1. A Legislation Assessment Tool For Gender-Equitable Land Tenure The Gender and Land Rights Database Social Protection Division The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO)

2. Overview of the Gender and Land Rights Database 81 Country Profiles  Data: Land tenure, total number of holders, female holders, GINI land concentration index  National legal framework:  Rights entrenched in the Constitution  Women’s tenure rights in personal laws and labour laws  Inheritance  Land legislation  Policy measures and legal mechanisms promoting or preventing the realisation of gender-equitable land tenure  Information on the status of ratification of international treaties and conventions  Information on customary law, land tenure and CSOs

3. Objectives of the Gender and Land Rights Database  Highlight the major political, legal and cultural factors that influence the realisation of women’s land rights  Provide up-to-date country level information on the legal developments and factors that promote or prevent the realisation of gender-equitable land tenure  Highlight gender disparities in land tenure  Mainstream international standards and best practices for gender- equitable land tenure  Support processes working towards the realisation of gender-equitable land tenure  Provide relevant statistics on women’s access to land

4. Legal framework for gender-equitable land tenure  International instruments and gender-equitable land tenure  Legally-binding instruments  Non legally-binding instruments  Pervasion of these instruments in national legal frameworks  Gender-equitable land tenure in the national legal framework  Different national legal systems  Common law systems  Civil law systems  Religious (Sharia) legal systems  Different legal instruments  Constitutions  Statutes  Regulations  Different normative systems  Customary law  Religious law

5. Purpose of the Legislation Assessment Tool (LAT)  Answer the question: to what extent does the legal framework foster gender-equitable land tenure?  Provide a global snapshot of the de jure situation of land tenure from a gender perspective  Help visualise the legal intricacies surrounding men and women’s access to land:  Through clusters of key elements  Through indicators that analyse the articulation between:  statutory law and customary norms  statutory law and religious norms  Monitor progress towards gender equity of land tenure in the legal framework  Help identify:  Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the legal framework  The progress made towards gender equity in the legal framework  Areas where legal reform is needed

6. Theoretical Foundation The LAT indicators draw from a range of international standards and good practices:  International standards (legally and non-legally binding): Developed in multilateral negotiations Have already built international consensus  Good practices: to fill in the gaps 8 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 participation and leadership in national and local institutions enforcing land legislation 30 indicators

7. Methodology and Scoring Mechanism The LAT promotes an integrated system of land tenure:  Promotes the incorporation of informal normative systems into the general legal system  Therefore customary and religious sources of law are only covered insofar as they are incorporated into the formal legal system The LAT assessment covers three sources of law: constitutions, statutes and regulations  Relies primarily on the information contained in the various sections of the GLRD  Sources include FAOLEX, official journals, ministries of justice, ministries of agriculture, and ministries for gender equality.  Reliability and accuracy in the scoring mechanism: the scores have been assigned using the actual text of the legislation, referencing all relevant legal provisions. The LAT assessment is limited to a de jure analysis of the legislation pertaining to gender and land  Not a de facto evaluation of gender-equitable land tenure

8. Methodology and Scoring Mechanism  Each indicator has been given an equal weight of 4 points:  Breaks down the different stages of policy and law making processes RationaleScore Absence of a key legal element in the legal framework0 A policy is in its early stages (negotiations)1 A policy is being finalised, integrating the indicator or suppressing existing discriminatory provisions1.5 A draft legislation is to be submitted for deliberations2 Primary law reflects the key legal element3 The key legal element has been mainstreamed across the implementing legislation4 Not applicableN/A

9. Application of the LAT – Country comparison Sierra Leone, Madagascar and Morocco (1) 1 The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is ratified. Yes 2 The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) is ratified.Yes No 3 The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) is ratified. No Key element 1: Ratification of human rights instruments SLMGMA

10. Application of the LAT – Country comparison Sierra Leone, Madagascar and Morocco (2) 4The constitution prohibits gender-based discrimination.330 5 The constitution recognises customary law but states that gender-based discrimination in customary law is superseded by the principle of non- discrimination in the constitution. 00N/A 6 The constitution recognises religious law but states that gender-based discrimination in religious law is superseded by the principle of non- discrimination in the constitution. 0N/A0 7 The constitution promotes the adoption of special measures for the advancement of women. 000 Key element 2: Elimination of gender-based discrimination in the constitution SLMGMA

11. Application of the LAT – Country comparison Sierra Leone, Madagascar and Morocco (3) 8 Men and women have the ability to conclude contracts under the same basic conditions, rights and obligations. 333 Key element 3: Recognition of women’s legal capacitySLMGMA

12. Application of the LAT – Country comparison Sierra Leone, Madagascar and Morocco (4) 9 Men and women are able to apply for identity documents under the same conditions. 3 No provision located 4 10 A female national can confer citizenship to her non-national spouse under the same conditions as a male national. 000 11 Women can confer citizenship to their children under the same conditions as men. 303 Key element 4: Gender equality of rights with respect to nationality SLMGMA

13. Application of the LAT – Country comparison Sierra Leone, Madagascar and Morocco (5) 12 The law recognises gender-equality in the right to own or control property regardless of the type of marriage. 033 13 The law recognises full or partial community of property as the default marital property regime. 030 14 In community of property regimes, spousal consent is mandatory for any transaction involving matrimonial property. N/A3 15 The law establishes a presumption of joint ownership of property in consensual unions. 000 16 The legal framework includes provisions for the promotion of women’s rights to land, property, and/or productive resources. 11.5 Key element 5: Gender equality in property rightsSLMGMA

14. Application of the LAT – Country comparison Sierra Leone, Madagascar and Morocco (6) 17 The surviving spouse is granted user rights to the matrimonial house for life. 300 18 Under the law of succession, women are entitled to a minimum share of matrimonial property. 303 19 The law allows partners living in consensual union to inherit from each other. 300 20 Brothers and sisters have an equal right to inherit.333 21 A right to compensation of other siblings giving up their claims on the family property exists. 030 Key element 6: Gender equality in inheritanceSLMGMA

15. Application of the LAT – Country comparison Sierra Leone, Madagascar and Morocco (7) 22 Decentralisation of land administration services is effected through customary land institutions. 3N/A 23 Decentralisation of land administration services is effected through formal land institutions. N/A44 24 The law guarantees gender equality before the law.333 25 The law guarantees gender-equal access to judicial systems and statutory or customary dispute resolution mechanisms to resolve disputes over tenure rights. No restrictions found 26 Men and women can opt out of customary processes and appeal to formal justice systems for redress. 0N/A 27 The law makes provision for legal support in civil procedures.343 28 A human rights commission or gender-specific institution is in place.302 Key element 7: Gender-equitable implementation, dispute mechanisms and access to justice SLMGMA

16. Application of the LAT – Country comparison Sierra Leone, Madagascar and Morocco (8) 29 The law sets quotas for the appointment of women in land management and administration committees. 21.5 30 The law sets quotas for the appointment of women in land dispute resolution committees. 000 Key element 8: Women’s participation and leadership in national and local institutions enforcing land legislation SLMGMA

17. Application of the LAT – Mapping Country Support  Sierra Leone  Madagascar  Morocco

18. Mainstreaming Gender in Land Governance: Linkages and Opportunities for Synergies  Contributing to the Implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security  Opportunities for synergies with the Land Governance Assessment Framework  Increasing Data Availability on Women’s Rights:  The Women’s Economic and Legal Empowerment Database for Africa,  The Women, Business and the Law Project  Landesa’s LandWise

19. Thank you! Contacts: Naomi.Kenney@fao.org AnaPaula.delaOCampos@fao.org http://www.fao.org/gender/landrights/home/en/