Promoting Peace through Land Dispute Management: Rwanda

General

The Promoting Peace through Land Dispute Management project aims to manage and mitigate land-related conflict by improving the capacity and effectiveness of local institutions in managing land disputes. The project will also create a safe space for communities to discuss issues before they escalate into conflict. Applying a people-to-people approach, this program builds on the success of existing programs and local institutions to facilitate the handling of land disputes. The project will train Community Resource Persons (CRPs) to facilitate land dispute management and community dialogues. Community dialogues will provide a safe space for diverse groups to discuss land issues, allowing participants to break down barriers through exchange and discussion of common interests. These dialogues will also help increase the understanding of land issues that communities face, while stimulating a search for community-driven solutions. In turn, these discussions will provide important insights about land-related issues that will inform broader policy debate, providing the government information to make more informed and more responsive land policies. In collaboration with local organizations, the National Women’s Council and Haguruka, the project will focus on achieving the following objectives: Objectives Creating an institutionalized network of CRPs trained to manage land disputes in their communities Improving the legal, policy, and institutional framework for land dispute management by making it more responsive, participatory, and better informed Outcomes Held 21 community dialogues that brought together over 450 participants to increase their understanding of land issues Peacefully resolved 89 intra-household land disputes involving women at the community level Trained over 1,700 people on conflict resolution and women’s land rights Aired 25 episodes of the Ubutaka Bwacu radio show on land rights and land disputes Completed a land dispute mapping exercise in the Eastern Province to improve data on land conflict