Community- based Paralegals: Legal Empowerment Approach to Land Conflict Resolution Khin Htet Wai Junior Program Officer (Namati)
Community- based Paralegals: Legal Empowerment Approach to Land Conflict Resolution
Khin Htet WaiJunior Program Officer (Namati)
Land Issues in the Ayeyarwaddy
• Political and economic reform threatens rural livelihood
• Historical land grabbing cases
• Community land tenure and use rights are threatened by weak framework / institutions
• Our project:• 16 paralegals in 2 townships• Engagement with government on
policy change• 37 village tracts ( roughly 270 villages)
What does a Community Paralegal Do?
Advises clientsEducates Communities
Mediates Disputes Collects Case Data
How paralegals help resolve disputes- an example case
How we use case data to inform policy change
5%
33%
4%
0%0%
42%
15%
Who took the land?(Data from 200 land grab cases
across Myanmar)
company
govt min-istry
individual
local govt
MEC
military
unknown
Put All Together in this project ….
Since January…
• 1126 Community education participants- ( M-802/ F- 324)
• 44 cases opened by paralegals
• 6 cases have been resolved (historical land grabs, released land returned to farmers, and local land disputes)
• 5 engagements by project partners with regional government
• 4 trainings for paralegals
Some considerations for using the paralegal model…
• Has to use the law even if the
law is not perfect
• Increasing issues and challenges
of handling cases to bring
justices
• Consistency and quality of data
- Required to be trained and
supported well
• Unstable funding - support
frontline paralegals. (piloting
a pay-it-forward mechanism
with a different project)
• Increase legal awareness of citizens
• Knowledge and trust of local community
• Accessible & Cost-effective (free to clients)
• Find solutions for individuals and
communities
• Solve justice problems faster than courts
• Link lawyers for litigation or other experts
for advice , support
• In this project: LCG’s network involvement
allows dissemination of lessons learned
across Myanmar
Advantages Limitations
Thank you! Join the Global Legal Empowerment Network:
www.namati.org/joinKhin Htet Wai @ [email protected]