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Why housing, land and property rights for displaced women?
The safety and security of a home, of a place that shelters and protects ourselves and our loved ones, is one of the most basic needs of any human being. This rings even more true for women in many of the countries where NRC works.
Conflict destroys the community fabric of societies and shreds justice and legal institutions. Women often feel this social and economic devastation more acutely, not least because they face persistent discrimination too.
When families are separated or displaced by war, it is the women who must battle their way through institutions and traditions that discriminate against them, to provide for their families. They face daily struggles for survival, as refugees and internally displaced persons and as widows and heads of household.
Even in countries where legal systems are being re-established with new, more progressive laws that incorporate international human rights standards, the reality of the displaced women in remote areas where NRC works is very different.
What is NRC doing about it?
Earlier this year NRC began a three-year project designed to help increase displaced women’s access to housing, land and property rights through international advocacy. The project is funded by the UK Government’s Department for International Development and by the Norwegian Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
The evidence base for the project is being drawn from country research studies, which look at different aspects of displaced women´s housing, land and property rights. In particular we are looking at our experience and the lessons we have learned in the countries where we work.
Over three years, the project will provide well-researched legal, policy and practice recommendations for the humanitarian community, including governments and civil society in the countries covered by the research. The evidence from this project will also guide our work with key international policy forums, such as the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the UN Commission on the Status of Women and the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing, among others.
We also working to ensure that the campaign’s evidence base contributes to strengthen our own work at NRC: the way in which NRC teams understand and incorporate displaced women’s housing, land and property rights issues in their work.
The project’s first output will be a global report to be launched in late May 2013, which will be followed by thematic and country reports, roundtables and presentations over the next three years.
What will be covered in the global report?
The report will highlight specific challenges for displaced women’s access to justice when it comes to their housing, land and property rights, be it through formal courts or through customary systems. It will be based on a review of NRC field practice and on the latest policy development. The report will hone in on the situation in Afghanistan, South Sudan, Colombia, Palestine, Lebanon and Liberia. National reports will be produced for each of these countries in due course.
What will happen next?
We will launch our global report on displaced women’s housing, land and property rights in late May 2013. This will be followed by roundtables, presentations and discussions throughout the summer. Watch this space for updates.
