Myanmar at the HLP Crossroads: - Displacement Solutions
Myanmar at the HLP Crossroads: - Displacement Solutions
Myanmar at the HLP Crossroads: - Displacement Solutions
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23<strong>Myanmar</strong> <strong>at</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>HLP</strong> <strong>Crossroads</strong>The new <strong>HLP</strong> law should include incentives for social developers to build affordable housing invarious loc<strong>at</strong>ions in both Yangon and Mandalay and approve urban expansion planning measures.Given <strong>the</strong> general lack of comprehensive planning or zoning, as well as technical mapping, urban expansion planningmeasures under a new transparent, consult<strong>at</strong>ive and standardized approach should be commenced quicklyas a means of helping to relieve pressure on urban core land prices and specul<strong>at</strong>ion. Developing an urban planningsystem in Yangon by <strong>the</strong> local Government could assist in building a planning framework far more beneficialto <strong>the</strong> urban poor. Every effort should be made to promote measures of community-led urban development planningto ensure th<strong>at</strong> democr<strong>at</strong>ic processes also guide <strong>the</strong> growth of <strong>the</strong> urban areas in <strong>the</strong> country.The new <strong>HLP</strong> law will need to explicitly prevent arbitrary eviction and standardize methods for compens<strong>at</strong>ionfor use or expropri<strong>at</strong>ion, in <strong>the</strong> exceptional event th<strong>at</strong> land needs to be compulsorily acquired.Although compens<strong>at</strong>ion is commonly paid to those subjected to expropri<strong>at</strong>ion measures, consistent standards arenot yet in place, which cre<strong>at</strong>es conditions ripe for ei<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> non-payment of compens<strong>at</strong>ion and arbitrary standardsof repar<strong>at</strong>ion. A new standardized system needs to be put in place so th<strong>at</strong> <strong>the</strong> people of <strong>Myanmar</strong> can beassured th<strong>at</strong> decisions about expropri<strong>at</strong>ion are made solely in <strong>the</strong> public interest and for public purposes, th<strong>at</strong>compens<strong>at</strong>ion amounts reflect uniform standards for determining value throughout <strong>the</strong> country and th<strong>at</strong> <strong>the</strong> decisionsare made by neutral, unbiased parties and can be reviewed by an independent judiciary. (14)5.3 RECOMMENDATION 3:ACTIVELY ADDRESS LAND GRABBING, SPECULATION AND DISPLACEMENTTHROUGH ADDITIONAL POLICY AND LEGAL REFORMSThere is nothing inevitable or inherent about <strong>the</strong> inequitable acquisition and concentr<strong>at</strong>ion of ever-larger quantitiesof land in fewer and fewer hands. Indeed, Governments wishing to protect <strong>the</strong> <strong>HLP</strong> rights of rural and urbandwellers and properly regul<strong>at</strong>e <strong>the</strong> land acquisition process can succeed in reducing <strong>the</strong> prevalence of land grabbingand specul<strong>at</strong>ion, improve <strong>the</strong> human rights prospects of current landholders and ultim<strong>at</strong>ely streng<strong>the</strong>n bothdemocr<strong>at</strong>ic processes and macro-economic perspectives. <strong>HLP</strong> rights need to be conferred as soon as possibleon all dwellers as a means of protecting <strong>the</strong>ir existing land holdings and right to remain. Regul<strong>at</strong>ions can be developedto subject all development and land-based investment projects to oversight, with permission to acquire tobe denied if land grabbing was involved in <strong>the</strong> procurement of <strong>the</strong> land concerned. Indeed, enforceable legalprocedures for revoking unlawfully acquired land should be established in <strong>the</strong> near term. Land grabbing needsto tre<strong>at</strong>ed as a form of corruption and prevented through additional measures such as requiring proof of occup<strong>at</strong>ionor use th<strong>at</strong> shows clear long-term control. Land grabbing also needs to be penalized through fines and o<strong>the</strong>rpenalties, depriving <strong>the</strong> perpetr<strong>at</strong>ors of <strong>the</strong> right to acquire additional land and o<strong>the</strong>r measures.Declare a Mor<strong>at</strong>orium on Arbitrary Forced <strong>Displacement</strong> leading to <strong>the</strong> eventual abolition of <strong>the</strong> practice.When land grabbing and specul<strong>at</strong>ion are toler<strong>at</strong>ed, <strong>the</strong>se practices all too often result in human rights viol<strong>at</strong>ions,including forced evictions and displacement, loss of <strong>HLP</strong> rights, landlessness and dispossession. These practicesare brutal, ruin lives and are difficult to reverse in a fair and just manner. In a country based on <strong>the</strong> rule oflaw and guided by principles of equality and n<strong>at</strong>ural justice, <strong>the</strong>se practices need to be prevented to <strong>the</strong> maximumpossible extent, and laws and policies are needed to protect <strong>HLP</strong> ownership and user rights as a means ofpreventing new forms of displacement and dispossession.Proper forms of protecting <strong>HLP</strong> rights, increasing levels of security of tenure and developing <strong>the</strong> administr<strong>at</strong>iveand judicial remedies required to secure <strong>the</strong>se rights are vital components in any effective <strong>HLP</strong> framework.Measures should be taken to protect slum dwellers rights and those potentially affected by resource extraction(14) The President recently announced <strong>the</strong> cre<strong>at</strong>ion of a ‘Land Alloc<strong>at</strong>ion and Utilis<strong>at</strong>ion Scrutiny Committee for Urban Development Projects andInvestment Projects.’ See, ‘Activists Call for Adherence to Land Policy’ in <strong>Myanmar</strong> Times, 25 June 2012. No details about <strong>the</strong> Committee, itsmembership, its standards or its mand<strong>at</strong>e have yet been announced, so it remains to be seen whe<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> cre<strong>at</strong>ion of <strong>the</strong> Committee will improve<strong>the</strong> current approach to land use decision-making and compens<strong>at</strong>ion.