Rwanda has provided a picture of promising change for improving gender equalities in land rights. This report draws upon extensive qualitative field research in 20 sectors of Rwanda to examine the current state of gendered rights to land in practice. Among Rwandan communities, there is now widespread knowledge of laws granting gender-equal rights. More and more women are receiving inheritance and inter-vivos gifts and are increasingly receiving these in equal shares, while formally married women are exercising greater decision-making power over land held jointly with their husbands.

The current Ethiopian government originated in a Marxist revolutionary movement, which early in its struggle against the Derg regime recognized the widespread discrimination against women in Ethiopian society and placed gender emancipation at the centre of its revolutionary strategy.

Study in the Oromiya and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples regions of Ethiopia assesses the impacts of land registration and certification since 2004, including joint certification for husbands and wives. Includes gender implications of land certification and empowerment of women, position of polygamous wives, perceptions of benefits of the reform, recommendations.

Includes background – the global land grab; FPIC in response to land grabbing today; whose consent is required or desired?; the key challenge is political, not technical. Concludes that as long as there is a significant gap between what is promised and what is delivered by the state, there will always be cause for poor people to engage in rightful resistance. The current global rush to cloak land grabbing in FPIC may ultimately end up sparking such resistance.

Includes a history of contested ownership; land use and the law before independence; land reform after independence; communal land enclosures; illegal fencing in Omusati Region; recommendations; conclusion. Argues that government must immediately take action against illegal fencers.

Includes overall agenda of the Land Policy, the constitutional, legal, land tenure, land rights administration, land use and management, regional and international frameworks, and the framework for implementation of the Land Policy. Said to be agreed by all stakeholders and that regular consultations and dialogue will be encouraged during its implementation.

Includes Mozambique – war, land and poverty; land law, investors and peasants; land concessions – forests, agrofuels and other crops; are reckless land investment deals over? Traces the history of previous land concessions. A current intense debate on the proper balance between small and large-scale, foreign and domestic investment, food and other crops. Civil society and peasant organizations have successfully exposed many failures relating to recent land investments and are now working to register community lands.

Focuses on Article 30 of the Rwanda 2013 Land Law, which prohibits sub-division. Finds that implementation of Article 30 has not prevented land subdivisions, but rather encouraged informal subdivisions and transfers. Recommends that the provision should be reviewed.

Contains cleaning up the mess at Lands? – an exclusive interview with Hon. Amos Kimunya, Minister for Lands and Settlement; land: political patronage’s greatest weapon – an interview with Odenda Lumumba, National Coordinator, Kenya Land Alliance; corruption thriving in informal settlements – an interview with Jane Weru, Executive Director, Pamoja Trust; land: Kenya’s simmering powder keg by Odindo Opiata, Kituo cha Sheria; land rights for poor people key to poverty reduction, growth – World Bank (Policy Research Report).

Includes introduction, context, land deals (extent, nature and origins), key issues (land availability, consultations, compensation, agrofuels), impacts (food security, water, social and political effects), conclusions – major challenges include lack of information and coordination, secrecy and flaws in the investment processes, need for transparency and open debate.

Examines women’s land and property rights in Kenya, Sudan and Ethiopia. Considers the legal and other impediments hindering these rights in situations of conflict and reconstruction. Outlines the practical problems faced by women in connection with the legal and traditional structures regarding land and property rights, and makes some suggestions about how the situation can be rectified.

Asks and responds to a series of questions about land grabbing, including what is it, what is its scale, its history, its impacts, how does it take place, what is new, how is it tied to water grabbing, what is green grabbing, who or what are the main drivers, what is the role of the EU, what solutions have been proposed, why are guidelines and transparency not sufficient, what systemic changes are needed, what does the concept of food sovereignty have to offer, and what resistance is being undertaken?