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 context of post-conflict peace-building. The practically-oriented report contains a full draft of a National Restitution Agreement which could serve as a model for peace negotiators and government officials as they continue to search for ways to secure a sustainable peace and strengthened democracy throughout the country as a whole. The full report is available here: Building Agreement on Restitution Rights in Myanmar (March 2019).
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Vast areas of land in Myanmar are currently contaminated by landmines and other explosive remnants of war (ERW) as a legacy of decades of armed conflict between the national government and a wide range of ethnic armed groups. However, the political climate in Myanmar has been rapidly changing, peace talks have been progressing, and plans are being developed to commence demining of contaminated lands. Programme and policy formulation by mine action related organisations in Myanmar is currently underway, and landmine and ERW survey and clearance operations are expected to commence in the near future. In addition, the Myanmar Mine Action Center (MMAC) is about to be established under the Myanmar Peace Centre (MPC) and, once it has been activated, will be expected to play the key governmental role in mine action efforts. Mine action is a vital component of broader strategies to secure sustainable peace in countries emerging from conflict and instability. At the same time, mine action is inextricably linked to broader land rights questions because demining frees land that was previously unusable and/or difficult and dangerous to access. If managed poorly or if carried out purely on a technical basis without taking land rights questions into account, de-mining…...
Ten Years of DS Efforts on Housing, Land and Property Rights in Myanmar - An Overview
Over the past decade, Displacement Solutions has undertaken extensive research aimed at shedding light on the numerous housing, land and property (HLP) rights issues facing the people of Myanmar. Through these efforts DS aims to build the capacity of the people of Myanmar to exercise and enforce their HLP rights. To this end, DS provides practical guidance to citizens and their governments through the development of institutional and policy frameworks, guiding principles and practical steps which seek to reduce, eliminate and redress HLP rights abuses. A new report documents eleven books and reports published by DS on these themes with the intent of informing and aiding the Myanmar government, key ethnic actors, humanitarian organisations and citizens on the importance of HLP rights within Myanmar. The documents outlined here are just a portion of DS' research efforts concerning the country. Many of our other papers and reports on more sensitive themes have intentionally been kept internal by the organisations and institutions for whom they were prepared. These publications cover topics spanning national policy development on land grabbing and speculation, recommendations for the development of a comprehensive HLP rights framework within Myanmar, the manner in which HLP rights can be addressed during…...
Commemorating 10 Years of Action - the 2016 DS Annual Report
Ten Years of Action It is hard to believe that DS has now been active for ten busy and eventful years. This has been quite a ride for our (intentionally) small and flexible organisation, and one involving an wonderful team of dedicated HLP experts from around the world working in a range of displacement hotspots. From developing the Peninsula Principles, to spearheading global efforts to obtain land for climate displaced people, developing IDP return designs in Timor Leste, Somalia, Colombia, Bhutan and many more, carrying on-site investigations in Tuvalu, Solomon Islands, Panama, Kiribati, Bangladesh and other climate change-affected areas, to conducting HLP rights analysis and restitution design work in Myanmar, advising the UN on HLP issues in Syria, publishing several books, inaugurating the world’s first law school courses on climate displacement, and writing DS reports, producing films, building homes for climate displaced families in Chittagong, and so much more, this first DS decade has been an exhilarating one. Since our founding on 28 December 2006, DS has worked in some 35 countries to assist in finding rights-based solutions to forced displacement in all of its forms. Besides our legal experts, we have had the honour of working with villagers, community…...
Landmark Report Launch: Bridging the HLP Gap in Myanmar
Displacement Solutions has presented Scott Leckie's latest report Bridging the Housing Land and Property Gap at the Sedona Hotel, Yangon, Myanmar.
