3 November 2009
It has been disclosed in Monrovia from research work that forced evictions is a violation of the basic human rights of people. The observation that forced eviction is derived from a one-day stakeholder meeting aimed at identifying causes of forced evictions. The meeting ended last Friday at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex in Paynesville.
The workshop was organized by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) under its Information Counseling and Legal Assistance (ICLA) project. It was done in collaboration with the Century Law Firm, Inc. which provided the legal consultancy and conducted a research on forced eviction.
The workshop brought together key stakeholders from the Land Commission, Governance Commission, Ministry of Justice, UNMIL Human Rights Division, UN Habitat, the media and civil society. The lead lawyer of the Century Law Firm, Cllr. Lavela Koboi Johnson said the research conducted by the Firm revealed that the issue of forced evictions can be attributed to the inefficient court system that can not address cases relative to eviction.
Cllr. Johnson, a former minister of justice under the Taylor-led administration, stressed that Montserrado County has only one Circuit Court responsible for civil matters and that the court only sits in session four times a year. He indicated that on a daily basis, there are 40 to 70 cases that are filed before the Civil Law Court for adjudication, especially on private property ownership, but because party litigants do not have the opportunity for redress, they resolved into county actions.
The former Justice Minister told the participants that it becomes imperative for a critical brainstorming so as to incorporate institutional framework that will deal with the issue of forced evictions. The ICLA project Manager, Laura Cunial said since the project was launched in Liberia in 2006, it has been involved in land dispute resolutions, building the capacity of individuals, communities and institutions.
Madam Cunial told journalists that under the ICLA's land dispute resolution activity, it has provided clients with an accessible non-adversarial means to conclusively establish legal tenure over the land they occupy while at the same time advocating for systematic solutions to insecure tenure. She disclosed that their advocacy component of the project seeks to strengthen the laws, policies and institutions related to the regulations and administration of land in Liberia. The ICLA Project is being implemented in Nimba, Bong, Margibi and Montserrado County.
Participants at the workshop among several other things named some of the causes of forced evictions to the illegal occupation of land and other infrastructures by certain individuals, the lack of education on land tenure system among the population and the constant habit of surveyors selling their parcel of land to two parties.
Among several other recommendations, the participants called on the government to develop a clear policy with emphasis on enforcement of zoning laws, security of land tenure, housing rights and regulations making government fulfill its obligations to evictees.
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