World Bank conference on Land and Poverty UNDERSTANDING LOCAL CUSTOMS TO ACHIEVE THE 2030 AGENDA: LAND AND GENDER IN THE WESTERN BALKANS Margret Vidar, Development Law, FAO Rumyana Tonchovska, FAO, Adela Llatja, Christopher Will, GIZ World Bank conference on Land and Poverty 20-24 March 2017 Washington, DC

Overview Tools for achieving the SDGs on women’s land rights Legal Assessment Tool on gender-equitable land tenure SDG indicator 5.a.2 on women’s land rights Testing LAT methodology in Western Balkans Outcomes Key challenges Lessons learnt Way forward

Tools for supporting women’s land rights

Tools for supporting women’s land rights

Legal Assessments Tool on gender-equitable land tenure 30 indicators, 8 clusters of key elements Ratification of Human Rights instruments Elimination of gender-based discrimination in the Constitution Recognition of women’s legal capacity Gender-equality of rights with respect to nationality Gender equality in property rights Gender equality in inheritance Gender-equitable implementation, dispute mechanisms and access to justice Women’s representation in national and local institutions enforcing land legislation

Tracking Indicator SDG 5.a.2 Country reporting on 5 proxies to FAO as custodian agency

Does the policy and legal framework contain one or more of the 5 proxies Does the policy and legal framework contain one or more of the following proxies? Proxy A. Joint titling Proxy B. Spouse or partner consent prior to the sale or transfer of property Proxy C. Gender equality in inheritance (possible proxy also for spouse inheritance rights) Proxy D. Budgetary commitments to strengthen equal rights for women regarding the ownership and/or control of land Proxy E. Protection of women’s rights in customary land tenure systems

Testing LAT methodology in Western Balkans Draft Legal Assessment Tool and Country Profiles National Validation workshops with key stakeholders Regional workshops at political level to: get the commitment start Confirm results and agree next steps Expression of will by each country to perform the LAT Drafting ToRs, Selection of Local experts Interview with relevant institutions Mentoring of the expert’s work by FAO team Draft Reports distributed Translation is available Recommendations reflected Draft Report finalized Training of local experts on the Legal Assessment Tool (LAT)

LAT outcomes All countries formally outlaw discrimination against women Most countries scored well on most indicators Implementation is sometimes hampered by lack of detailed instructions Implementation of laws may be insufficient because of local customs and attitudes Incentives are generally insufficient to change There is a need for legal education and empowerment

Lessons learnt Ownership by the national institutions at the early stage is needed; Ministries of Justice and Ministries of Social Welfare or Gender need to lead the process; Coordination among national institution is important Legal professionals (notaries) can play an important role in protecting the weaker party It is useful to group similar countries together at sub-regional level to share experiences and lessons, provide “peer pressure”

Way forward Support to the Western Balkans to achieve the SDGs indicator 5.a.2: “Gender and Land Rights” new project of GIZ financed by German Government Developing ethics code for Notaries by International Union of Notaries – GIZ Technical and methodological support - FAO Global level: Methodological support on SDG reporting and LAT - FAO Sharing expertise by creating a pool of experts - FAO Share the Western Balkans experience with other countries around the globe - FAO

Information resources Thank you for your attention Information resources FAO Legal Papers and LEG Partner Publications: http://www.fao.org/legal/publications/legal-papers/en/ http://www.fao.org/legal/publications/partner-publications/en/ FAO Legal Assessment Tool for gender-equitable land tenure and Gender and Land Rights Database: http://www.fao.org/gender-landrights-database/en/ FAO Governance of Tenure page: http://www.fao.org/nr/tenure/en/