Today, July 17th, begins in Accra a regional workshop relating to land tenure in Africa. The three-day event which will focus on Securing Community Land Rights on the Continent, is organized by the Land Policy Initiative, which is a joint programme of the tripartite consortium of the African Union Commission (AUC), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in partnership with the Rights and Resources Initiative and African land commissions.

The press release announcing the event states that 40 land commissioners and senior government officials from 16 African countries are taking part to the meeting which aims to, according to LPI’s coordinator, Joan Kagwanja, “facilitate cross-country learning and information-sharing about results and experiences in different countries among key actors within African land commissions on challenges and opportunities to secure local communities’, women’s, and Indigenous Peoples’ land rights through statutory recognition of customary land tenure and its subsequent operationalization”.

“The Land Commissioners are expected during the three days to articulate and agree on key challenges, opportunities and a regional agenda for securing local communities’, women’s, and Indigenous Peoples’ land rights; commit to the continental processes of the LPI; and champion statutory recognition of customary (collective) land tenure and its subsequent operationalization at the national and regional levels”, reads ECA’s statement.

Souha Touré