Rwanda: Promoting Peace through Dispute Resolution World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty, March 16, 2016 Karina Kloos, Landesa, Seattle, USA

2 Project motivation and model Highlighted findings Key insights and lessons learned

3 Challenges: Land scarcity + legal illiteracy  LAND CONFLICTS… especially within households, affecting women Project Goals: Increase legal literacy, respect for women’s land rights Facilitate participatory and inclusive land dispute management Haguruka National Women’s Council Partners:

4 Project Objectives: Institutionalized network of CRPs to address land disputes Responsive, participatory, well-informed system for dispute management Project Objectives: Institutionalized network of CRPs to address land disputes Responsive, participatory, well-informed system for dispute management HagurukaSFCG National Women’s Council Project CRPs Community Dialogues Legal hotline Radio programs Dispute Resolution ToT Model: Cell/village CRPs

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6 Assessment and Learning Tools Land Dispute Mapping and Assessment CRP activity monitoring Dispute Evolution Logs Baseline/ Endline survey in Treatment and Control Cells Most Significant Change Stories Qualitative interviews with: –Sector and Cell CRPs –Community Dialogue Participants –Disputants –Local Authorities CRP exit surveys

7 Results: Dispute Resolution

8 Results: Most Significant Changes “The most significant change for me is that now I have security at my home.” – Disputant “I am able to farm again and my husband no longer sells the harvest without my consent… today I can pay for health insurance; my children are now safe.” – Disputant “For me the main success of this project is that it has been able to reconcile people who were in conflict for a long time, people who couldn’t talk to each other… the project solved the conflict and brought unity in the population.” – Local authority

9 Results: Community Experiences & Perceptions Women report: Project “helped me to understand my rights”; “make claims to my land rights” Increased legal literacy of women’s land rights Increased confidence that women’s land disputes will be resolved fairly and peacefully Local authorities report: Significant decreases in prevalence of land disputes Increased interest in dispute resolution Increased perception that disputes involving women will typically protect the woman’s right to land

10 Key Components of the Project Model Legal literacy + dispute resolution Focus on intra-household disputes Women CRPs Broad dissemination, multiple channels Adaptability Opportunities for Learning, Improvement Better leveraging of existing institutions Training of local authorities Parents’ Evening Forums Stronger gender focus Gender based violence Informal unions Resolution trends; unresolved cases

11 Thank you and THANK YOU to all of our project partners!