Pathways of justice and equity in land administration and dispute resolution in Uganda: perspectives of Ugandan civil society organisations.

Land administration and justice systems in Uganda are fundamental for the protection of people’s rights. Yet there are serious gaps in the regulation of existing and parallel tenure systems often resulting in contradictory provisions and rules and the reproduction and reinforcement of discriminatory practices. This affects people’s claims to land especially those of vulnerable groups like women and youth. The rigorous research and effective advocacy of some Ugandan organizations has contributed to an increased focus on legal pluralism and the complementarity of tenure systems in the country which can help secure gender equity in the administration of land and dispute resolution systems. In this context land disputes arise under different circumstances due to different causes and with different actors. Women are commonly involved in many land disputes and on numerous occasions seek justice to claim the protection and respect of their rights to land often with the help of intermediary organizations. Uganda has a strong civil society which engages in research and advocacy working for the rights of vulnerable and marginalized people to achieve justice and equity in land rights. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) such as the Uganda Land Alliance (ULA) the Land Equity Movement (LEMU) FIDA Uganda Uganda Media Women Association (UMWA) and Microjustice (MJU) Uganda work towards the effective protection of land rights and provide support to people to access justice. They do so through different strategies and paradigms. These organizations influence national policy debate and the practices of local institutions. They strongly contribute to securing women’s rights to land in the absence of a functioning and equitable state system (land administration as well as justice systems) or provide alternatives in the often complex legal environment. These CSOs hold a vast body of knowledge which needs to be further recognized and upheld by the international community the government and other organizations. To maximize their impact and to move the gender and land agenda forward in Uganda a joint analysis and documentation effort was initiated in 2012. This started with the aim of sharing and learning from experiences and to strengthen the collective voice of Ugandan CSOs working on gender and land rights. The process began during a writeshop organized by The Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) and the Centre for Basic Research (CBR Uganda) with the participation of FIDA Uganda LEMU MJU Uganda UMWA and ULA. This document presents specific case studies (selected interventions) from each of the organizations analyzed from a gender and rights approach using KIT’s tailor-made analytical framework on access to justice ‘The chain of justice framework’. Questions around land right failures and their root causes are being identified allowing organizations for a more focused reflection of the process and outcomes of the interventions. It aims to contribute to developing effective and context specific strategies to address gender rights and land justice failures. (excerpt)