06 May 2014 - A revision of the legal framework of the land law was discussed this Tuesday, at UNIOGBIS, between the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Guinea-Bissau (SRSG), José Ramos-Horta, the Representative of FAO, Joachim Laubhouet-Akadié and international consultant Justine Mendy.

Since Guinea-Bissau gained its independence in 1973, land issue has always been at the center of public policies, directly or indirectly, through various economic planning and development strategies instruments.

Land security in the country remains a challenge, and a huge expectation for Bissau-Guineans and local communities, and is also being regarded as essential condition to attain several development objectives, including food security, improvement of agriculture in rural areas, as well as the consolidation of democracy and rule of law.

In this context, the government of Guinea-Bissau, with the technical support of FAO, has launched a participative process to review the legal framework of the land law in order to adapt it and reach a consensus on the interests of the various concerned groups to ease socio-economic development processes, including agriculture and other sectors.

Through project TCP/SGB/3402, FAO will support the country to assess the current situation of the national land system and will open a dialogue on land issues in order to create conditions for the revision of the legal framework.

Another important element of the project is the knowledge and clear understanding of conflicts pertaining directly or indirectly to questions and mechanisms of land conflict resolution.

Attaining the objectives of the project will have a positive impact on several strategic development goals in the country, particularly town and country planning, human rights protection, consolidation of democracy, environment conservation, poverty alleviation and economic growth.