Analysis Paper on Land Confiscations in Conflict Areas & Implications for the Peace Process

TitleAnalysis Paper on Land Confiscations in Conflict Areas & Implications for the Peace Process
Annotated RecordAnnotated
Year of Publication2020
AuthorsBadeiDha_Moe(BDM)
Pagination1-53
Place PublishedYangon, Myanmar
Key themesAccessToJustice, Dispossession-grabbing, MarginalisedPeople
Abstract

ABSTRACTED FROM EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: This analysis paper exposes the reality of land disputes at the community-level in four conflict affected ethnic minority regions of Myanmar: Kachin State, Mon State, Southern Shan State, and Northern Shan State. It is our hope that this study will strengthen processes for land dispute resolution and highlight the need for prioritizing land tenure issues within the country’s ongoing peace talks towards national reconciliation. By addressing ethnic nationalities’ claims to land, the peace process would ultimately uphold diversity as a powerful asset in supporting peace and harmony among all the country’s citizens. Our research teams collected data from 12th January 2018 to 25th August 2019. The research process included a survey of a total of 444 victims of separate land dispute cases in 17 townships across four regions; sixteen FGDs; six key informant interviews to learn more about successfully resolved cases; and a review of our organization’s regional communitystakeholder experience sharing workshops on land dispossession.
URLhttps://www.jointpeacefund.org/sites/jointpeacefund.org/files/uploads/land_analysis_paper_of_bdm.pdf
Availability

Available for download
Countries

Myanmar
Document Type

Report

Annotations

Overall relevance: 

The Government of Myanmar and ten Ethnic Armed Organizations signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in 2015 and engaged in a series of discussions commonly referred to as 21st Century Panglong. There are six main themes to discuss in the dialogues and among them one theme regards land and natural resources. This report looks at the long history of land conflicts in regions such as Kachin State, Mon State, Southern and Northern Shan State. It categorises actors of land grabbing, its impacts and dispute resolution. In Myanmar, conflicts are also related with land and natural resource management. The report calls to strengthen the process for land dispute resolution and highlight the need for prioritising land tenure issues within the country’s ongoing peace talks towards national reconciliation.

Key Themes: 
  • Land dispossession/land grabbing - According to the survey areas, the military confiscated the most land. However, there were variations of other groups (often with close ties to the Tatmadaw) involved in land grabbing whether companies, ethnic armed groups, government, individuals or other powerful actors. In Kachin State, the largest grabber was companies. Then, in Mon State, the government was heavily involved behind the Tatmadaw in land grabbing. In Southern Shan State, there was more involvement of EAOs.
  • Marginalized people's land rights and access: ethnic minorities, poor and women - 89% victims of land grabbing had to struggle with daily survival, and 93% of these are women. Many family members had to find work with low income such as daily labourers, fishermen, market vendors, or on farms. Grabbing has also forced many people to move to neighboring countries as migrant labour.
  • Dispute resolution and access to justice - The team developed recommendations for government/Tatmadaw, non-state authorities, civil society groups, and donors. The organisation puts forward 15 recommendations linking to dispute resolution, some for specific particular group and some to all stakeholders for inclusion within the peace process.
Research basis: 

The report took a 20-month period from January 2018 to August 2019.  The research process includes a survey of 444 victims of separate land dispute cases in 17 townships of the four targeted regions. There were also 16 focus group discussions, 6 interviews to learn more about successfully resolved cases and a review of other stakeholder experiences sharing workshops on land dispossession. All research was carried out by the members of the BadeiDha Moe organization. (Provided by Nang Nu Nwe)