The disclosure somewhat corresponds with a recent survey by the Rwanda Initiative for Sustainable Development (RISD), which revealed that over 90 per cent of community disputes are related to land with insecurity of land rights an outstanding issue, where one parcel of land is claimed by different parties.

RISD closely works with the Office of the Ombudsman to mainly address land related issues at the grassroots.

The survey shows that the majority of land disputes are both inter and intra family, mainly arising from unequal inheritance of land, polygamy and children born out of illegal marriages.

Meanwhile, the majority of the 421 administrative cases reported mostly involve issues of unfair dismissal from work and non payment of salaries or wages.

Among other common cases reported are those related to social conflicts while the insurance industry and the country’s pension body reported the least number of cases with nine and 34, respectively.