General

This project establishes the secretariat of UNIPP. UNIPP will focus on the following key thematic areas for intervention: 1. Legislative review and reform: develop capacities of State institutions to have indigenous peoples’ rights included and recognized within the national legal system, including through constitutional reforms, development of legislation and incorporation at administrative levels both through indigenous specific legislation such as in areas of non-discrimination. 2 Democratic governance and indigenous peoples’ institutions: strengthening indigenous peoples’ institutions and organizational capacity to fully participate in governance and policy processes at local and national levels 3. Access to justice: recognition and strengthening of indigenous customary law and justice systems; and their inclusion within national legal systems. 4. Access to land and ancestral territories: developing and strengthening capacities for land titling, demarcation and use of ancestral territories, including local capacity development initiatives and those aimed at securing greater recognition of indigenous lands. 5. Natural resources and extractive industries: promoting a framework for conflict prevention, consultation, participation, benefit-sharing and dispute resolution. This area will have a special focus on conflict prevention initiatives around ancestral land and use of natural resources, in particular the need to develop capacity of indigenous communities in negotiation skills and dispute resolution in line with international legal instruments.

General

In Ghana, we aim to agree on better policies for planted and naturally occurring trees and land tenure arrangements, to enable cocoa farmers to adopt good agricultural practices. Cocoa farmer organisations, Chiefs, land committee, queen mothers, assembly members, private companies, research institutions and CBOs of Sefwi Wiawso were engaged in dialogue. Jointly recommendations for policies, by-laws and norms for on-farm tree ownership and land access security were formulated and agreed. A new lease agreement document that defines rights and obligations of tenant cocoa farmers and traditional authorities (landowners) is about to get finalized, allowing for automatic renewal of forty years and giving cocoa farmers more certainty on their land rights. We provided practical support to 4 farmer organisations and 5 CBOs to raise their knowledge around land and tree ownership and acquisition policies. Particularly women’s access to land has been on the agenda in 20 communities to prepare them for the stakeholder dialogue and meaningful participation.