1. 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

2. 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

3. Tools for supporting women’s land rights

4. Tools for supporting women’s land rights

5. 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

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

7. 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

8. 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)

9. 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

10. 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”

11. 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

12. Information resources
Thank you for your attention
Information resources
FAO Legal Papers and LEG Partner Publications:
FAO Legal Assessment Tool for gender-equitable land tenure and Gender and Land Rights Database:
FAO Governance of Tenure page: