Liberia: Activists urge government to pass land law (Trust)

| July 25, 2016

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Activists are urging the Liberian government to pass a long-awaited law recognizing the customary land rights of rural communities. They say that, without these rights, the country could be plunged back into civil war.

More than two million Liberians live on land held under customary tenure, which means they do not have a legal title.

The Liberian government drafted the Land Rights Act, acknowledging customary rights to land, in September 2014. But there has been little progress since, according to the Civil Society Organisations Working Group on Land Rights in Liberia.

The group said in a statement: “Failure to recognize the rights of millions of Liberians to their customary lands jeopardizes peace and security, and could fuel a slide back into the conflicts that devastated our country for decades.”

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Photo credit: REUTERS/Gleena Gordon