Tag words: Tenure agreements, Legal systems, Dispute Resolution, Women’s HLP, Roles and Responsibilities, Afghanistan, CAR, DRC, Ecuador, Greece, Iraq/Kurdistan, Jordan, Lebanon, Myanmar, Nigeria, Palestine/Gaza, Panama, Somalia, Syria, Ukraine, Yemen

Context

The primary audience of this guidance note are practitioners or other thematic specialists that rely on the use of buildings, land, property, and natural resources.

Summary

The purpose of this guidance document is to:

1) Clarify the concept of tenure and explain why it is important in Humanitarian practice.[1]

2) Outline how tenure can be used by humanitarian actors to analyze, understand, and engage with relationship within conflict-affected communities

3) Provide teams with tools and best practices to improve tenure interventions and prevent conflicts

4) Establish an outline for future training.

A useful explanation of tenure agreements and how they work, a list of examples of tenure agreements humanitarian practitioners interact with and a breakdown of tenure in legal systems is provided.[2]Additionally provided is a graphic breaking down the components of tenure agreements and identifying where and what, involved parties, rights and responsibilities, time duration and tips on dispute resolution. [3]      

A chart is provided outlining different rights and responsibilities that can be combined and considerations to find a balance between them so humanitarian practitioners can help facilitate participatory discussions about rights and responsibilities related to tenure agreements. The chart is categorized by access, use or benefit, exclusion, transfer, management, and due process and compensation with best practices and responsibilities provided for each category.[4] Women’s rights and responsibilities over HLP and natural resources is highlighted.[5]

The guidance document includes a section explaining how securing tenure improves relationships and prevents conflicts.[6] A chart is provided detailing best practices for keeping records and working with third parties to assist in dispute resolution.[7]

A scenario is included that provides a snapshot of how multiple relationships to HLP and natural resources overlap and the different rights, responsibilities, and power dynamics that are at play. The scenario includes themes such as customary land boundaries, natural resources, burial sites, multiple claimants to a parcel, and informal rental arrangements.[8] A set of practice-based questions that should be considered when addressing this HLP and tenure context is also provided.[9]

Link to Text

Demystifying Tenure for Humanitarian Practitioners

Available Languages: English

[1] Norwegian Refugee Council. Demystifying “Tenure” for Humanitarian Practitioners. (2021). P. 2.

[2] Ibid. (2021). P. 3.

[3] Ibid. P. 4-5.

[4] Ibid. P. 5-6.

[5] Ibid. P. 7.

[6] Ibid. P. 7-8.

[7] Ibid.P.8.       

[8] Ibid. P. 10-11.

[9] Ibid. P. 11.