Community leaders and residents in two of Timor-Leste's 13 districts learned recently about the country's new real estate and property law and how it will help them solve land and property disputes. About 40 village and sub-village chiefs in Liquica and Viqueque districts attended the training sessions. Local residents, representatives from women's groups, and high school students also participated.

LAIFET, the Labor Advocacy Institute of Timor-Leste, taught the sessions in October. They followed LAIFET's pilot training sessions on the land and property law in two other districts earlier this year. The new law is intended to address the serious problem of resolving land and building ownership and use conflicts. After 24 years of guerilla warfare and forced migrations during Timor-Leste's struggle for independence, multiple claims of ownership abound. Using the new law, local leaders will be able to settle many of these claims.

The training sessions were updated recently in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice's Land and Property Unit (LPU). At a roundtable workshop in September, LAIFET and LPU staff discussed information about the law and current government policies in order to ensure that the district training sessions present the most up-to-date information.

Eusebio Guterres, LAIFET's land and property program officer, explained, "Currently there is a lot of confusion because many people and local authorities do not understand the appropriate laws to settle land and property disputes. We expect that this program will increase the knowledge and capacity of local leaders and empower them to settle land and property disputes at the local level."

USAID supports LAIFET's land law training program through a $3,754 grant. The sessions will help Timor-Leste's local government officials and residents implement the country's new law and resolve serious conflicts on ownership and use rights without burdening the national judicial system.

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