Promoting durable solutions for displacement affected populations in Somalia through Information, Counseling a

Objectives

The project will apply legal methods during interventions to provide timely, effective and quality lifesaving protection response and service provision to respond to Housing, Land and Property rights violations through preventative and remedial mechanisms within the protracted displacement context in Somalia. Responses will be timely in order to address emerging housing, land and property issues by improving and securing land tenure thereby reducing potential exposure to forced evictions in Dalxiiska IDP settlement in Kismayo and a cluster of IDP settlements in the north of Baidoa. Prevention of forced evictions will be approached through the use of community structures in dispute settlement, advocacy and response to housing, land and property rights violations through information, counseling and legal assistance. The project will prioritize land tenure security within settlements and facilitate the development and acquisition of legal land tenure documentation for enhanced shelter and livelihoods initiatives. Capacity building for humanitarian and local actors on Housing Land and Property rights will be done to ensure that this is mainstreamed within the interventions of other stakeholders. The project will assist displaced persons claim and exercise their HLP rights and attain durable solutions through the prevention of further displacement by supporting them to overcome legal obstacles related to accessing and controlling housing, land and property rights. The project will strengthen dispute resolution for community structures through collaborative Dispute Resolution (CDR) trainings to ensure alternative dispute resolution mechanisms are used to resolve HLP specific cases in the first instance with litigation as a last resort. The project will conduct capacity building through trainings and advocacy to ensure rights holders, duty bearers and decision makers are empowered to claim, promote and exercise HLP rights and subsequently address HLP violations such as land grabbing, multiple land claims, forced evictions among others. Limited access to land and insecurity of land tenure is a major obstacle to the provision of sustainable solutions for vulnerable displaced populations across Somalia, Kismayo remains particularly affected. As the community based protection systems are often male dominated and often discriminate against women, NRC will prioritize female beneficiaries during information sessions and legal assistance considering their vulnerability levels. To further enhance collaboration and multisector responses to forced evictions, the project will work closely with the shelter cluster, other humanitarian actors, HLP sub-cluster members and NRC shelter project. Land tenure secured through communal land agreements will be implemented prior to construction of any humanitarian infrastructure and alternative land will be negotiated and secured for populations at risk of forced evictions. Community participation processes will be used to identify beneficiaries and ensure interventions are both inclusive and community driven. Field conversations will be used to engage the community through consultations prior to and after the implementation of project activities in both Kismayo and Baidoa. This approach will be used to strengthen community networks while gender will be mainstreamed within all the initiatives.