Disputes related to land are common in Rwanda, where climate change, a rapidly growing population, and a lack of awareness among people and communities about their rights can contribute to tensions over access to increasingly scarce arable land, water and other natural resources.
Most of the country’s land disputes are handled outside formal courts, primarily in local customary institutions such as Abunzi committees. These committees of elected volunteer mediators seek restorative solutions for common land disputes and are highly trusted by rural Rwandans.
IDLO’s Land Conflict Resolution Project (LCRP) supports these mechanisms to build their capacities in managing and adjudicating land disputes. In 2023, IDLO provided trainings to 533 Abunzi and other land dispute resolution actors, nearly half of whom were women, in the pilot districts of Bugesera and Nyamagabe. An IDLO assessment conducted after the activities found that approximately 90 per cent of participants had improved their knowledge of how to effectively resolve land disputes in line with Rwandan law and with respect for basic human rights.
Angelique Uwimana, an Abunzi committee member in the Bugesera district, said the project has helped her understand how to provide solutions that satisfied both parties to a conflict.
“I now have a clear understanding about my role towards the citizens as far as conflict management and resolution is concerned, where I cooperate with various justice institutions to ensure that proper justice is served,” said Uwimana.
The acquisition of these skills is particularly crucial in a context where more than 70 per cent of the training participants had no previous background in law and many lacked a high school diploma.
Another LCRP-supported tool to improve knowledge of land rights is a Land Dispute Resolution Handbook, developed with Rwanda’s National Land Authority. The handbook clarifies the procedures to be followed when a land dispute is submitted to the district and defines the roles of all actors involved in the dispute resolution process. IDLO also supported the launch of two e-learning courses on land dispute resolution, one in English and one in the local language, Kinyarwanda.
This increase in the capacities of Abunzi committees is helping to bring justice to people like Mukanzamukwereka Gaudance, a 60-year-old woman from Nganwa village, who came to the Abunzi because of a dispute with a family member over inherited land. Thanks to the Abunzi intervention, she now understands and can defend her rights.
“I learned … that no individual can loot any land from me because I have proof of ownership and there are various justice institutions, including the committee of Abunzi, willing to help me and my neighbour in case of a conflict,” Gaudance said.
This story was adapted from IDLO’s 2023 Annual Report.