Attachments
Challenges related to Housing, land and property (HLP) are at the heart of internal displacement in Mozambique. Whether displaced by conflict, climate change or disaster, reports have shown that those uprooted end up disconnected from their lands, homes and livelihoods. In the long term, accessing solutions in terms of HLP have also been challenging. Therefore, to raise awareness on issues pertaining to HLP, the Norwegian Refugee Council in Mozambique organized a workshop with partners UNHCR, IOM and Oxfam-South Africa who are jointly supporting the Mozambique Government’s implementation of its Policy and Strategy on Internal Displacement.
The event gathered INGD, the Ministry of Land and Environment, ADIN, the Cabinet for Reconstruction post-Cyclones (GREPOC), various UN Agencies, humanitarian practitioners, development actors and donors to jointly reflect on housing, land and property issues related to disaster displacement in Mozambique and identify opportunities and synergies to address these issues.
The Protection Cluster Coordinator presented the links of the three themes (housing, land and property) to international law. Furthermore, HLP rights are also highlighted within Guiding Principles for Internal Displacement as well as within Article 9 of the Kampala Convention that has been signed and ratified by Mozambique. Finally, the presentation also highlighted the protection risks linked to HLP during displacement as well as how HLP issues impact different groups of persons with specific needs, especially, women, elderly and persons with disabilities.
The Protection Cluster also emphasized the important links of HLP to durable solutions and how this will be crucial on ensuring IDPs in northern Mozambique can either sustainably return to their district of origins or locally integrate in locations where they have fled. The HLP AoR coordinator and UNHCR as co-coordinator highlighted key protection concerns linked to HLP in Cabo Delgado including lack of community awareness on HLP rights, weak security of tenure for IDPs, challenges in accessing HLP for women and children, among others.
The event was possible thanks to generous funding provided by the Principality of Liechtenstein to the Norwegian Refugee Council.