1. Dealing with land issues and conflict in eastern Congo: towards an integrated and participatory approach
- Author:
- Koen Vlassenroot
- Publication Date:
- 06-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- EGMONT - The Royal Institute for International Relations
- Abstract:
- There is an increased recognition that land issues are a key driver and sustaining factor of conflict in eastern DRC. Scholars and practitioners have identified a number of critical land-related factors contributing to violence and conflict, including a huge diversity of land governance forms; the existence of overlapping legal frameworks and the weakness of the statutory land law; competition between indigenous and migrant communities; limited access to arable land in demographically dense areas; the weak performance of the administration and justice system in the reconciliation and arbitration of land disputes; growing stress on local resources caused by massive displacement; the expansion of artisanal and small-scale mining; and increased competition between elites for the control over land and the consequent land concentration.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Human Rights, Peace Studies, Post Colonialism, War, and Natural Resources
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Democratic Republic of the Congo