Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary)
Websites/Multiple Documents
Description:
A compilation of all of the existing housing, land and property laws in Burma, plus commentary...
"The deplorable human rights record of Burma?s military junta has been a key focus of
international attention for many years. The military has ruled the country for half a century,
and has presided over a collapse of the economy and of social services. At the same time,
successive military regimes have perpetuated an almost feudal governance system ? where
the population is seen as a resource at the disposal of the rulers ? that is in many respects
unchanged since pre-colonial times.
A combination of deliberate abuse, a general climate of impunity, and out-dated and
ineffective social policies all contribute to a fundamental absence of basic human rights in
this country of 55 million people. To date, the bulk of attention has focused on important
questions of political prisoners, denial of basic freedoms, forced labour, forced displacement,
as well as the other abuses related to the army?s brutal counter-insurgency policies.
However, there are additional types of rights abuses that are not as frequently mentioned,
but that have a critical impact on the daily lives of millions of people across Burma. And
it is these ? housing, land and property (HLP) rights ? that form the contents of this
important new book.
This volume contains all of the existing housing, land and property laws in Burma, and
makes a vital contribution to understanding the impact that these legal structures have
on communities across the country. Being able to view the HLP legal code in its entirety
for the first time reveals more clearly than ever before that supporters of democratic and
governance reform within Burma need to better understand ? and place greater emphasis
on ? HLP issues than they have to date. Understanding how these issues are dealt with in
both law and practice will enable more creative thinking about Burma?s HLP future, in
order that the peoples of the country can most fully enjoy their legitimate housing, land
and property rights."
Scott Leckie and Ezekiel Simperingham (eds)
Source/publisher:
Displacement Solutions, HLP Institute
Date of publication:
2009-11-00
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-30
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (texts), Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary), Law and policy on land in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
English
more
Description:
"Since its establishment in 2006, Displacement Solutions has been active in exploring the housing, land and property rights situation in Burma. The Burma HLP Initiative aims to shed new light on the numerous HLP rights issues in Burma today by building capacity for enforcing these rights by citizens of the country. The Initiative works together with various groups within and outside Burma towards these ends.
The Initiative explores key questions such as:
* What are the characteristics and status of the legal regime in Burma as it relates to HLP rights issues?
* How effective is the current legal regime in promoting human rights standards relevant to HLP rights? What are the key issues facing the HLP rights regime in Burma?
* In what ways can the legal code more effectively address HLP rights in Burma, and how might it be reformed to avoid problems in the future transition process? This will draw on the many experiences of political transition since the end of the Cold War.
* How can the capacity of the Burmese democratic opposition be enhanced to structurally address the HLP legal environment in Burma today? How can expert capacity be strengthened to better prepare the broader democratic opposition to address the HLP challenges that will arise during and after political transition?..." THIS LINK CONTAINS A HYPERLINKED SET OF BURMESE HLP-RELATED LAWS
Source/publisher:
Displacement Solutions
Date of publication:
2009-11-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-20
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary), Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (texts), Law and policy on land in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
English
more
Description:
NGO working on housing, land and property rights (HLP)
http://mebel-it.com.ua/shkafyi/dlya-odezhdyi
http://getenergy.ru/?page_id=10
Source/publisher:
Displacement Solutions
Date of entry/update:
2009-08-29
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Agricultural land confiscation/grabbing, Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary), Internal displacement/forced migration: specialist organisations and resources, International resources on land rights and tenure
Language:
English
more
Description:
About 326,000 results (December 2017)
Source/publisher:
Google
Date of entry/update:
2013-09-04
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
English
more
Individual Documents
Description:
''Over the past decade, Displacement Solutions has undertaken extensive research aimed at
shedding light on the numerous housing, land and property (HLP) rights issues facing the
people of Myanmar. Through these efforts DS aims to build the capacity of the people of
Myanmar to exercise and enforce their HLP rights. To this end, DS provides practical
guidance to citizens and their governments through the development of institutional and
policy frameworks, guiding principles and practical steps which seek to reduce, eliminate
and redress HLP rights abuses.
The following eleven books and reports were published with the intent of informing and
aiding the Myanmar government, key ethnic actors, humanitarian organisations and
citizens on the importance of HLP rights within Myanmar. The documents outlined here
are just a portion of DS' research efforts concerning the country. Many of our other papers
and reports on more sensitive themes have intentionally been kept internal by the
organisations and institutions for whom they were prepared.
These publications cover topics spanning national policy development on land grabbing and
speculation, recommendations for the development of a comprehensive HLP rights
framework within Myanmar, the manner in which HLP rights can be addressed during
peace negotiations as well as land rights in relation to mine action. The most recent report
outlines the need for the government of Myanmar to establish a Myanmar National Climate
Land Bank to pre-emptively address the threats of climate displacement.
Throughout the past ten years, DS has had the privilege of working with an extraordinary
group of legal experts, local groups and donors, and would like to thank them all once again
for their collective efforts to make Myanmar a country where housing, land and property
rights are enjoyed in full by everyone.
Finally, a special thanks to Hannah Crothers and Amy Pattle from Monash Law School for
their assistance in preparing this overview...''
Scott Leckie
Source/publisher:
Displacement Solutions
Date of publication:
2018-06-04
Date of entry/update:
2019-01-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary), Law and policy on land in Burma/Myanmar, Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups., Land rights, Land rights, Housing, Right to Adequate Housing
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
243.14 KB
more
Description:
''The sun sets over a village in rural Myanmar,
where a group of men and women discuss
a recent announcement they have seen
posted in the distant Township Office.
The notice refers to a company’s claims on
certain parcels of land that the villagers’
families have been cultivating for decades.
According to the notice, such land is now
officially classified as vacant; some of the
land has already been fenced off and used to
cultivate rubber. The deadline for objections
mentioned in the letter had passed long
before any of the affected farmers realised
what was going on. Some of the villagers,
who used to cultivate this land but were
displaced, live elsewhere and are unaware
of the situation. What is to be done?
The need for HLP restitution
Ten years after the enactment of Myanmar’s
new Constitution in 2008 and the start of
the period of government transition, the
quest for peace and for real and effective
remedies for past and present land grabbing
and displacement continues despite some
positive – albeit tentative – steps being taken
by the government. During the civil wars,
entire villages were forcibly displaced,
with people also suffering forced labour
and gender-based violence.1
The legal
framework continues to be a complicated mix
of colonial-era legislation and newer laws,
with the latter clearly designed to favour
private investment and widespread land
acquisition without adequate safeguards
to protect the rights of farmers and their
families.2
Laws governing land acquisition
disproportionately favour the State, the
military and companies which have close
relationships with or are otherwise favoured
by these entities, and pay less attention to the
rights of affected people and communities...''
José Arraiza and Scott Leckie
Source/publisher:
Displacement Solutions
Date of publication:
2018-02-23
Date of entry/update:
2019-01-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary), Law and policy on land in Burma/Myanmar, Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups., Land rights
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
334.75 KB
more
Description:
"(Yangon) ? The government of Myanmar should promptly provide redress for past illegal confiscations of land, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The government should also enact laws and regulations to safeguard the rights of farmers and other small landholders from future confiscations.
Over the past 30 years, Myanmar government and military officials have seized vast swathes of land from farmers while providing them no or inadequate compensation, which denies them livelihoods and erodes access to basic services. Many farmers have faced criminal prosecution for protesting the lack of redress and refusing to leave or cease work on the land that was taken from them..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch
Date of publication:
2018-07-17
Date of entry/update:
2018-08-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
I. HOUSING, LAND AND PROPERTY ISSUES AND CONFLICT:
CAUSE, CONSEQUENCE AND CURE...
II. HLP ISSUES IN THE MYANMAR PEACE PROCESS
AND HOW BEST TO ADDRESS THEM...
III. PEACE AND POST-CONFLICT AGREEMENTS
AND HLP ISSUES: A COUNTRY-BY-
COUNTRY OVERVIEW...
IV. CONCLUSIONS....."Any successful outcome to the peace process in Myanmar will invariably need to address
the wide range of housing, land and property (HLP) rights issues that are central components in
all of the unresolved conflicts in the country. At least superficially, there is growing
evidence that
various actors engaged in the peace process are increasingly recognising
that the resolution of
HLP rights issues will be critical towards building
the foundations needed for the long-term peace
and stability of the country. The agreement of ten key land and environment principles at the
May 2017
Panglong 2
Summit by the
government and ethnic negotiating
armed ethnic
groups
provides an important basis for further agreement on HLP issues as the process unfolds. This
paper aims to bolster this process by providing
a brief overview of how HLP matters have been
addressed in other peace processes throughout the world over the past 25 years, some of which
may prove inspirational to peace negotiators in Myanmar. There is a wide range of experience
about how and in which manner HLP issues have been included in peace agreements, and HLP
issues are increasingly recognized for their multi-dimensional impacts upon conflict. Indeed,
HLP issues can be the cause of conflict, a consequence of conflict, and an important means for
securing
a sustainable peace following
conflict.
HLP concerns and the human rights and other
considerations attached to them are now widely agreed to form vital ingredients in the quest
for long-term economic vitality and social stability following
conflict. As a result, HLP issues are
growing
in prominence and are now viewed as key considerations in conflict prevention and
peacebuilding
initiatives...
Despite the fact that virtually all recent major peace processes and post-conflict periods
of reconstruction in other countries have sought to structurally address the severe HLP consequences of the conflict concerned, there is a significant risk in Myanmar that because of the deep
vested interests attached to so many of them, HLP issues will be perceived as too sensitive or
complex to be properly addressed in any eventual agreement. It is important, therefore, to foster
awareness about HLP issues among
those engaged in, or supporting
, negotiations and planning
for the post-conflict period. Without adequate preparation of all stakeholders involved in,
or supporting, the negotiation process, a national level settlement may be undermined by local
level HLP
grievances and conflicts. In the alternative scenario, in which there is no national level
agreement, an alternative strategy for sensitizing
actors to HLP risks and opportunities will nonetheless be required..."
Source/publisher:
Norwegian Refugee Council, Displacement Solutions
Date of publication:
2018-02-08
Date of entry/update:
2018-02-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Law and policy on land in Burma/Myanmar, Conflict resolution - mediation - resources, Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary)
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
466.18 KB
more
Description:
"The people of Myanmar do not hold absolute property rights ? a fact which has remained true, though meant different things, through the pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial eras."
Wade Guyitt
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times"
Date of publication:
2014-11-10
Date of entry/update:
2017-12-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
Burma is situated in Southeastern Asia, bordering Bangladesh, India, China, Laos and Thailand. The
majority of its population lives in rural areas and depends on land as a primary means of livelihood.
Because all land in Burma ultimately belongs to the state, citizens and organizations depend upon use
-
rights, but do not own land.
Burma?s laws grant women equal rights i
n some respects and also recognize certain customary laws that
provide women equal rights in relation to land. In practice, however, the rights of many women are
governed by customs that do not afford them equal access to or control over land.
Forcible and
uncompensated land confiscation is a source of conflict and abuse in Burma, and protests
and fear of ?land grabs” have escalated as the state opens its markets to foreign investors and pursues
policies to dramatically increase industrial agricultural prod
uction.
Burma has rich water, forest and mineral resources. However, a rapid expansion of resource extraction
efforts in the past three decades has led to widespread land and water pollution, deforestation,
community protests and forced relocation.
Source/publisher:
USAID
Date of publication:
2017-09-13
Date of entry/update:
2017-10-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tenure (national legislation and policies), Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary)
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
594.89 KB
Local URL:
more
Description:
"Myanmar may soon face a land conflict epidemic as a result of the growing influx of investments and
the consequent demand for land, unless laws and policies that adequately address land rights issues
are urgently adopted and implemented.
The Myotha Industrial Park typifies Myanmar?s current economic development model, which seeks
to incentivize investment in areas designated as ?least developed.” The Myotha Industrial Park,
developed by the Burmese company Mandalay Myotha Industrial Development (MMID) in Ngazun
Township, Mandalay Region, is a glaring example of how Myanmar?s rural communities suffer harmful
consequences and receive little or no redress as a result of large-scale industrial projects.
In the Myotha Industrial Park area, a combination of a flawed legal framework, unscrupulous authorities,
and irresponsible investors produced a perfect storm in which more than 1,000 families from 14 villages
lost their land ? their sole source of livelihood ? to make way for the project?s development..."
Source/publisher:
FIDH - N° 702a
Date of publication:
2017-09-27
Date of entry/update:
2017-09-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Land confiscation for military, commercial and other purposes, Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary)
Language:
English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.38 MB
Local URL:
more
Description:
Executive summary:
"In January 2016 the government adopted a National Land Use Policy, which included the recognition
of customary land management practices. While this is a welcome first step in the necessary
integration of Burma?s customary land management systems with the national-level system,
there is an urgent need for constitutional reform and devolution of land management powers
prior to any such integration.
This report by the Ethnic Community Development Forum (ECDF) presents how Burma?s diverse
customary land management systems in seven ethnic communities are structured, and
provides ideas for how these systems could be supported and potentially integrated into a future
devolved federal national land management system.
Customary land management systems have co-existed with the national land management system
in Burma for centuries.
The national land management system is highly centralized and has facilitated widespread
land grabbing for natural resource extraction and agribusiness projects, resulting in loss of livelihoods
and environmental degradation throughout the country. Updated Land Laws adopted
in 2012 were based on poorly defined land classification and despite some democratic reforms,
the military maintains a central role in land management through the General Administration
Department. Upland agricultural lands ? mainly tilled by ethnic nationalities practicing shifting
cultivation ? are defined by law as either forest lands or as vacant, virgin and fallow lands. Lands
defined as ?vacant, virgin and fallow” are particularly problematic as these are designated for
?State Economic Development” and contracted to extractive industries, agribusiness and infrastructure
development projects.
Customary land management systems have operated independently of the national government
since colonial days and independence, due to lack of government access into remote ethnic
areas and decades of civil war. In recent years, ethnic resistance governments in Karen and Mon
States have developed their own land registration and management systems in order to protect
the land rights and interests of ethnic farmers in areas governed by these ethnic governments.
These systems, in contrast to the national land management systems, are decentralized and have
evolved/adapted to local situations and needs, prioritizing sustainable livelihoods and environmental
protection.
The ECDF has conducted grassroots participatory research and issued publications on customary
land systems in Burma?s ethnic states since 2014. This has included: conducting a household
survey in 26 townships; commissioning a report on international experiences with customary
land management systems; and facilitating participatory community research in order to document
the land management systems in seven ethnic villages located in six states. Summary findings
of this research include:
a) Customary practices have been passed on for many generations and have sustained
strong connections between villagers and their lands:
Communities that are practicing customary land management have been living on their lands
for many generations, passing their lands and traditions onto their children and grandchildren.
Community members regard land as more than just a commodity which has no spiritual connection
to the nature that has produced these resources. The administrative and cultural institutions
that have arisen among ethnic groups over numerous generations of living on their lands are tied
closely to the geographic features of their lands, as well as the experiences about how to best
conserve surrounding natural resources in order to survive and prosper. Everyday customs and
traditions, including the roles of those governing customary lands, are woven into the natural
environment where communities are based and the corresponding worldview that community
members have received from their ancestors.
b) Customary practices provide sustainable environmental protection:
Nearly all communities practicing customary land management reside in forests, and therefore
are dependent upon the health of these forest lands for their survival and livelihoods. Customary
communities have developed land use rules and regulations which have allowed sustainable use
of the forest for food, shelter and medicine without endangering long-term ecological health.
Villagers also preserve their natural resources by respecting the spirits of the trees, lakes, water
resources, animals and lands on ?auspicious? days each year and through composing stories and
poems in order to teach the new generations about protecting the community?s natural resources.
Customary Land communities have established a number of land use zones (community forests,
protected forests, reserved forests, use forests, watersheds, conservation areas and wildlife
conservation zones) ? each with explicit rules that regulate the use of the lands and natural resources.
There is a wide range of classifi cations for these conservation areas.
c) Customary practices provide self-reliant and ecologically sustainable livelihoods:
A vast majority of community needs are produced or collected from local lands, forests and waters.
Apart from organized production of foods ? through lowland and hillside agriculture as well
as livestock breeding ? forest resources provide supplementary foods (wild fruits, vegetables
and animals); materials for housing and clothes; and herbal medicines. These communities have
regulations that prioritize ecologically sustainable, equitable and needs-based production rather
than extraction for sales and profit.
d) Customary practices provide local communities with eff ective decentralized and participatory
governance and judiciary systems:
Governance, judiciary and administrative systems exist in the communities that have evolved
over generations and are both participatory and resilient. Community members view the rules
and regulations as their own, and therefore adhere to them much more closely than a set of
regulations imposed upon them by outsiders. Elected village committees (including specific
committees for land, water and forest management) update, arbitrate and enforce village land
regulations. Important decisions are made with the participation of a majority of the villagers.
Customary land management systems are holistic and incorporate all lands, waterways and forests
within specified village boundaries.
Customary land management structures and policies have been integrated nationally in countries
on every continent. International institutions ? including the World Bank ? have stated the effectiveness
and effi ciency advantages of communal and customary tenure over formal individual
titles. The World Bank has also urged caution about state-led intervention in land tenure systems,
suggesting building on existing systems.
Protection and recognition of ethnic customary land management systems is an important component
in achieving sustainable peace and must be enshrined in a future federal constitution
and decentralized legal framework ? one example of this is outlined at the end of this report. In
order to protect these lands and systems until peace accords, constitutional amendments and new
land legislation formalizing these systems have been fi nalized, there should be a moratorium
on land acquisition in areas where customary land management systems are being implemented
or were implemented before displacement due to armed conflicts."
Source/publisher:
Ethnic Community Development Forum
Date of publication:
2016-07-05
Date of entry/update:
2016-07-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Law and policy on land in Burma/Myanmar, Customary tenure (Myanmar), Legal Pluralism - Burma/Myanmar-specific, Customary laws related to land, Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary)
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
9.08 MB
more
Description:
Land Core Group Shifting Cultivation Meeting
Yangon, Myanmar
17 June 2016 .....Legal Framework = Tools in a Toolbox...Where to start? Constitution...What tools exist in various laws?...Association Registration Law...Farmland Law (Strengths)...Farmland Law (Weaknesses)...Forest Law and CFI (Strengths)...Forest Land and CFI (Weaknesses) ...Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Land (VFV) Law ...Need for a new tool...
Robert Burton Oberndorf, JD
Source/publisher:
USAID Land Tenure Project
Date of publication:
2016-06-17
Date of entry/update:
2016-07-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tenure (national legislation and policies), Shifting ("swidden", "jhum", "taungya") cultivation - Burma/Myanmar, Customary tenure (Myanmar), Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary)
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
80.66 KB
more
Description:
KEY RECOMMENDATIONS:-
(1) TO MYANMAR LAWYERS:
"a. Lawyers need to form strong networks and associations to support farmers, ethnic groups and community organizations...
b. Lawyers need to develop new skills to participate in policy advocacy, including collecting data about current practices, and engage in a national debate about land rights...
c. Lawyers working on land rights cases need to use all available tools to strengthen their case work (see annex 2 for a list of practical actions lawyers can take).....
(2) TO CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS:
a. CSO?s need to work with lawyers to understand the law regarding land ownership and use, how it is being applied and how it can be used to protect land rights and should share this knowledge with communities...
b. CSOs should be involved in collecting evidence of the current relationships between communities and land; this will be essential for developing good policies and new laws.....
(3) TO INTERNATIONAL DONORS:
a. Donors must look beyond the letter of the law and information produced by the government to explore how laws are currently being applied and how the legal system operates in practice. Many challenges faced by lawyers working on land rights cases would not require legal reform to correct; international donors should demand immediate changes to remove some of the existing barriers to justice...
b. International donors must translate information relating to land rights into Burmese as a minimum. Understanding of these issues and ongoing reform processes within Myanmar is currently very limited, with residents of Yangon and other cities able to access information far easier than people in rural areas; efforts need to be made to address geographic and ethnic differences in understanding."
Source/publisher:
Myanmar Lawyers Network; Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
Date of publication:
2015-07-16
Date of entry/update:
2016-04-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Law and policy on land in Burma/Myanmar, Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary)
Language:
English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format :
pdf pdf pdf doc
Size:
315.61 KB 960.27 KB 823.85 KB 727.5 KB
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Description:
Documents and analyses on land tenure in Burma/Myanmar.....
"1.Reconcile legality and legitimacy through clear legal recognition of existing
acknowledged rights, whatever their origin (customary or statutory) or nature
(individual or collective, temporary or permanent).
2.Initiate widespread debate on the choice of society that the land policies will
serve (and target), the opportunities for formalisation, how it will be implemented
and its possible alternatives.
3.Build consensus between all the actors concerned (central and local
governments, local people, the land administration, professionals in the sector),
and sustain the political will needed to implement formalisation procedures.
4.Define a realistic implementation strategy which recognises the vital
importance of establishing effective and transparent governance and/or
administration of land rights.
5.Progressive implementation that leaves room for learning, experimentation
and adjustment.
6.Ensure from the outset that the land services will be financially viable, and
put in place mechanisms to fund them."
Celine Allaverdian
Source/publisher:
GRET (Groupe de Recherche et d?Echanges Technologiques)
Date of publication:
2016-02-11
Date of entry/update:
2016-03-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tenure insecurity in Burma (including land grabbing), Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary), Law and policy on land in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
English
Format :
pdf pdf
Size:
541.79 KB 1.11 MB
more
Description:
Abstract:
"In 2012, the Government of Myanmar (GoM) passed
the Farmland Law and the Vacant, Fallow, Virgin
(VFV) Land Law—creating a formalized land market. In essence, this created a formalized land
market. Land titling is often considered ?the natural end point of land rights formalization” (Hall et al.
2010: 35). This thinking has become dominant among most governments and development agencies
ever since De Soto (2000) popularized it in
The Mystery of Capital
, in which he argued that the
developmental successes of the West has relied on a
strong legally-enforceable
institution of property
rights, without which assets, particularly land, would become ?dead capital.”
In reality, there are at least two major obstacles in achieving this in Myanmar. The
first
is around the
legacy of multiple regimes in creating ?stacked laws”
(Roquas 2002). This term refers to a situation in
which a country has multiple layers of laws that exist simultaneously, creating conflicts and
contradictions in the legal system, as well as challenges to creating a well-regulated land market
envisioned by the Myanmar state with
the passage of the two land laws. The
second
obstacle has to do
with the fact that like many countries in the world, access to legal justice in Myanmar is dependent on
one?s access to different material, social and political resources—directly to a history of patron-clientelism. Through a number of select case
studies, this paper seeks to provide preliminary
reflections on the following question: In Myanmar, a country with a porous legal framework, how do
smallholder farmers engage with the law, and where
relevant, informal norms to strengthen legitimacy
of their claims to land against confiscations?
This paper seeks to contribute to the literature on
agrarian rural movements by focusing specifically on
the way farming communities in Myanmar engage with the law, while paying attention to the
complications they face when they engage with
legal institutions that are porous and ?stacked?—a
phenomena that is common to many countries in the early phases of rural democratization......
Keywords:
stacked laws, patron-client relationships, legal justice, legal engagement"
SiuSue Mark
Source/publisher:
BRICS Initiatives for Critical Agrarian Studies (BICAS)
Date of publication:
2015-05-00
Date of entry/update:
2015-12-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Land confiscation for military, commercial and other purposes, Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary)
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
358 KB
Local URL:
more
Description:
Executive Summary:
"Land acquisition issues and resultant land disputes of various types are some
of the most controversial, contentious and vexing issues at play in the evolving
political and economic landscape of today?s Myanmar. Few issues are discussed
more fervently and frequently than issues relating to the critical question of land;
who owns it, who controls it, who may seek to acquire it, disputes over it, and who is
to be potentially removed from it. Innumerable recent reports indicate three
overarching trends concerning the scale of land acquisition in Myanmar: (1)
Large tracts of land were compulsorily acquired and conceded during the past
several decades of military rule that spanned 1962-2011; (2) Additional large
tracts of land have been alienated since the present government took power in
2011; and (3) Yet further large tracts of land are currently threatened with
confiscation in coming years.2
2. As the political reform process begins to slow in the run-up to the planned 2015
national elections, and as the economy continues to liberalize within a legal and
regulatory environment which remains disproportionately skewed in favor of State
and business interests, it is clear that law is incapable in its present form of
adequately protecting the full spectrum of land-related rights of ordinary
citizens and communities. In addition, land registration and record keeping
remains extremely poor.3 This is particularly so given the fact that farmers
threatened with displacement have only what are effectively user-rights.4 These
circumstances in turn lays the groundwork for potential land disputes which can have
significantly negative impacts on business activities. The land sphere is increasingly
seen as one of the most visible sectors of society where a collusion of economic and
political elites linked to the government, military and the corporate sector find a
continuing source of power and control. Arguably, given their largely inequitable,
top-down and non-transparent nature, these developments place deeper and longerterm
democratic reforms at considerable risk, and rather than constituting a boost to
overall economic performance in the country, in fact, may undermine economic,
political and social progress in this regard. At the individual company level, the
legal and political basis for land relations in Myanmar can pose the very real
prospect of land disputes that may undermine investment opportunities...".....This entry also has a link to the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards - not in the DS study.
Source/publisher:
Displacement Solutions
Date of publication:
2015-05-00
Date of entry/update:
2015-06-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
300.92 KB
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Description:
SUMMARY:
"Since President
Thein
Sein
came
to
power
in
2011,
political
and
economic
reforms
in
Myanmar
have
led
to
greater
freedoms
and
unprecedented
optimism
for
the
country?s
future.
However,
in
communities
throughout
Myanmar,
authorities
continue
to
apply
repressive
laws
and
employ
practices
common
under
previous
military
regimes.
The
Ward or Village Tract Administration Law
requires
all
residents
of
Myanmar—urban
and
rural,
Burman
Buddhists
and
minorities,
rich
and
poor—to
report
the
identity
of
overnight
houseguests
to
government
officials
serving
as
ward
or
village
tract
administrators.
In
effect,
residents
need
permission
from
the
state
to
host
overnight
guests—and
authorities
are
known
to
deny
guest
registration
for
a
variety
of
reasons.
Myanmar
authorities
ensure
compliance
with
the
guest
registration
requirement
by
conducting
periodic
household
inspections.
The
Ward or Village Tract Administration Law
empowers
officials
to
inspect
?the
places
needed
to
examine
for
prevalence
of
law
and
order
and
upholding
the
discipline
[sic]
,”
effectively
giving
them
unfettered
authority
to
enter
private
residences.
Under
the
authority
granted
by
this
provision,
ward
or
village
tract
administrators
typically
carry
out
household
inspections
late
at
night
with
police
or
intelligence
officers
and
others,
ostensibly
to
determine
if
unregistered
guests
are
present.
Given
the
timing
of
these
intrusions,
many
residents
refer
to
the
practice
as
?midnight
inspections”.
Additionally,
individuals
who
lack
adequate
documentation
or
citizenship
status
in
Myanmar
face
challenges
hosting
or
staying
as
overnight
guests.
For
example,
individuals
who
are
unable
to
obtain
household
registration
documents
are
typically
required
to
regularly
report
themselves
to
the
state
as
guests
in
their
own
homes,
often
on
a
weekly
basis.
The
provisions
of
the
Ward or Village Tract Administration Law
related
to
the
guest
registration
requirement
and
its
enforcement
impinge
on
various
human
rights,
including
the
right
to
privacy
and
rights
to
freedom
of
movement,
residency,
and
association.
The
guest
registration
requirement
represents
a
systematic
and
nationwide
breach
of
privacy,
giving
the
government
access
to
troves
of
personal
data
from
communities
across
the
country.
Evidence
collected
by
Fortify
Rights
also
suggests
that
the
law
is
particularly
enforced
against
low-income
communities,
individuals
working
with
civil
society
organizations,
and
political
activists..."
Source/publisher:
Fortify Rights
Date of publication:
2014-03-19
Date of entry/update:
2015-03-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to association and assembly (commentaries), Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary)
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.13 MB
Local URL:
more
Description:
အကျဉ်းချုပ်
၂၀၁၁ ခုနှစ်တွင် ဦးသိန်းစိန် သမ္မတဖြစ်လာပြီးနောက်၊ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ၏ နိုင်ငံရေးနှင့် စီးပွားရေး
ပြုပြင်ပြောင်းလဲမှုများသည် နိုင်ငံ၏အနာဂတ်အတွက် ကြီးမားသောလွတ်လပ်မှုများ မကြုံစဖူးသော
အကောင်းမြင်မှုများသို့ ဦးတည်ခဲ့ပါသည်။ သို့ရာတွင် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတစ်ဝန်းရှိ လူ့အသိုက်အဝန်းများတွင်၊
အာဏာပိုင်များသည် ဖိနှိပ်သောဥပဒေများကို ဆက်လက်ကျင့်သုံးနေပြီး၊ ယခင်စစ်အစိုးရများ
လက်ထက်တွင် ကျင့်သုံးနေကျကိုသာ ဆက်လက်အသုံးချလျက် ရှိပါသည်။
မြို့ပြနှင့် ကျေးလက်တောနယ်၊ မြန်မာဗုဒ္ဓဘာသာနှင့် လူနည်းစုများ၊ ချမ်းသာသူနှင့် ဆင်းရဲသူ အပါအဝင်
ဖြစ်သော မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတွင် နေထိုင်သူအားလုံးသည် ၂၀၁၂ ခုနှစ် ရပ်ကွက် သို့မဟုတ် ကျေးရွာအုပ်စု အုပ်
ချုပ်ရေးဥပဒေ အရ ညဉ့်အိပ်ညဉ့်နေ အိမ်တွင်တည်းခိုသူများကို ရပ်ကွက် သို့မဟုတ် ကျေးရွာအုပ်စု အုပ်
ချုပ်ရေးမှူးအဖြစ် တာဝန်ထမ်းဆောင်နေသော အစိုးရအရာရှိများထံ တိုင်ကြားရန်လိုအပ်ပါသည်။ စင်စစ်
အားဖြင့် ဒေသခံများသည် ညဉ့်အိပ်ညဉ့်နေတည်းခိုမည့်သူများကို လက်ခံနိုင်ရန် နိုင်ငံတော်မှ ခွင့်ပြုချက်
ရယူရန်လိုအပ်ပါသည်၊ အာဏာပိုင်များကလည်း အကြောင်းမျိုးစုံပြပြီး ငြင်းပယ်နိုင်ကြောင်းသိရှိရပါသည်။
မြန်မာအာဏာပိုင်များသည် မကြာခဏနှင့် ပုံမှန်ဆိုသလို အိမ်ထောင်စုများကိုစစ်ဆေးခြင်းဖြင့် တည်း
ခိုသူများကိုတိုင်ကြားရန်လိုအပ်ချက်ကို လိုက်နာကြောင်း သေချာစေပါသည်။ ရပ်ကွက် သို့မဟုတ်
ကျေးရွာအုပ်စု အုပ်ချုပ်ရေးဥပဒေသည် အရာရှိများအား ပုဂ္ဂလိကနေအိမ်များကို ဝင်ရောက်ရန်နှင့်
?တရား ဥပဒေစိုးမိုးရေးနှင့် စည်းကမ်းထိန်းသိမ်းရေးအတွက် စစ်ဆေးရန်လိုအပ်သောနေရာများကို
အခါအား လျော်စွာစစ်ဆေးရန်” အကန့်အသတ်မရှိ အခွင့်အာဏာပေးထားပါသည်။
ဤပြဌာန်းချက်က ခွင့်ပြုထား သော အခွင့်အာဏာအရ ရပ်ကွက်နှင့် ကျေးရွာအုပ်စု
အုပ်ချုပ်ရေးမှူးများသည် ထုံးစံအတိုင်း ဤစစ်ဆေးမှု များကို ညဉ့်နက်သော အခါကျမှ ရဲ သို့မဟုတ်
ထောက်လှမ်းရေးအရာရှိများ၊ အခြားသူများနှင့်အတူ ဧည့်စာရင်းတိုင်ကြားခြင်းမရှိသော ဧည့်သည်များရှိ
မရှိကို စစ်ဆေးရန်အကြောင်းပြ၍ ပြုလုပ်ကြပါသည်။ ဤချင်းနင်းဝင်ရောက်ခြင်းများပြုလုပ်သည့်
အချိန်ကိုထောက်ရှု၍ ဒေသခံများသည် ထိုအလေ့အကျင့်ကို ?ညဉ့်နက် သန်းခေါင်စစ်ဆေးမှုများ”
ဟုရည်ညွှန်းပြောဆိုကြပါသည်
Source/publisher:
Fortify Rights
Date of publication:
2015-03-19
Date of entry/update:
2015-03-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to association and assembly (commentaries), Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary)
Language:
Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format :
pdf
Size:
962.04 KB
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Description:
Documentary by the Land Core Group Myanmar, where 70% of the Myanmar population are smallholder farmers, about the challenges faced by poor farmers from land grabbing and land dispossession in rural Myanmar...Interviews with land activists and dispossessed farmers in different parts of the country... sections on: resistance to land-grabbing; Myanmar land law and policies (where customary tenure and women?s land rights are not explicitly recognised); efficiency of smallholder practice...
Source/publisher:
Land Core Group of the Food Security Working Group
Date of publication:
2015-03-17
Date of entry/update:
2015-03-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Land confiscation for military, commercial and other purposes, Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary), Tenure insecurity in Burma (including land grabbing), Smallholder farming and farmers in Burma/Myanmar, Individual videos and films on Burma in English and other non-Asian languages, Videos and multimedia on Burma in Burmese, Karen and other languages of Burma, most with English subtitles.
Language:
English, Burmese/ မြန်မာဘာသာ (English voice-over and subtitles)
more
Description:
နိုဝင်ဘာလ ၂၀၁၄
မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ၏ အမျိုးသားမြေအသုံးချမှုမူဝါဒမူကြမ်းနှင့်ပတ်သက်၍ Global Witness ၏
အဆိုပြုလွှာအနှစ်ချုပ်
ဒီမိုကရေစီနိုင်ငံအဖြစ် ပြုပြင်ပြောင်းလဲမှုများပြုလုပ်ရာတွင်မြန်မာနိုင်ငံအစိုးရသည်
အမျိုးသားမြေအသုံးချမှုမူဝါဒမူကြမ်းကို ၂၀၁၄ ခုနှစ် အောက်တိုဘာလတွင်ထုတ်ပြန်ခဲ့ပြီး
ပြည်သူလူထုနှင့် တိုင်ပင်ဆွေးနွေးရန်နောက်ဆက်တွဲမြေယာဥပဒေတစ်ခုအတွက် အစီအစဉ်များကိုလည်းထုတ်ပြန်ခဲ့ပါသည်။
ထိုသို့ဆောင်ရွက်ခြင်းသည် အလွန်အရေးကြီးသည့်လုပ်ဆောင်ချက်ဖြစ်ပြီး Global Witness အနေဖြင့် မြေနှင့်ပတ်သက်ပြီးခိုင်မာသောဥပဒေပြဋ္ဌာန်းမှုဆိုင်ရာမူဘောင်နှင့်
ပြည်သူလူထုပါဝင်လာနိုင်မည့်အခွင့်အရေးများအတွက် အလားအလာများကို လက်ကမ်း
ကြိုဆိုပါသည်။
သို့သော် အလွန်အရေးကြီးသည်မှာ ထိုသို့သော တိုင်ပင်ဆွေးနွေးမှုသည် အဓိပ္ပါယ်ရှိရမည်ဖြစ်ပြီး စစ်မှန်စွာပါဝင်ဆောင်ရွက်ခြင်းဖြစ်ရမည်။
ထို့နောက် ရရှိလာသောတုန့်ပြန်ချက်များကို မြေအသုံးချမှုမူဝါဒနှင့် မြေ
အသုံးချမှုဥပဒေတို့တွင် အပြည့်အဝပွင့်လင်းမြင်သာမှုဖြင့် ပေါင်းစပ်ထည့်သွင်းရမည်ဖြစ်သည်။
ထို့အပြင် အပြီးသတ်မြေအသုံးချမှုမူဝါဒနှင့် နောက်ဆက်တွဲမြေအသုံးချမှုဥပဒေတို့သည် ခိုင်ခံ့ရမည်ဖြစ်သည့်အပြင် အပြည်ပြည်ဆိုင်ရာအခြေခံစံနှုန်းများဖြင့် ကိုက်ညီသင့်သည်။
အထူးသဖြင့် မြေ၊ ငါးလုပ်ငန်းနှင့် သစ်တောများဆိုင်ရာလုပ်ပိုင်ခွင့်အပေါ် တာဝန်သိသော
အုပ်ချုပ်မှုနှင့်ပတ်သက်သည့် ကုလသမဂ္ဂ၏စေတနာအလျောက်လမ်းညွှန်ချက်များ(UN Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure
of Land, Fisheries and Forests) နှင့် ကိုက်ညီသင့်သည်။
Source/publisher:
Global Witness
Date of publication:
2014-11-00
Date of entry/update:
2015-01-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary), Law and policy on land in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format :
pdf
Size:
301.4 KB
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Description:
Summary:
"As part of its transition to democratic reform, in October 2014, the Government of Myanmar released a draft national land policy and plans for a subsequent Land Law, for public consultation. The importance of this cannot be understated and Global Witness welcomes both the potential for a strong codified framework for land, and the opportunity for public participation. It is crucial, however, that consultation is meaningful and genuinely participatory, and the resulting feedback is incorporated into the policy and Land Law in a process that is fully transparent. What?s more, the final land policy and subsequent land law should be robust and in line with international standards, most notably, the UN Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests1.
The guiding principles of the draft national land policy state that its objectives are to ?benefit and harmonize the land use, development and environmental conservation of the land resources of the State, to protect the land use right of the citizens and to improve land administration system.? This aim is extremely welcome as an essential step in achieving the urgently needed reforms in the country?s land governance. However what is notably absent from the policy is a clear roadmap of priorities to be addressed: genuine sustainable development should prioritise the land and user rights, livelihoods and food security of its population, followed by participatory land-use mapping to help guide decisions around the management and use of land. Only then should an assessment be made of what is required in terms of land investments and what, if any, areas of land should be allocated for commercial investment purposes. In its current form, however, the draft land policy makes no reference to poverty alleviation or food security, and instead appears to be openly promoting commercial investment in large-scale projects, potentially at the expense of Myanmar?s rural smallholders ? the majority of the population.
The draft land policy has come under criticism for being pro-business; however, industry should still remain cautious about the reforms being proposed. In its current form, the draft policy presents an uncertain legal landscape which requires much clarification, particularly on several contradictory articles on how land and user rights will be protected. Insecure land and user rights can present a financial risk to both governments and companies as demonstrated through recent research at the global level: both The Munden Project2 - a global think-tank working on finance and sustainability - and the international coalition group Rights and Resources Initiative have demonstrated the financial risk to both governments and businesses associated with land investments in countries where tenure rights are unclear through a number of global case studies.
It is therefore recommended that the Government of Myanmar, with the assistance of its development partners, revise the current draft of the land policy to ensure it has clear aims and objectives, and is based on international standards in particular, the UN Voluntary Guidelines of the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security."
Source/publisher:
Global Witness
Date of publication:
2014-11-00
Date of entry/update:
2015-01-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary), Law and policy on land in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
English
more
Description:
"This article traces the revenue category and legal concept of the Waste Land in Burma/Myanmar
from its original application by the British colonial apparatus in the nineteenth century, to its
later use in tandem with Burma Army counterinsurgent tactics starting in the 1960s, and finally
to the 2012 land laws and current issues in international investment. This adaptation of colonial
ideas about territorialization in the context of an ongoing civil war offers a new angle for under-
standing the relationship between military tactics and the political economy of conflict and
counterinsurgent strategies which crucially depended on giving local militias—both government
and nongovernment—high degrees of autonomy. The recent government changes, including the
more civilian representation in parliament and its shift to engage with Western economies, raise
questions regarding the future of the military, as well as local autonomy and the rural peasantry?s
access to land. As increasing numbers of international investors are poised to enter the Myanmar
market, this article will revisit notions of land use and appropriation, and finally the role of the
army and its changing relationship with Waste Lands...
Keywords:
Burma, colonialism, counterinsurgency, land law, Myanmar, Waste Land
Jane M. Ferguson
Source/publisher:
Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography 35 (2014) 295?31
Date of publication:
2014-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2015-01-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Law and policy on land in Burma/Myanmar, Military History, Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary)
Language:
English
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Description:
"Unregistered ancestral lands and those under shifting cultivation will be protected under draft policy and protected from confiscation under under a draft land use policy, a change land rights groups say would be a major step forward for tenure security."
Sandar Lwin
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times"
Date of publication:
2014-12-05
Date of entry/update:
2014-12-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
"A network of land-focused civil society organisations has raised concerns that bylaws for two new pieces of land legislation fail to offer proper protection for upland farmers who use shifting cultivation, leaving millions at risk of losing their land tenure rights.
Land Core Group chairman U Shwe Thein said that the recently introduced bylaw for the Farmland Law interprets taungya, or upland farming, as only fields under permanent cultivation. This leaves farmers who practise upland shifting cultivation with little protection from losing their lands..."
Thomas Kean
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times"
Date of publication:
2012-10-22
Date of entry/update:
2014-12-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary), Shifting ("swidden", "jhum", "taungya") cultivation - Burma/Myanmar
Language:
English
more
Description:
Abstract:
"The Myanmar Parliament has passed the
Farmland
Law
and the
Vacant, Fallow, and Virgin Lands Management Law
. Both
pieces of legislation form part of a legislative re
sponse as Myanmar
(Burma) emerges from a sixty year period of chronic
armed conflict. Part
2 of this paper outlines the underlying grievances
associated with land
disputes with a focus upon Kayin (Karen) and Rakhin
e (Arakan) states.
Part 3 critically analyses the relevant constitutio
nal and legislative
framework and the role of Parliamentary bodies in l
ight of these
underlying grievances. Part 4 adopts a comparative
stance and considers
the approach taken in Kenya as it has sought to add
ress similar issues.
Finally, Part 5 reflects upon the role that constit
utional and legislative
reform in relation to land disputes plays in the on
going development of
the substantive rule of law in Myanmar (Burma)."
Nathan Willis
Source/publisher:
Chapter in "Law & practice: critical analysis and legal reasoning", 2013
Date of publication:
2013-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2014-12-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
80.7 KB
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Description:
"...Through research on Myanmar, we argue that in authoritarian settings where legality has drastically declined, the starting point for cause lawyering lies in advocacy for law itself, in advocating for the regular application of law?s rules. Because this characterization is liable to be misunderstood as formalistic, particularly by persons familiar with less authoritarian, more legally coherent settings than the one with which we are here concerned, it deserves some brief comments before we continue...By insisting upon legal formality as a condition of transformative justice, cause lawyers in Myanmar advocate for the inherent value of rules in the courtroom, but also incrementally build a constituency in the wider society. In advocating for faithful application of declared rules, in insisting on formal legality in the public domain, lawyers encourage people to mobilize around law as an idea, essential for making law meaningful in practice. They promote a notion of the legal system as once more an arena in which citizens can set up interests that
are not congruent with those of the state; an arena in which cause lawyering is made viable and in which the cause lawyer has a distinctive role to play..." Includes description and discussion of the Kanma land-grab case.....The digitised version may contain errors so the original is included an an Alternate URL.
Nick Cheesman, Kyaw Min San
Source/publisher:
Wisconsin International Law Journal
Date of publication:
2014-06-00
Date of entry/update:
2014-08-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Legal studies and articles, Legal history and philosophy of Burma (texts and commentary), Land confiscation for military, commercial and other purposes, Law and policy on land in Burma/Myanmar, Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary)
Language:
English
Format :
pdf pdf
Size:
226.32 KB 1.57 MB
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Description:
Use Google Chrome to read online - otherwise download and read offline
J. S. Furnivall
Source/publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Date of publication:
1920-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2014-02-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary), Tenure (national legislation and policies)
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
193.3 KB
Local URL:
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Description:
"Access to land for smallholder farmers is a critical foundation for food security in Myanmar?s uplands. Land tenure guarantees seem to be eroding and access to land becoming more difficult in some upland areas. If this trend continues it may have negative impacts for food security and undermine environmental and economic sustainability. This briefing paper explores the relationship between land tenure and food security, as well as key institutional and other factors that influence land access and tenure for smallholder farmers in the uplands today..."
Source/publisher:
Food Security Working Group
Date of publication:
2010-12-00
Date of entry/update:
2013-10-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary), Tenure insecurity in Burma (including land grabbing)
Language:
Burmese/ မြန်မာဘာသာ
Format :
pdf
Size:
489.34 KB
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Description:
"Access to land for smallholder farmers is a critical foundation for food security in Myanmar?s uplands. Land tenure guarantees seem to be eroding and access to land becoming more difficult in some upland areas. If this trend continues it may have negative impacts for food security and undermine environmental and economic sustainability. This briefing paper explores the relationship between land tenure and food security, as well as key institutional and other factors that influence land access and tenure for smallholder farmers in the uplands today."
Source/publisher:
Food Security Working Group
Date of publication:
2010-12-00
Date of entry/update:
2013-10-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary), Tenure insecurity in Burma (including land grabbing)
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
457.58 KB
Local URL:
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Description:
30 pages for projection
Source/publisher:
World Concern
Date of publication:
2010-07-00
Date of entry/update:
2013-10-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
651.07 KB
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Description:
"This report provides an overview of issues related to upland smallholder land tenure. The immediate
objective of the report is to promote a shared understanding of land tenure issues by national-level
stakeholders, with a longer term objective of improving the land tenure, livelihood and food security of
upland farm families. The report is intended for government and non-government agencies, policy
makers and those impacted by policy. The report covers four main areas: status of and trends in upland
tenure security; institutions that regulate upland tenure security; mechanisms available to ensure access
to land; and points for further consideration which could lead to increased effectiveness and equity.
Trends in the uplands include increased population growth, resettlement and concentration of
populations, fragmentation and degradation of agricultural lands, and increased loss of land to
smallholder farmers or landlessness. Declining access to land for smallholder farmers results in the
depletion of common forest resources, increased unemployment, outmigration for labor, and ultimately
food insecurity for the people who live in these areas..."
Source/publisher:
Food Security Working Group
Date of publication:
2011-02-00
Date of entry/update:
2013-10-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tenure (national legislation and policies), Tenure insecurity in Burma (including land grabbing), Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary), Shifting ("swidden", "jhum", "taungya") cultivation - Burma/Myanmar
Language:
Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format :
pdf
Size:
4.34 MB
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Description:
"This report provides an overview of issues related to upland smallholder land tenure. The immediate
objective of the report is to promote a shared understanding of land tenure issues by national-level
stakeholders, with a longer term objective of improving the land tenure, livelihood and food security of
upland farm families. The report is intended for government and non-government agencies, policy
makers and those impacted by policy. The report covers four main areas: status of and trends in upland
tenure security; institutions that regulate upland tenure security; mechanisms available to ensure access
to land; and points for further consideration which could lead to increased effectiveness and equity.
Trends in the uplands include increased population growth, resettlement and concentration of
populations, fragmentation and degradation of agricultural lands, and increased loss of land to
smallholder farmers or landlessness. Declining access to land for smallholder farmers results in the
depletion of common forest resources, increased unemployment, outmigration for labor, and ultimately
food insecurity for the people who live in these areas..."
Source/publisher:
Food Security Working Group
Date of publication:
2011-02-00
Date of entry/update:
2013-10-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tenure insecurity in Burma (including land grabbing), Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary), Tenure (national legislation and policies), Shifting ("swidden", "jhum", "taungya") cultivation - Burma/Myanmar
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
2.61 MB
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Description:
"Burma?s dramatic turn-around from ?axis of evil? to western darling in the past year has been imagined as Asia?s ?final frontier? for global finance institutions, markets and capital. Burma?s agrarian landscape is home to three-fourths of the country?s total population which is now being constructed as a potential prime investment sink for domestic and international agribusiness. The Global North?s development aid industry and IFIs operating in Burma has consequently repositioned itself to proactively shape a pro-business legal environment to decrease political and economic risks to enable global finance capital to more securely enter Burma?s markets, especially in agribusiness. But global capitalisms are made in localized places - places that make and are made from embedded social relations. This paper uncovers how regional political histories that are defined by very particular racial and geographical undertones give shape to Burma?s emerging agro-industrial complex. The country?s still smoldering ethnic civil war and fragile untested liberal democracy is additionally being overlain with an emerging war on food sovereignty. A discursive and material struggle over land is taking shape to convert subsistence agricultural landscapes and localized food production into modern, mechanized industrial agro-food regimes. This second agrarian transformation is being fought over between a growing alliance among the western development aid and IFI industries, global finance capital, and a solidifying Burmese military-private capitalist class against smallholder farmers who work and live on the country?s now most valuable asset - land. Grassroots resistances increasingly confront the elite capitalist class? attempts to corporatize food production through the state?s rule of law and police force. Farmers, meanwhile, are actively developing their own shared vision of food sovereignty and pro-poor land reform that desires greater attention....
Food Sovereignty: a critical dialogue, 14 - 15 September, New Haven.
Kevin Woods
Source/publisher:
Transnational Institute (TNI)
Date of publication:
2013-09-03
Date of entry/update:
2013-09-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Policies leading to food insecurity in Burma, Land confiscation for military, commercial and other purposes, Development in Myanmar - various texts, Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary), All international financial institutions (IFIs) and their watchers, Business and the Military, Agricultural land confiscation/grabbing, TNI-BCN Project on Ethnic Conflict in Burma
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
World Concern, Myanmar
Date of publication:
2010-07-10
Date of entry/update:
2013-09-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
Testimony of Marco Simons to the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission:
"This submission describes the emerging landscape as U.S. businesses reengage in Burma and
identifies specific human rights concerns associated with current and prospective corporate
activities in Burma (Myanmar). A number of companies, including General Electric, have
already invested in Burma, and U.S. oil supermajors are considering participation in upcoming
auctions for oil blocks. Increased foreign investment has already been linked to large-scale
displacement of local communities and loss of traditional livelihoods in Burma. The legal
framework for land rights is inadequate to protect the fundamental human rights of those whose
homes and fields stand in the way of economic development; indeed, it facilitates arbitrary and
inadequately compensated alienation of land. Moreover, violence and gross human rights abuses
continue to occur in association with natural resource development projects, as at the Letpadaung
Copper Mine at Monywa, and in Shan State along the Shwe Gas Pipeline corridor.
Having decided that public disclosure, rather than regulation, is a more appropriate tool to
address the human rights and environmental concerns associated with Western investment in
Burma, the U.S. Government has proposed Reporting Requirements for Responsible Investment
in Burma that are expected to take effect prior to April 2013. While they may assist government
and civil society to monitor the human rights implications of the relaxation of U.S. sanctions on
Burma, these Reporting Requirements have a number of troubling weaknesses that may allow
serious human rights risks to avoid detection. Moreover, while the U.S. is now allowing the
World Bank and the Asian Development Bank to extend loans to Burma, such projects are
already being met with complaints over lack of transparency and consultation..."
Source/publisher:
Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission
Date of publication:
2013-02-28
Date of entry/update:
2013-07-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Business and Human Rights (Burma/Myanmar-related), Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary)
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
4.66 MB
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Description:
"The Farmland Law and the VFV Law were approved by Parliament on March 30th, 2012. There have
been a few improvements compared to previous laws such as recognition of
non-rotational taungya as
a legitimate land-use and recognition that farmers are using VFV lands without formal recognition by
the Government. However overall the Laws lack clarity and provide
weak protection of the rights of
smallholder farmers in upland areas and do not explicitly state the equal rights
of women to register
and inherit land or be granted land-use rights for VFV land. The Laws
remain designed primarily to
foster promotion of large-scale agricultural investment and fail to provide adequate safeguards for the
majority of farmers who are smallholders. In particular tenure security for farmland remains weak due
to the Government retaining power to rescind farm
land use rights leaving smallholders vulnerable to
dispossession of their land-use rights. In addition there remains some unnecessary de-facto
government control over the
crop choices of farmers.
In particular it is recommended
that recognition of land-use rights under customary law and the
creation of mechanisms for communal registration of land-use rights,
be included in the Farmland and
VFV Laws. There needs to be a comprehensive process of re-classifying land in the country to reflect
land-use changes resulting from conversion of forests and VFV land into agricultural land, loss of
agricultural land due to development projects, urban expansion and population growth. This will serve
to reduce land conflict in the countryside and provide genuine tenure security for smallholders.
Furthermore the specific and independent rights of
women must be explicitly stated in the Laws.
Added to this the fundamental principle of free,
prior and informed consent should be enshrined,
especially in regard to
removal of land-use rights
in the national interest.
It is also necessary that the Government works in partnership with civil society and farmers
associations to revise the Farmland and VFV Laws..."
Robert B. Oberndorf, J. D.
Source/publisher:
Forest Trends, Food Security Working Group?s Land Core Group
Date of publication:
2012-11-00
Date of entry/update:
2013-07-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary), Law and policy on land in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
236.37 KB
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Description:
Bridging the HLP Gap -
The Need to Effectively Address Housing, Land and Property Rights
During Peace Negotiations and in the Context of Refugee/IDP Return:
Preliminary Recommendations to the Government of Myanmar,
Ethnic Actors and the International Community.....Executive Summary:
"Of the many challenging issues that will require resolution within the peace processes currently underway
between the government of Myanmar and various ethnic groups in the country, few will be as complex, sensitive
and yet vital than the issues comprising housing, land and property (HLP) rights. Viewed in terms of the rights of
the sizable internally displaced person (IDP) and refugee populations who will be affected by the eventual peace
agreements, and within the broader political reform process, HLP rights will need to form a key part of all of the
ongoing moves to secure a sustainable peace, and be a key ingredient within all activities dedicated to ending
displacement in Myanmar today.
The Government Myanmar (including the military) and its various ethnic negotiating partners – just as with all
countries that have undergone deep political transition in recent decades, including those emerging from lengthy
conflicts – need to fully appreciate and comprehend the nature and scale of the HLP issues that have emerged
in past decades, how these have affected and continue to affect the rights and perspectives of justice of those
concerned, and the measures that will be required to remedy HLP concerns in a fair and equitable manner that
strengthens the foundations for permanent peace. Resolving forced displacement and the arbitrary acquisition
and occupation of land, addressing the HLP and other human rights of returning refugees and IDPs in areas of
return, ensuring livelihood and other economic opportunities and a range of other measures will be required if
return is be sustainable and imbued with a sense of justice.
There is an acute awareness among all of those involved in the ongoing peace processes of the centrality of
HLP issues within the context of sustainable peace, however, all too little progress has thus far been made to
address these issues in any detail, nor have practical plans commenced to resolve ongoing displacement of either
refugees or IDPs. Indeed, the negotiating positions of both sides on key HLP issues differ sharply and will need
to be bridged; many difficult decisions remain to be made..."
Scott Leckie
Source/publisher:
Displacement Solutions
Date of publication:
2013-06-02
Date of entry/update:
2013-06-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Law and policy on land in Burma/Myanmar, Proposed return of Burmese asylum-seekers from Thailand to Burma, Dialogue/reform/transition in Burma/Myanmar - analyses and statements, Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary)
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.6 MB
Local URL:
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Description:
"Inadequate land laws have opened rural Myanmar to rampant land grabbing by unscrupulous, well-connected businessmen who anticipate a boom in agricultural and property investment. If unchecked, the gathering trend has the potential to undermine the country?s broad reform process and impede long-term economic progress.
Under the former military regime, land grabbing became a common and largely uncontested practice. Government bodies, particularly military units, were able to seize large tracts of farmland, usually without compensation. While some of the land
Land grabbing as big business in Myanmar
By Brian McCartan
Inadequate land laws have opened rural Myanmar to rampant land grabbing by unscrupulous, well-connected businessmen who anticipate a boom in agricultural and property investment. If unchecked, the gathering trend has the potential to undermine the country?s broad reform process and impede long-term economic progress.
Under the former military regime, land grabbing became a common and largely uncontested practice. Government bodies, particularly military units, were able to seize large tracts of farmland, usually without compensation. While some of the land
was used for the expansion of military bases, new government offices or infrastructure projects, much of it was used either by military units for their own commercial purposes or sold to private companies.
The threat of military force meant there was little grass roots opposition to these land seizures and few avenues to secure adequate compensation. That?s changed under the new democratic order as local communities band together to fight back against seizure of their lands. Many of the current land disputes date to the period before the 2010 general elections that ushered in President Thein Sein?s reformist quasi-civilian government...Two new land laws passed on March 30, 2012 - the Farmland Law and the Vacant, Fallow, and Virgin Land Management Law - were intended to clarify ownership under the constitution and provide protections to land owners. While the laws guaranteed more individual ownership rights, to date big businesses have profited most from the legislation.
The new laws created a dysfunctional and opaque system of land registration and administration that reinforced a top-down decision-making process without local participation. The absence of adequate legal and judicial recourse for the protection of land rights has further exacerbated the situation. Rather than deter land rights violations, the laws have effectively facilitated more land grabbing and manipulation of the system..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times Online"
Date of publication:
2013-03-08
Date of entry/update:
2013-06-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Land confiscation for military, commercial and other purposes, Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary)
Language:
more
Description:
The reform process in Burma/Myanmar by the quasi-civilian government of President Thein Sein has raised hopes that a long overdue solution can be found to more than 60 years of devastating civil war...
Burma?s ethnic minority groups have long felt marginalized and discriminated against, resulting in a large number of ethnic armed opposition groups fighting the central government ? dominated by the ethnic Burman majority ? for ethnic rights and autonomy. The fighting has taken place mostly in Burma?s borderlands, where ethnic minorities are most concentrated. Burma is one of the world?s most ethnically diverse countries. Ethnic minorities make up an estimated 30-40 percent of the total population, and ethnic states occupy some 57 percent of the total land area and are home to poor and often persecuted ethnic minority groups. Most of the people living in these impoverished and war-torn areas are subsistence farmers practicing upland cultivation. Economic grievances have played a central part in fuelling the civil war. While the central government has been systematically exploiting the natural resources of these areas, the money earned has not been (re)invested to benefit the local population...
Conclusions and Recommendations:
The new land and investment laws benefit large corporate investors and not small- holder farmers, especially in ethnic minority regions, and do not take into account land rights of ethnic communities.
The new ceasefires have further facilitated land grabbing in conflict-affected areas where large development projects in resource-rich ethnic regions have already taken place. Many ethnic organisations oppose large-scale economic projects in their territories until inclusive political agreements are reached. Others reject these projects outright.
Recognition of existing customary and communal tenure systems in land, water, fisheries and forests is crucial to eradicate poverty and build real peace in ethnic areas; to ensure sustainable livelihoods for marginalized ethnic communities affected by decades of war; and to facilitate the voluntary return of IDPs and refugees.
Land grabbing and unsustainable business practices must halt, and decisions on the allocation, use and management of natural resources and regional development must have the participation and consent of local communities.
Local communities must be protected by the government against land grabbing. The new land and investment laws should be amended and serve the needs and rights of smallholder farmers, especially in ethnic regions.
Source/publisher:
Transnational Institute (TNI), Burma Centre Netherlands
Date of publication:
2013-05-00
Date of entry/update:
2013-05-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Land confiscation for military, commercial and other purposes, Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary), Armed conflict, adminstration, development and investment, Sustainable/alternative development in and for Burma, TNI-BCN Project on Ethnic Conflict in Burma
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
160.52 KB
Local URL:
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Description:
Executive Summary:
"Few issues are as frequently discussed and politically charged in transitional Myanmar as the state of housing, land and property (HLP) rights. The effectiveness of the laws and policies that address the fundamental and universal human need for a place to live, to raise a family, and to earn a living, is one of the primary criterion by which most people determine the quality of their lives and judge the effectiveness and legitimacy of their Governments. Housing, land and property issues undergird economic relations, and have critical implications for the ability to vote and otherwise exercise political power, for food security and for the ability to access education and health care.
As the nation struggles to build greater democracy and seeks growing engagement with the outside world, Myanmar finds itself at an extraordinary juncture; in fact, it finds itself at the HLP Crossroads. The decisions the Government makes about HLP matters during the remainder of 2012 and beyond, in particular the highly controversial issue of potentially transforming State land into privately held assets, will set in place a policy direction that will have a marked impact on the future development of the country and the day-to-day circumstances in which people live. Getting it right will fundamentally and positively transform the nation from the bottom-up and help to create a nation that consciously protects the rights of all and shows the true potential of what was until very recently one of the world?s most isolated nations. Getting it wrong, conversely, will delay progress, and more likely than not drag the nation?s economy and levels of human rights protections downwards for decades to come.
Myanmar faces an unprecedented scale of structural landlessness in rural areas, increasing displacement threats to farmers as a result of growing investment interest by both national and international firms, expanding speculation in land and real estate, and grossly inadequate housing conditions facing significant sections of both the urban and rural population. Legal and other protections afforded by the current legal framework, the new Farmland Law and other newly enacted legislation are wholly inadequate. These conditions are further compounded by a range of additional HLP challenges linked both to the various peace negotiations and armed insurgencies in the east of the country, in particular Kachin State, and the unrest in Rakhine State in the western region. The Government and people of Myanmar are thus struggling with a series of HLP challenges that require immediate, high-level and creative attention in a rights-based and consistent manner.
As the country begins what will be a long and arduous journey toward democratization, the rule of law and stable new institutions, laws and procedures, the time is ripe for the Government to work together with all stakeholders active within the HLP sector to develop a unique Myanmar- centric approach to addressing HLP challenges that shows the country?s true potential. And it is also time for the Government to begin to take comprehensive measures - some quick and short-term, others more gradual and long-term - to equitably and intelligently address the considerable HLP challenges the country faces, and grounding these firmly within the reform process.Having thoroughly examined the de facto and de jure HLP situation in the country based on numerous interviews, reports and visits, combined with an exhaustive review of the entire HLP legislative framework in place in the country, this report recommends that the following four general measures be commenced by the Government of Myanmar before the end of 2012 to improve the HLP prospects of Myanmar:..."
Source/publisher:
Displacement Solutions
Date of publication:
2012-10-25
Date of entry/update:
2012-10-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tenure insecurity in Burma (including land grabbing), Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary), Law and policy on land in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.43 MB
Local URL:
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Description:
"Land grabbing and speculation, which can both manifest in a multitude of forms, are
unfortunate, often-inter-twined, yet common practices in countries undergoing structural
political transition. If unchecked, unregulated, or unintentionally encouraged by the very
governments that replace formerly authoritarian regimes, these two land realities can serve to
undermine democratic reforms, entrench economic and political privilege and seriously harm
the human rights prospects of those affected, in particular internationally recognised housing,
land and property (HLP) rights. Land grabbing and speculation can increase inequality, harm
economic prospects and create conditions where social tensions and even violence may
become inevitable. Unless law and policy explicitly address the negative consequences of
these practices, land grabbing and speculation can erode citizen confidence in government,
reduce incomes and livelihoods and increase poverty and broad declines in a range of vital
social indicators.
And yet, there is nothing inevitable or inherent about the inequitable acquisition and control
of ever-larger quantities of land in fewer and fewer hands. Indeed, governments wishing to
protect the HLP rights of rural and urban dwellers and properly regulate the land acquisition
and transfer process can succeed in reducing the prevalence of both land grabbing and
speculation, improve the human rights prospects of current landholders and ultimately
strengthen both democratic processes and macro-economic perspectives.
It is clear that these issues are affecting Myanmar at the moment, and that it is up to the
Government to take steps to address these problems in a fair, effective and equitable manner
Twelve possible steps that the Government may wish to consider, include:..."
Displacement Solutions
Source/publisher:
Scott Leckie
Date of publication:
2012-07-00
Date of entry/update:
2012-10-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tenure insecurity in Burma (including land grabbing), Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary)
Format :
pdf
Size:
270.28 KB
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Description:
"The HLP [Housing, Land and Property]choices the nation makes in the coming months will largely determine
whether this unbelievably beautiful land, and its proud and wonderful people, will
face the tumult, inequities and tragic HLP outcomes of so many other nations of
transition; or whether Myanmar can chart an entirely new HLP path, which ushers in
a truly new HLP dawn, whereby every one of the country?s 55 million citizens can –
as rapidly as possible – enjoy growing security of tenure, improving housing and
living conditions, ever greater access to clean water and regular supplies of electricity,
and ultimately all of the HLP rights promised to citizens everywhere under human
rights law and international best practice. Indeed, we need to dream of an HLP future
that unfolds into sustainable cities and towns, where historical neighbourhoods are
preserved, where HLP policy begins from a pro-poor perspective where justice
follows and where the nations farmer?s experience ever growing levels of HLP rights
protections enabling them to restore this land?s position as the world?s rice bowl.
Securing HLP rights for all and not just the few is the way to build a strong economy,
a stable society and a prosperous future. There is still every chance for the people of Myanmar to get it right and pursue a
wholly original, forward-looking approach to these issues. But time is passing quickly
and space for re-positioning legislative and policy initiatives on HLP issues is
becoming ever smaller. And the HLP challenges facing Myanmar are nothing short of
immense..."
Scott Leckie
Source/publisher:
Displacement Solutions
Date of publication:
2012-06-12
Date of entry/update:
2012-10-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
"...with increasing frequency, land is taken from farmers, often with little or no compensation. Large swathes of farmland have already been made available to foreign-based companies in a process that appears to be accelerating. Government data show that the amount of land transferred to private companies increased by as much as 900 percent from the mid-1990s to mid-2000s and now totals roughly 5 percent of Myanmar?s agricultural land...
Myanmar law requires farmers to grow what the government or the local military commander wants them to grow, and subjects farmers to production quotas. Policies like these also displace farmers and lead to food insecurity, as farm productivity suffers. This can push farmers into debt by forcing them to take out loans from money lenders or sell their land in an effort to meet an unrealistic planting directive.
And now two new land laws — the Farmland Bill and the Vacant, Fallow, and Virgin Land Management Bill, recently passed by the legislature and awaiting action by President Thein Sein — are poised to give the government even more power to seize land without consultation or compensation..."
Roy Prosterman, Darryl Vhugen
Source/publisher:
"New York Times"
Date of publication:
2012-06-13
Date of entry/update:
2012-06-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
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Description:
N. B. The title of this article, published in the April-May issue of "The Mon Forum", uses the term "Bill" which implies that the law has not been adopted. Elsewhere in the article, however, it is clear that the analysis is of the adopted Law...
"The Farmland Law was enacted and approved by Burma Pyi Daung Su Hluttaw (Burma Union Parliament) on
March 30th, 2012.
According to the Farmland Law section 3 (a), ?farmland means paddy land, ya land, kiang land, shifting-cultivated
land (taung ya), perennial plant land, dhani (coastal) land, orchards, and alluvial land.?
Under section 3 (b), ?farmland means the land which is mainly for boosting agricultural production, and producing
naturally growing or man-made products that can be cultivated with an irrigation system.?
Analysis: Because farmland is defined as land primarily for the growth of agricultural production, it is an obstacle
for the farmers to cultivate their land freely. It gives the right to cultivate agricultural crops solely for the purpose
of agricultural production. [Download PDF Version of Farmland Bill in Burmese]..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM)
Date of publication:
2012-05-00
Date of entry/update:
2012-06-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
145.61 KB
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Description:
"This note is meant to serve as a quick reference for local authorities and NGOs to
acquire an understanding of relevant land laws and the context of land-use in
Myanmar. All land and all natural resources in Myanmar, above and below the ground,
above and beneath the water, and in the atmosphere is ultimately owned by the Union of
Myanmar. Although the socialist economic system was abolished in 1988, the existing Land
Law and Directions were not changed in parallel, and thus these are still in use today in
accordance with the ?Adaptation of Expression of Law? of the State Law and Order
Restoration Council Law No 8/88..."
Source/publisher:
UN Habitat, UNHCR
Date of publication:
2010-06-00
Date of entry/update:
2011-11-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Law and policy on land in Burma/Myanmar, Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary)
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.74 MB
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A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission...
During the second sitting of the new semi-elected parliament in Burma this year, the
government submitted a draft land law. The government gazette published the draft on
September 16, and it is currently still before the parliament.
Burma needs a new land law. The current legislation on land, either for reasons of content
or because of institutional factors, lacks coherence. It is ineffectual in protecting the rights
of cultivators. With the rise and rise of private businesses linked to serving and former army
officers and bureaucrats, the incidence of land grabbing also is fast increasing, and is bound
to increase even more dramatically in the next few years. Although a new law would not
stop or perhaps even slow land grabbing of its own accord, one protecting cultivators? rights
and situating powers of review over land regulations and cases in the hands of the judiciary
and independent agencies could at least set some clear benchmarks against which to
measure actual practices, and establish some groundwork for minimum institutional
protections.
Unfortunately, the draft bill before parliament is not the law that Burma needs. In fact, it is
precisely the opposite of what the country needs. Rather than protecting cultivators? rights,
it undercuts them at practically every point, through a variety of provisions aimed at
enabling rather than inhibiting land grabbing. It invites takeover of land with government
authorization for the purpose of practically any activity, not merely for other forms of
cultivation. Under the draft, farmers could be evicted to make way for the construction of
polluting factories, power lines, roads and railways, pipelines, fun parks, condominiums
and whatever else government officials claim to be in "the national interest"..."
Source/publisher:
Asian Human Rights Commission
Date of publication:
2011-11-01
Date of entry/update:
2011-11-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary), Tenure (national legislation and policies)
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
101.7 KB
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Description:
"...Life for farmers and workers in Burma is growing increasingly more difficult. The minimum wage fails to provide the ?just and favourable remuneration? that ensures ?an existence worthy of human dignity? that is guaranteed by Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
As a result, many Burmese citizens are forced to leave their families and communities to work as migrant labourers in neighbouring countries. Further, the government?s efforts to confiscate the land of small farmers in order to profit from foreign investors has increased the vulnerability of many Burmese citizens. These actions have been taken in sharp contrast to both Burmese domestic and international laws.
The government has provided no reasonable justification for their actions and, therefore, the government is acting in an illegal manner inconsistent with their responsibilities to the Burmese population."
U Myo, Lane Weir
Source/publisher:
Mizzima.com
Date of publication:
2011-05-23
Date of entry/update:
2011-05-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
"According to COHRE?s new report, ?Displacement and Dispossession: Forced Migration and Land Rights in Burma?, land confiscation by Government forces is responsible for many serious housing, land and property (HLP) rights violations in Burma. These abuses occur during military counter-insurgency operations; to clear land for the construction of new army bases; to make way for infrastructure development projects; to facilitate natural resource extraction; and to cater for the vested interests of business.
?Displacement and Dispossession: Forced Migration and Land Rights in Burma? also reveals that control of land is a key strategy for the military regime, and a means of promoting the on-going expansion of the Burmese Army (Tatmadaw). In 1998, the SPDC issued a directive instructing Tatmadaw battalions to become self-sufficient in rice and other basic provisions. This prompted the Tatmadaw to ?live off the land? by appropriating resources (food, cash, labour, land) from the civilian population. This policy has exacerbated conflict and displacement across much of rural Burma.
The Thai Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) and its partners estimate that during 2007, approximately 76,000 people have been newly displaced by armed conflict and associated human rights abuses. The majority of new incidents of forced migration and village destruction were concentrated in northeast Karen State and adjacent areas of Pegu Division. The total number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Eastern Burma in October 2007 was 503,000. These included 295,000 people in ceasefire zones, 99,000 IDPs ?in hiding? in the jungle and 109,000 in relocation sites. The estimates exclude hundreds of thousands of IDPs in other parts of Burma (especially Kachin and Shan States, and the west of the country, as well as in some parts of Karen State). Including these figures would bring the total to over a million internally displaced people.
COHRE?s Du Plessis said, "More than one million people have been dispossessed and are internally displaced in Burma -- not because of a natural disaster, but due to their own government?s calculated and brutal actions. We have here a state monopoly which forcibly transfers property, income and assets, from rural, non-Burman ethnic nationalities to an elite, military Government. The HLP violations found in Burma today are the result of short-sighted and predatory policies that date back to the early years of Independence, and to the period of colonial rule. These problems can only be resolved through substantial and sustained change in Burma. Political transition should include improved access to a range of fundamental rights, as enshrined in international law and conventions -- including respect for HLP rights."
Source/publisher:
Coalition on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE)
Date of publication:
2007-12-05
Date of entry/update:
2010-12-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups., Agricultural land confiscation/grabbing, Land rights, Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary)
Language:
English
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Description:
Housing rights in Burma after the cyclone... Explaining the right to return and the right to housing, land and property
restitution in Burma
Source/publisher:
Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE)
Date of publication:
2008-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English, Karen, Burmese
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Description:
Table of Contents:-
Introduction:
I. International Human Rights Law
1. What are human rights?
2. Where do human rights come from?
3. Human rights and government duties...
II. The Right to Adequate Housing
1. Housing is a Human Right
2. What is the Right to Adequate Housing?
3. The Right to Adequate Housing and the Duties of Government...
III.Forced Evictions
1. Evictions and Human Rights
2. Is an eviction a violation of human rights?
3. Is the eviction absolutely necessary?
4. The Government?s Duties before, during and after eviction
5. Government duties BEFORE an eviction
6. The government?s duties DURING an eviction
7. The government?s duties AFTER an eviction...
IV. Housing, Land and Property Restitution Rights
1. What is Housing, Land and Property restitution?
2. International Human Rights standards on HLP Restitution:
the ?Pinheiro Principles?.
3. Who does the principle of HLP Restitution apply to?
4. The right to return
5. What is the right to restitution?
6. What about people who are occupying land of displaced persons?
7. What should be done to promote the right to return and restitution?
Source/publisher:
Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE)
Date of publication:
2009-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
Without the rule of law, there are no guarantees the economy will be free of state interference under the 2008 Constitution...
"The economic aspects of Burma?s 2008 Constitution have been notably absent from the recent written analysis of its implications for Burmese society. Though constitutions are not primarily economic documents, Burma?s latest Constitution does contain clauses that have economic import, and it is worth looking at them carefully.
There is an important caveat, however, and this is that a regime that consistently honors the rule of law only in the breach and has many incentives (financial and otherwise) for maintaining the status quo is unlikely to change its behavior anytime soon; therefore, the Constitution may amount to little. Regardless of whether the military abides by its Constitution, however, the document can provide insight into the thinking of its drafters..."
Sean Turnell
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" Vol. 17, No. 8
Date of publication:
2009-11-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-02-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National and State constitutions, draft constitutions and amendments (commentary), Burma Economic Watch and its members (analyses), Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary)
Language:
English
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Description:
"...Burma's citizens and their international friends need to move beyond the advocacy efforts relied upon during the past decades and identify new and refreshing ways of promoting positive change that starts with the people in Burma. An increasing reliance on HLP rights as a foundation for change, grounded deeply in the daily experience of their denial by the vast majority of those living in the country, and the clear range of concrete actions that can be carried out beginning today to improve the HLP situation in the country, could provide a whole new way of transforming the landscape of the country. A novel vision of Burma is required; a vision where all are adequately housed, where all have secure tenure to their land, where displacement as a policy tool is relegated to history, where basic services are enjoyed by all and where Burma's towns and cities become the bustling, modern, vibrant pride and joy of all the peoples within Burma as they go about living lives of dignity, prosperity, equality and security. HLP strategies could provide the basis for transforming this vision into reality, and the time to commence this work is now"
Scott Leckie
Source/publisher:
Burma Lawyers' Council, ("Lawkapala" No. 32) via Displacement Solutions
Date of publication:
2009-04-00
Date of entry/update:
2009-08-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
"...The main objective of this research is to examine housing, land, and property rights in the context of Burma?s societal transition towards a democratic polity and economy. Much has been written and discussed about property rights in their various manifestations, private, public, collective, and common in terms of ?rights?. When property rights are widely and fairly distributed, they are inseparable from the rights of people to a means of living. Yet in the contemporary world, millions of people are denied access to the land, markets, technology, money and jobs essential to creation of livelihoods (Korten, 1998). The most significant worldwide problems of unjust property rights remain those associated with landlessness, rural poverty, and inequality (Hudson-Rodd & Nyunt, 2000)..."
Nancy Hudson-Rodd
Source/publisher:
Edith Cowan University, Centre for Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE)
Date of publication:
2004-10-00
Date of entry/update:
2007-02-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agricultural land confiscation/grabbing, Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups., Forced relocation of several ethnic groups, Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary), Land rights
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
741.09 KB
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Description:
"...The objective of this research paper is to describe specific ways in which the State
Peace and Development Council (SPDC) deprives the people of Burma of their land
and livelihood. Confiscation of land, labour, crops and capital; destruction of person
and property; forced labour; looting and expropriation of food and possessions;
forced sale of crops to the military; extortion of money through official and
unofficial taxes and levies; forced relocation and other abuses by the State..."
Dr Nancy Hudson-Rodd, Dr Myo Nyunt, Saw Thamain Tun, Sein Htay
Source/publisher:
Edith Cowan University, National Council of Union of Burma (NCUB), Federation of Trade Unions-Burma (FTUB)
Date of publication:
2004-04-00
Date of entry/update:
2007-02-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups., Agricultural land confiscation/grabbing, Forced relocation of several ethnic groups, Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary)
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
448.43 KB
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Description:
1. Introduction 1;
2. Historical Context and Current Implications of the State Taking Control
of People, Land and Livelihood 2;
2.1. Under the Democratically Elected Government 2;
2.1.1. The Land Nationalization Act 1953 2;
2.1.2. The Agricultural Lands Act 1953 2;
3. Under the Revolutionary Council (1962-1974) 2;
3.1. The Tenancy Act 1963 3;
3.2. The Protection of the Right of Cultivation Act, 1963 3;
4. The State Gains Further Control over the Livelihoods of Households 3;
4.1. Under the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP) Rule (1974 - 1988) 3;
4.1.1 Land Policy and Institutional Reforms 3;
4.2 Under the Military Rule II - SLORC/SPDC (1988 - present) 4;
4.2.1. Keeping it Together: Agriculture, Economy, and Rural Livelihood 5;
5. Militarization of Rural Economy 8;
5.1. Land confiscation 8;
5. 2. Land reclamation 11;
5.3. Military Agricultural Projects 13;
5.4. The Fleecing of Burmese Farmers 15;
5.5. Procurement 17;
5.5.1. Other crops 20;
5.5.2. Farmers tortured in Mon State 23;
6. Forced Relocation and Disparity of Income and wealth 25;
7. Conclusion 29...
APPENDICES NOT YET ACQUIRED
Appendix 1. Summary Report on Human Rights Violations by SPDC and
DKBA Troops in 7 Districts of KNU ( 2000 to 2002) 31;
Appendix 2. Forced labor by SPDC troops on road construction from
Pa-pun to Kamamaung in 2003 38;
Appendix 3. Survey Questionnaires (Ward/village and Household - in Burmese) 45.
Dr Nancy Hudson-Rodd, Dr Myo Nyunt, Saw Thamain Tun, Sein Htay
Source/publisher:
NCUB, FTUB
Date of publication:
2003-05-00
Date of entry/update:
2003-08-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Forced relocation of several ethnic groups, Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to land, property and planning (commentary), Agricultural land confiscation/grabbing, Land confiscation for military, commercial and other purposes
Language:
English
Format :
htm pdf
Size:
19.45 KB 412.77 KB
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"..Rights to land in Burma are bound up with issues of ethnic conflict, militarisation and lack of democratic institutions.
A future democratic Burma will need to seek ways to resolve competing claims to land, taking into account such issues
as traditional ownership by particular ethnic nationalities, return of displaced persons, varying religious ties to land,
development imperatives and agricultural demands. The chosen method of resolution will need to address, as much as
possible, the needs for certainty, efficiency and a fair hearing for those concerned.
The democratic opposition and its international supporters are seeking to explore and collect ideas for the
construction of effective and fair ways of dealing with the many complex legal and social issues in Burma. As part of
this exploration of ideas for the future, Burma Lawyers' Council encourages articles explaining relevant issues in other
countries. The following article is kindly provided by the principle legal officer of an indigenous land council in
Australia. The Australian experience offers an interesting perspective on possible judicial, legislative and
administrative responses to the issue of indigenous ownership of land..."
D L Ritter
Source/publisher:
Legal Issues on Burma Journal No. 5 (Burma Lawyers' Council)
Date of publication:
2000-04-00
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
htm
Size:
31.07 KB
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