UN-Habitat, in collaboration with the Somaliland Ministry of Interior and Legal Action Worldwide (LAW), facilitated the first of a series of training workshops for members of Land Dispute Tribunals (LDTs) in Hargeisa, Somaliland, in August 2015.
The Ministry envisages the LDTs as an alternative mechanism for resolving disputes over urban land in an “efficient, accessible and fair” manner.
29 September 2015: UN-Habitat, in collaboration with the Somaliland Ministry of Interior and Legal Action Worldwide (LAW), facilitated the first of a series of training workshops for members of Land Dispute Tribunals (LDTs) in Hargeisa, Somaliland, in August 2015. The Ministry envisages the LDTs as an alternative mechanism for resolving disputes over urban land in an “efficient, accessible and fair” manner.
The one-year project, which is implemented under the auspices of the UN Joint Programme on Local Governance and Decentralized Service Delivery, aims to support Somaliland’s Ministry of Interior to respond to the sharp rise in urban land disputes and land grabbing, and address the limited capacity of both the customary system and formal courts to effectively resolve these disputes.
The training workshop brought together LDT members from Hargeisa, Berbera and Borama towns and included mock hearings and a comparison of lessons learned from the three jurisdictions. Participants also shared their experiences on the day-to-day challenges faced by LDTs, for instance in harmonizing formal and customary law, dealing with overlaps in jurisdictions and managing the lengthy procedures imposed by current regulations. [UN-Habitat News Announcement]