Darfur, Sudan, September 2020 -  UN-Habitat Sudan Country Programme and the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) have launched the “Darfur Land Administration Assessment: Analysis and Recommendations” report, developed in close cooperation with the United Nations Country Team of Sudan, the United Nations - African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) and the Darfur Land Commission.

The report assesses the statutory and customary land administration systems in the five Darfur states and provides guidance on how to secure land and property rights of the people voluntarily returning to Darfur and of other vulnerable groups - such as IDPs, refugees, women and youth. The report also looks at the functioning of land administration and how it can be improved in a fit-for-purpose, incremental and feasible manner for the benefit of the whole Darfur’s population.

 The report, funded by the Qatar Fund for Development,  is the result of field assessment, interviews and consultations with key UN organisations, UNAMID, Darfur Land Commission, Voluntary Return and Resettlements Commission, NGOs, government representatives, tribal leaders, local judicial administrations, displaced people, nomads and famers.

The report identifies the key land sector stakeholders and institutions, which include the Government, customary institutions, non-state actors and the UN agencies. It describes and clarifies land-related policies, land administration systems, dispute-resolution mechanisms, tenure typologies and technical processes, both statutory and customary. It determines gaps in the overall capacity and the capacities needed to face the challenges and it identifies sets of early recommendations, strategies and priorities for action.

The recommendations are divided into three levels: strategic, technical and short-term. The strategic recommendations focus on how to inform policy-formulation and decision-making for improving land management and administration. They address the importance of better understanding the land-and-conflict nexus, the need for broadening the range of land tenure options legally recognized and formally acknowledging the role of customary land administration actors, the improvement of existing land-dispute resolution mechanisms and women’s land rights, the need to  shift towards fit-for-purpose land administration approaches, the definition of roles and responsibilities of state and federal institutions, and the importance of partnerships within and beyond the Durable Solutions Frameworks.

The report also includes a set of recommendations for concrete actions on land governance, land-use planning, land information management and dispute-resolution mechanisms and propose some capacity development approaches for government, Native Administrations, community-based and civil society organisations, academia and land professionals.

The full report is available here.