On January 17, 2011, during the Ebolowa Agro-Pastoral Fair, Cameroonian President His Excellency Paul Biya launched a reform process for Cameroon’s land sector. Since the beginning of these reforms, the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) Cameroon Coalition has met with various stakeholders to ensure their interests are taken into account and has conducted targeted advocacy efforts to  secure the interests of local communities, Indigenous Peoples, women, and other groups in the forthcoming law.

This process culminates with the release of the RRI Cameroon Coalition’s position document, A legal framework for land and territories in Cameroon offering greater protection for the rights and interests of local communities and Indigenous Peoples.  Collective tenure rights and rural land are central issues throughout the position document, and additional key points include the following:

1. Emphasis on rural land tenure with specific regulations;

2. Recognition of the village as a legal entity;

3. Establishment of collective property rights in each village in Cameroon over areas and resources governed by customary rights;

4. Recognition of the validity of local customs and the role of local institutions, within the limits of each village’s collective property;

5. Provide and ensure equal access for women and men to land ownership;

6.Inclusion of specific provisions to recognize and secure the land rights of Indigenous Peoples.

To share the proposals developed in the document, the RRI Cameroon Coalition will host a workshop on  July 8, 2015 in Yaoundé, Cameroon, to present the position document to policymakers and other stakeholders from the land sector. RRI hopes that policymakers will consider these recommendations during drafting of the land law.

Location: Hotel Mansel

For more information contact Aristide Chacgom, Green Development Advocates at [email protected].

Resource: Final -Document de position RRI sur la réforme foncière