Monrovia - A group of Liberian women under the banner ‘Women for Land Rights in Liberia’ - a conglomerate of women from diverse social background - on Thursday April 19, petitioned the legislature through the office of Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor to prevail on the Senate to pass the 2014 version of the draft Land Rights Bill into law. The focus includes; Tribal Certificates, 30% of the Public land, Protect the rights of communities to informed Consent, Protected and proposed protected area declared as government land, and Women Land rights. The current draft Bills does not define the role of communities in negotiating concessions on their land and does not define sharing rights of communities in the event where they are denied enjoyment to their customary land rights. The current draft of the Land Rights Bill contains provisions that function to remove protected lands, both designated and proposed, from customary land owners. In the women’s view, the current draft Land Bill does not adequately address the rights of women to access, own and transfer land.

Source: Front Page Africa April 20, 2018 00:33 UTC