THE 2nd ARAB LAND CONFERENCE: A TRIANGLE OF DECISION MAKING FOR LAND RIGHTS

The Triangle of Government, Civil Society and International Institutions was well presented in this Event: Egyptian government organized it under the patronage of the Egyptian Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities, by the Housing and Building National Research Centre represented by the Urban Training and Studies Institute (UTI) in partnership with UN-Habitat, the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN), the World Bank, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and the Dubai Land Department.

Topics covered at the conference:

• Land Organization and Management: Tools and Practices
• Land and property registration: modernization and reform
• Land management in time of crisis: conflicts, climate change and epidemics
• Access to land for women and vulnerable groups: successful practices and lessons Learnt.
• Land use efficiency: tools and practices.
• Technologies and smart solutions: enhancing land management, land development, and construction.
• Private sector participation: policies and practices
• Capacity development: successes and gaps

The discourse of high-level officials was promising and facilitating to address land issues from a perspective often closer to a participatory and rights-based approach. The language of governments was mixed with the one of international institutions, whether IFIs or the UN: it included the most important points raised in the second round of ALC:

• Solidarity in the face of natural disasters, and how to cooperate in facing the Covid-19 pandemic;
• Strengthening the capacities of institutions working in the field of land governance;
• The role of international financial institutions (IFIS) in supporting urban and land use projects
• Development plans and their relationship to developments in the field of land governance;
• Climate change and regional conflicts

The participation of the ILC on this day included interviews with different delegations, acquaintance and presentation of the ILC's point of view based on rights and people in dealing with land issues and its management in the Arab region:

• UN-HABITAT delegation in Syria,
• Jordanian Deputy Minister of Agriculture,
• Human Habitat Representatives in Cairo.
• The World Bank, and Egypt WB,
• Research centers in Egypt and the Arab countries,
• Research platforms to promote women's rights and their inclusion in land use development plans

Youth and civil society

Under an improvised slogan "Youth means sustainability" and focusing on the need to link sustainable development plans with support for youth participation, the ILC-EMENA with the GLTN, worked on to cover important aspects regarding land governance and use in the session that was devoted to youth and civil society and co-organized by UN-HABITAT, International Youth Council-Yemen (IYCY) and ILC. It attracted a big participation, whether in-person or virtual.

The discussions between all the participants revolved around the questions posed that covered the most important aspects of youth in land issues, such as: Have you heard about land governance before this event? What are the obstacles that prevent young people from accessing the land, and that were out of a set of ten questions. Each of the five speakers commented on the participants' answers, as the participants represented the regional diversity in the Arab region: East and West, as well as diverse representation, indigenous people, small farmers, youth, women's rights, in addition to a representative from outside the region responsible for the youth and land program with long experience, with the ILC on youth issues.

Recommendations for members in the EMENA:

• Being present at such events is very important to influence the direction of governments regarding the inclusion of the people-centered approach in their plans and land governance, on the ground, rather than limiting it to mere rhetoric,
• The need to participate in the follow-up activities of the action plans presented in the framework of cooperation with IFIs and the implementation of national development plans, in order to influence decision-makers for including the people-centered approach in land governance and the various rights related to it such as the right to water, housing and security of tenure.
• Coordination with duty-holders to include recommendations and the spirit that prevailed in the conference of cooperation and the solidarity, to participate in practical plans of the concerned authorities with land governance.
• Coordination with institutions and movements concerned with youth participation and sharing with the ILC such initiatives in order to support youth access to land rights on the local, national and regional level.
• Working with the ILC through any proposals or ideas related to one of the important topics of the conference so that we can play the required role in coordination between the various stakeholders to improve the conditions of the land as a human right.