Myanmar at the HLP Crossroads: - Displacement Solutions

Executive SummaryFew issues are as frequently discussed and politically charged in transitional Myanmar as thestate of housing, land and property (HLP) rights. The effectiveness of the laws and policiesthat address the fundamental and universal human need for a place to live, to raise a family,and to earn a living, is one of the primary criterion by which most people determine the qualityof their lives and judge the effectiveness and legitimacy of their Governments. Housing, landand property issues undergird economic relations, and have critical implications for the abilityto vote and otherwise exercise political power, for food security and for the ability to accesseducation and health care.As the nation struggles to build greater democracy and seeks growing engagement withthe outside world, Myanmar finds itself at an extraordinary juncture; in fact, it finds itself atthe HLP Crossroads. The decisions the Government makes about HLP matters during theremainder of 2012 and beyond, in particular the highly controversial issue of potentially transformingState land into privately held assets, will set in place a policy direction that will have amarked impact on the future development of the country and the day-to-day circumstances inwhich people live. Getting it right will fundamentally and positively transform the nation fromthe bottom-up and help to create a nation that consciously protects the rights of all and showsthe true potential of what was until very recently one of the world’s most isolated nations.Getting it wrong, conversely, will delay progress, and more likely than not drag the nation’seconomy and levels of human rights protections downwards for decades to come.Myanmar faces an unprecedented scale of structural landlessness in rural areas, increasingdisplacement threats to farmers as a result of growing investment interest by both nationaland international firms, expanding speculation in land and real estate, and grossly inadequatehousing conditions facing significant sections of both the urban and rural population.Legal and other protections afforded by the current legal framework, the new FarmlandLaw and other newly enacted legislation are wholly inadequate. These conditions are furthercompounded by a range of additional HLP challenges linked both to the various peace negotiationsand armed insurgencies in the east of the country, in particular Kachin State, and theunrest in Rakhine State in the western region. The Government and people of Myanmar arethus struggling with a series of HLP challenges that require immediate, high-level and creativeattention in a rights-based and consistent manner.As the country begins what will be a long and arduous journey toward democratization, the rule oflaw and stable new institutions, laws and procedures, the time is ripe for the Government to worktogether with all stakeholders active within the HLP sector to develop a unique Myanmarcentricapproach to addressing HLP challenges that shows the country’s true potential. Andit is also time for the Government to begin to take comprehensive measures – some quickand short-term, others more gradual and long-term – to equitably and intelligently address theconsiderable HLP challenges the country faces, and grounding these firmlywithin the reform process.“Rule of law is a must for our administrative mechanisms,businesses, social welfare, political processes, internationalrelations and judicial system. If rule of law prevails in oursociety, human rights, liberty and democracy would flourishautomatically. Consolidation of every step of nationalbuilding endeavors depends on the rule of law. So, we all areto serve that duty in unison and in concert.”--President Thein Sein, 1 March 2012