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NGO STATEMENT TO THE 2001 CONSULTATIVE GROUP 
MEETING ON CAMBODIA

LAND REFORM
 

CONTENTS

 


Introduction
Key Issues
Recommendation

Introduction

Five significant land reform initiatives have emerged since the last CG meeting:

1. The establishment of the Council for Land Policy under the Supreme Council of State Reform responsible for developing a Comprehensive Land Policy Framework. 

2. Ongoing consultation between national, provincial and district administrative institutions (Land Dispute Settlement Commissions) and civil society group to design a National Settlement of Land Disputes Program based on cooperation, research and pilot trials already completed. 

3. Ongoing consultations between government, civil society and the private sector about a revised land law have made significant progress to the extent that a draft land law is with the National Assembly awaiting debate.

4. Asia Development Bank (ADB) is providing support to explain the new land law to the general public and particularly to judges and Government officials. ADB is also providing assistance to draft the sub-decrees needed to implement the new law. 
5. The World Bank has reached agreement with government on assisting with land reform by supporting a national programme to register all property in Cambodia. The process of implementing land reform has taken another step forward. 

The way forward
Since the last CG meeting there has also been intense discussion and increasing sensitization within the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC), amongst donors and in civil society, about the need for a comprehensive programme of land reform which focuses on land distribution, land management and land administration. The scope of the required reforms - institutional strengthening and legislative action, market reform and land redistribution policy - will require leadership, coordination and careful planning. The Council of Land Policy has been mandated by the government to drive the land reform programme, which is directed toward enabling the achievement of national goals of economic development, poverty reduction and good governance, as described in the Socioeconomic Development Plan, Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy and Governance Action Plan. Coordination of support for land reform is needed to build national consensus amongst Cambodian officials and civil society on the implementation of these reforms. Mechanisms must be put in place to strengthen land tenure security and land markets; resolve land disputes; manage land and natural resources in an equitable, sustainable and efficient manner; and achieve land distribution with equity. 

Key Issues

Broadly, land reform should focus on land distribution, land management and land administration. A number of strategic interventions have already been identified as the core of a land reform programme for Cambodia. These include: the development of a national land policy integrated with other key natural resource policies; improved management of the national land stock, particularly public land; commencement of systematic land titling; tax reform; and the construction of a legal framework to enforce property rights. Donor-funded technical support to the RGC will be required to flesh out these strategies on the basis of international experience and national priorities. The three main branches of land reform should focus on:

Land Distribution: promote land distribution with equity

  • Execution of a broadly consultative process and pilot project to create a land distribution strategy which is fair to poor men and women
  • Prevention of illegal acquisition and land concentration

Land Management: manage land and natural resources in an equitable, sustainable and efficient manner 

  • Coordination of land use planning with effective management of forests, agricultural areas, coasts, waterways and minerals
  • Development of land use plans for priority areas including tourism and investment zones, key urban areas and road corridors
  • Implementation of procedures for urban land management and resettlement procedures

    Land Administration: strengthen land tenure security and land markets, clarify the location and extent of all properties both in public and private domains, and protect social harmony by preventing or resolving disputes
  • Adoption and implementation of the land law and complementary laws and regulations.
  • Creation of a state land inventory and state land classification system.
  • Implementation and operation of a nation-wide land registration system using both sporadic and systematic registration procedures and including all property both in the public and private domain.
  • Resolution of land disputes through the Administration Commission, Provincial/Municipal Land Dispute Settlement Commission and the court system.

The following interventions need additional resources to become full-blown national programmes:

  • Research aimed at targeted development to mitigate landlessness
  • Adoption of a land law and complimentary laws that protect current occupiers
  • Trials of systematic land registration
  • Implementing land distribution
  • Set-up of institutional land dispute settlement processes
  • Establishing a register of public land to facilitate the supply of land to meet the needs of the poor

Recommendations

  • Enactment of the draft land law, complementary laws, regulations and other relevant legislation.
  • Creation of state land inventory, of land both in the public and private domain, and state land classification system.
  • Implementation and operation of a nation-wide land registration system using both sporadic and systematic registration, including all state property, both in the public and private domain, promoting public participation in sporadic registration while awaiting the systematic one.
  • Resolution of land disputes through the empowerment and strengthening of Administrative Commissions, Provincial/Municipal and National Land Dispute Resettlement Commissions and the court system.
  • Coordination of land use planning with effective management of forests and fisheries.
  • Decentralization of land management, land administration and central authority to local and provincial authorities.
  • Development of procedures for urban land management and resettlement.
  • Execution of a broadly consultative process and pilot projects to create a land distribution strategy for poor men and women.
  • Prohibition of the accumulation of land for speculative purposes by enforcing unused land tax regulations and legislating for a land ownership ceiling. 
  • Prevention of illegal land acquisition and land concentration.
  • Cancellation of all land concession agreements when concessionaires violate their term.
  • Create a monitoring team for inspection all the existing concessions by public participation.
  • EIA/SIA sub-decree must be enforced. 
For further information on the issues raised in this paper please contact: 
OXFAM Great Britain, Tel: 023 720 036, Email: oxcam@bigpond.com.kh
Introduction
Progress
Key NGO priorities
Conclusion
Strategic Planning for Poverty Reduction
Sectoral Papers
Agriculture
Child's Rights
Commune Administration and Decentralization
Commune Elections
Disability and Rehabilitation
Education
Fisheries
Forestry
Gender
Governance and Transparency
Health
HIV/AIDS
Human Rights
Landmines and & UXOs
Land Reform
Mental Health
Micro-finance
Urban Poor
Weapons Reduction and Management
General NGO Information
References

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