There are few more contentious and complex problems in the world than those dealing with land and secure tenure. Many religions have firm rules on land and inheritance, most communities have deeply ingrained cultural traditions, and every government faces the challenge of land differently with its own vast array of laws and with varying degrees of political will. In many countries the rules work against women owning land for a range of reasons; from poverty to custom. In wealthy countries land records cover most of the territory and are generally well kept, however, few developing countries have more than 30 per cent of their land accounted for in records. Land records are also often linked to the middle and commercial classes. In many countries, there is large-scale corruption associated with land. In post conflict societies, land is a key issue as it is often closely associated with the conflict. Sound land governance approaches are therefore primary in building peace.

Aims

The Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) aims to establish a continuum of land rights, rather than just focus on land titling; improve and develop pro poor land management as well as land tenure tools; unblock existing initiatives; assist in strengthening existing land networks; improve global coordination on land; assist in the development of gendered tools which are affordable and useful to the grassroots; and improve the general dissemination of knowledge about how to implement security of tenure.

GLTN originates from requests made by Member States and local communities world-wide to UN-HABITAT, who together with Sida and the World Bank initiated the network idea. The network is a long term initiative to support and upscale ongoing initiatives on systematic, innovative, pro-poor, affordable and gender sensitive land tools. Discussions with partner organisations and Member States led to the production of a comprehensive initial report that was produced by a team of consultants.  

Mandate

The new land and secure tenure tool is pivotal for the success of Target 11 of Millennium Development Goal No. 7  ( Link opens in new window) on improving the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers around the world by the year 2020, and UN-HABITAT’s Global Campaign for Secure Tenure . Specifically, the mandate related to the campaigns can be found in GC resolution 19/3. In December 2004 the General Assembly passed a resolution which “encourages Governments to support UN-HABITAT’s Global Campaign for Secure Tenure and Global Campaign on Urban Governance as important tools for, inter alia, promoting administration of land and property rights, in accordance with national circumstances, and enhancing access to affordable credit by the urban poor.” (Resolution A/59/484, Implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) and of the twenty-fifth special session of the General Assembly.). A global network of research associates and partners on land is necessary for UN-HABITAT to meet its mandate.

The Global Land Tool Network is intended to contribute to the achievement of the expected accomplishment in the agency’s programme that provide: security of tenure, progressive realisation of land, housing and property rights, and increased supply of higher quality housing for the poor, including women and HIV/AIDS orphans, particularly in slums.