Land Rights and the Forest Peoples of Africa

Land rights and the forest peoples of Africa – Introduction
Introduction
The study on land
rights of the forest
peoples of Africa, its
purpose and findings
This composite publication 1
presents and complements a
study conducted on the land
rights of indigenous peoples in
five countries of the forested
region of Africa, namely
Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC),
Rwanda and Uganda. Building
on historical facts and legal
developments, the study
highlights indigenous peoples’
loss of resources and land to
colonists, commercial enterprises
and conservation initiatives. It also describes how, having been dispossessed of their
ancestral lands and, in many cases, not allocated alternative land, indigenous forest peoples
in Africa today live in extremely vulnerable conditions and experience marginalisation and
poverty.
Research in the five countries took place in 2008 and was published in 2009. The authors
analysed the main legal developments since the pre-colonial period that have affected
indigenous property and access to land. 2 The findings have been discussed with field-based
organisations working to promote indigenous rights, and in some cases these organisations
have contributed considerably to their content. The studies retrace in history the manner in
which territory was acquired by the state according to international law and the consequences
for traditional ‘Pygmy’ forest-dwelling hunter–gatherer peoples (Batwa, Bacwa, Bambuti,
Bagyeli, Baka, Ba’Aka, Baaka), hereafter referred to as ‘indigenous peoples’. They thus reveal
the manner in which the territory was acquired under the law of the coloniser, and the
consequences of this for indigenous peoples. Specific attention was paid to the incorporation
or non-incorporation of customary law as a source of law. Post-colonial and independence
law was also examined with a view to tracing any legislation that can amount to a plain and
clear intent to extinguish prior rights of first/previous occupants and/or rights arising by
virtue of customary law. Post-independence and contemporary law and jurisprudence as well
as international human rights law also fell within the scope of the research.
1
The study of land rights and the forest peoples of Africa is a composite publication of five country studies
booklets. This document is an addition to the studies, providing context through describing the indigenous
peoples of Central Africa and the international human rights law standards applicable to land rights.
2
The authors of the five country studies are: Jean-Pierre Amani – Burundi; Samuel Nguiffo, Nadine Mballa
and Pierre Etienne Kenfack – Cameroon; Prosper Nobirabo – DRC; Chris Huggins – Rwanda; and Rose
Nakayi – Uganda. Their studies are published in separate booklets.
Couillard & Gilbert 1
April 2009