With support from MyJustice, the European Union and the British Council, DS and NRC have released their latest report designed to improvement the HLP performance in Myanmar. The report, Improving Access to Justice Through Community Based Dispute Resolution (CBDR) for Housing, Land and Property Disputes in Myanmar: Housing, Land and Property Rights Legal Awareness Information Material, outlines a range of frequently asked questions concerning HLP rights in the country, and how local level, community-based dispute resolutions measures might be accessed to promote HLP justice. The full report in English can be downloaded here: HLP FAQ - Improving Access to Justice The full report in Burmese can be downloaded here: HLP_FAQ-MM-Final23Jan2019_sml-150opt  ...

A new 76-page report prepared by DS Director Scott Leckie with the collaboration of Jose Arraiza of NRC, with the support of the Joint Peace Fund, outlines the components of what an eventual agreement in Myanmar on housing, land and property restitution could look like. The report, entitled BUILDING AGREEMENT ON RESTITUTION RIGHTS WITH THE MYANMAR PEACE PROCESS AND NATIONAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK examines all of the necessary components that would need to find recognition within an eventual national agreement designed to ensure that everyone with a viable HLP restitution claim could submit these to an independent judicial body with enforcement powers strong enough to ensure the full enjoyment of restitution rights throughout all corners of the country. Millions of people with legitimate restitution claims have yet to be able to have these claims heard by judicial bodies with the power to enforce these claims to return to, recover and/or re-inhabit the homes and lands from which they have been forced to flee over the past several decades. The report points out that HLP restitution rights are widely recognised in international law, and that many other countries have adopted restitution laws and procedures as key elements within peace processes and the…...

A three-person DS team has just completed a research mission to Nepal to examine the legal and policy responses to the 2015 earthquakes that struck the country, causing thousands of deaths and injuries, as well as massive destruction and damage to almost one million homes. DS worked closely with the DFID-supported Durable Solutions Project (http://www.durablesolutionsnepal.org) coordinated by the Czech NGO People in Need to explore what was done right in response to the quakes, and what might be improved in the future. A detailed report and recommendations will be issued in early 2019, and a film produced by Jon Staley of Youthworx Media outlining the key HLP issues arising in the context of the reconstruction will also be released at the same time. Check back in January for the report and latest DS film. ...

From 13-15 March 2019, DS and our partners at NRC led and conducted two training workshops entitled ‘Understanding Restitution’ in Myanmar. The first, led by DS, was review of DS materials developed addressing HLP rights in Myanmar, and orientation for NRC ICLA staff from its field offices. The second, a more in-depth and strategic 2 day-workshop for key partners; namely the Karen National Union and Karen Development Committee as well as other NRC staff. It focused on the key elements required for building knowledge, and planning and developing institutional capacity to address restitution of housing land and property for individuals and families that have been forcibly displaced throughout Myanmar. Attended by 40 senior representatives of all three organizations, the workshop prepared the participants with a basic understanding of the mechanisms for restitution, and the building blocks for a future when restitution can assist internally displaced families and provide some form of closure for refugees to enjoy their full rights to housing, land and property in Myanmar.  ...