News on Land

What do you get from fighting for land rights in Thailand? You cannot ask Den Khamlae, 65, a prominent grassroots land rights activist. He mysteriously disappeared in a forest reserve near his rickety home in Chaiyaphum last year.

The proposed amendment of article 26 of the Constitution to allow government take possession of private land without prior compensation continues to fiercely divide opinion in parliament.

Opponents of the draft legislation claim the amendment is a government ploy to grab people's land. But government argues that the amendment would stop the long delays in developing infrastructure projects, which also lead to escalation of costs.

Application Closing Date - 09 Aug 2017

Job Start Date - As soon as possible

Duration - 2 years, with the possibility of extension

Pay Scale - Job grade II

Location - Berlin, Germany

• President Temer, influenced by the rural lobby in congress whose votes he needs to not be tried by the Supreme Court on corruption charges, has okayed new criteria meant to delegitimize indigenous land boundary claims, legal experts say.
• One rule rejects any indigenous demarcation of land where Indians were not physically present on a traditional territory in 1988, which would disqualify many legitimate claims.
• Another allows government to undertake “strategic” public works, such as dams and roads, without indigenous consent, violating the Intern

Hoedspruit - It was a hard-fought victory for South Africa's black community seeking to reclaim land, and for the Moletele ethnic group it has become a surprising model of wider racial cooperation.

After a 10-year legal battle, the Moletele have taken back the land from which they were evicted by members of the white minority nearly a century ago.

The area, a picturesque range at the foot of mountains near Hoedspruit is dotted with trees heavy with fruit.

Dignity restored

Aboriginal rights campaigners yesterday condemned the government for having not carried out a promise to reinstate traditional Aboriginal territories, and they demanded that an independent agency be established to restore Aboriginal rights to land and transitional justice.

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Aug. 1 last year delivered a landmark apology to Taiwan’s Aborigines for their deprivation of rights in the hundreds of years since the mass migration of Han people began.

Land Portal Foundation Rwanda Country Portfolio provides comprehensive understanding of post-conflict land governance

With tumultuous colonial occupation, civil war and genocide that led to the death of an estimated 500,000 to 1,000,000 Tutsis in 1994, Rwandans historically endured massive displacements and human rights abuse. Thus, in the 21^st century, the rectification of Rwanda’s previously untenable land governance system has become a major priority.

KUALA LUMPUR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The United Nations urged Thailand on Tuesday to drop criminal cases against female activists who campaign for the rights of their communities, amid concerns they face increasing harassment.

The call came after the wife of a prominent Thai land rights activist was jailed last week and a separate group of female activists who protested against a gold mining operation were indicted for breaching public assembly laws.

Lagos state government has disclosed that it has disbursed the sum of N8 billion as compensation to individuals and groups whose properties were affected by ongoing construction projects in the state in the last one year.

Special Adviser on Urban Development, Mrs. Yetunde Onabule, who made this known at the weekend, at a one-day seminar on ,” Urban Tinkers Campus-The City We Need”, stressed that the government does not indulge in forced eviction of people arbitrarily without taking into consideration the welfare of the evictees.

The Swiss Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Ruth Huber, says investment in will remain stagnant as long as the Harare fails to compensate whites whose farms were forcibly taken without proper dialogue.

She was speaking during the Swiss National Day Tuesday.

Huber told journalists that although investment from Switzerland has slightly increased in Zimbabwe, the difficulty has been to attract new investment in the current political and economic environment.

The Swiss envoy described the political environment as polarized.