African Union Declaration on land

A significant milestone to the history of land governance in Africa was made in the coastal city of Sirte, Libya, in July 2009. Sirte, at the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, is the birthplace of the late Muammar Gaddafi. It’s here that Heads of States and Government of the African Union held their 13^th Ordinary Session during which they made a Declaration that changed the course of land governance in Africa.

The Declaration, dubbed the Declaration on Land Issues and Challenges in Africa, made some terse call to the African Union Commission and its partners, the Economic Commission for Africa, and the African Development Bank, on matters relating to the improvement and coordination of land policy development in Africa. The call extended to Regional Economic Communities and AU Member States too. This Declaration was based on a framework and guidelines earlier developed to guide land policy development in Africa.

Policy direction and political goodwill

The Declaration on land was not just one of the routine milestones by the AU. No. Africa has had a historical problem with the governance of its land and land based resources. Yet, it remains perhaps the best endowed continent with these resources, and would make big strides if they were well harnessed for development. The Declaration, therefore, provided the highest possible policy direction and political goodwill around which AU Member States and regional economic communities could be rallied to develop appropriate policies. It also provided a basis around which resources and technical capacity could be mobilized from Africa’s land sector stakeholders and development partners in support of land policy development. Following the endorsement of the Declaration, immense work has been done in generating knowledge, developing appropriate tools and mechanisms to support land policy development in Africa.

Continental Conferences on land: Platforms to share lessons

In efforts to provide AU Member States with platforms to facilitate the sharing of experiences, lessons and best practices as urged by the Declaration, the African Land Policy Centre in Addis Ababa has been organizing land policy conferences every two years. The inaugural conference was held in Addis Ababa in November 2014, while the second was held at the same venue in November 2017. The third, which embraced a theme on the fight against corruption in the land sector in Africa, was held in November 2019 in Abidjan, Cote d'ivoire, in West Africa. The 4^th biannual conference on land policy will be held next week between 1st and 4^th November, 2021. The conference, which will be driven through a hybrid of virtual and some few in-person activities, will this time be held in Kigali, Rwanda, under the theme: "Land governance for safeguarding art, culture and heritage towards the Africa We Want”.

A number of experts from Kenya, among others from around Africa and the global community, will be attending or making presentations. It is hoped that these local experts will not only be able to get Africa to appreciate Kenya’s progress in land governance, but also pick up lessons helpful to improving our national processes.

Dated: 29^th October, 2021