IHC Global hosts “Action from Every Angle: Approaches to Advancing Property Rights”

WASHINGTON, DC, March 23, 2018- During the week of the World Bank Land and Poverty conference, IHC Global hosted “Action from Every Angle: Approaches to Advancing Property Rights,” a panel discussion moderated by IHC Global CEO Judith Hermanson. Five in-depth presentations- some from IHC Global member organizations- addressed the diverse and varied ways of approaching property rights worldwide. 

The presentations began with Landesa Chief Program Officer Jolyne Sanjak, who provided a useful framework of the issues and presented Landesa’s land rights initiatives, and how critical engagement with the private sector is to the initiatives’ success. Global Land Alliance Executive Director Malcolm Childress presented the Global Property Rights Index (the PRindex), an ambitious research project which collects new data on individual perceptions of urban and rural land rights around the world, highlighting recent findings from India, Tanzania and Colombia. Bill Endsley of World Citizen Consulting urged that the global community recognize that property rights are not only important from a human rights perspective, but that they are also fundamental drivers of economic growth.

Rebecca Ochong of Habitat for Humanity International, Asia Pacific, discussed the HFHI campaign Solid Ground’s work in advocating for and ensuring secure land tenure around the world.  IHC Global Director of Policy and Advocacy Karly Kiefer presented the findings from the IHC Global initiative, “Using Data to Measure Women’s Property Rights in Uganda,” which highlighted the complexity of the issue and the ways in which there are particular challenges for women to affirm property rights even though there is legislation that should enable that.  The event highlighted a diverse array of work being done to advance property rights, and was a good reminder of the importance of driving change through as many means possible.