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Content Page Contents 1 Tables and Boxes 2 Author and NRC Research Team 3 Acknowledgements 4 Acronyms 5 Glossary 7 Executive Summary 15 1. Introduction 35 2. Methodology 39 3. Land Disputes, Grievances and Conflicts in Myanmar 43 4. Government of the Union of the Republic of Myanmar (GORUM) and Karen National 48 Union (KNU) Responses to Land Disputes and Grievances 5. Dispute, Grievance and Conflict Resolution in Myanmar 50 6. The Rationale and Benefits for Introducing, Implementing and Institutionalizing CDR 56 Approaches and Procedures in Myanmar 7. Village Dispute Resolution in Myanmar 59 8. Village Tract and Ward Dispute Resolution 67 9. Central to Ward and Village Tract Administrative Institutions, Mechanisms 84 Established by the GORUM to Resolve Land Disputes and Grievances 10. The Central Administrative Body of the Farmland (CAB) Dispute and Grievance 85 Resolution Mechanism 11. The Central Committee for Management of Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands 109 (CCMVFVL) Dispute and Grievance Resolution Mechanism 12. The Central Committee for Rescrutinizing Confiscated Farmlands and Other Lands 133 (CCRCFOL) Dispute and Grievance Resolution Mechanism 13. Karen National Union Governance Structure and Land Dispute and Grievance 161 Resolution Mechanism Content Page 14. Theories of Change and Strategies for Introduction, Implementation and Institutionalization 184 of CDR in GORUM and KNU Institutions and Dispute Resolution Mechanisms Tables Table 1: The Rational and Benefits for Introducing, Implementing and Institutionalizing 56 CDR Approaches and Procedures for Resolving Land Disputes, Grievances and Conflicts Table 2: Grievance Mechanism and Dispute Resolution Procedures of the 138 Central Committee for Rescrutinizing Confiscated Farmlands and Other Lands (CCRCFOL) Table 3: KNU Dispute and Grievance Resolution Mechanism: Forums and Procedures 166 for Resolving General Land Disputes and Grievances Table 4: KNU Mechanisms and Procedures for Resolving Special Kinds of Disputes and 170 Grievances Boxes Box 1: Myanmar’s Land Institutions and Dispute and Grievance Resolution Mechanisms 18 Box 2: Strategies for Introducing, Implementing and Institutionalizing CDR Approaches 34 and Procedures Box 3: Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)/ Collaborative Dispute Resolution (CDR) 36 Box 4: UN Guiding Principles (UNGPs) and Effectiveness Criteria 40 Box 5: Examples of Private Disputes over Land 44 Box 6: Examples of Grievances or Public Disputes over Land 45 Box 7: Broad Theories of Change and Strategies 185 Author Christopher W. Moore, Ph.D., is a Partner in CDR Associates, an international organization specializing in stakeholder engagement, collaborative decision-making and conflict management. Moore is an internationally recognized dispute resolution systems designer, facilitator/mediator, trainer and author. One of his areas of expertise is land dispute resolution. NRC Research Team Jose Maria Arraiza Ph.D., Norwegian Refugee Council, Information, Counseling and Legal Assistance (ICLA) Specialist Sadia Rani Norwegian Refugee Council, ICLA Project Coordinator, Information, Counseling and Legal Assistance Naw Khin Tu ICLA Technical Officer (Mon State) Saw Tun Naing ICLA Technical Officer (Kayin State) An Ko Ko ICLA Officer (Kayin State) Khin Myat Thu ICLA Officer (Shan State) Myat Thiri Aung ICLA Research Coordinator Alexandra Hartman Ph.D. – NRC Learning and Evaluation Consultant Alexa Magee NRC Consultant, Rakhine State 3 Acknowledgements The author and NRC would like to thank all the participants in interviews and focus groups in Karen/Kayin, Mon, Rakhine and Shan States and Eastern Bago Division. Also, great appreciation is due to the NRC staff members and consultants – Jose Maria Arraiza, Sadia Rani, Myat Thiri Aung, Naw Khin Tu, Saw Tun Naing, An Ko Ko, Khin Myat Thu, Alexandra Hartman and Alexa Magee – who conducted interviews and focus groups. The author also thanks Shaun Butta and Justine Chambers, the researchers for a companion NRC study, A Survey of Customary Land Dispute Mechanisms in Kayin State, Eastern Bago Division and Shan State. Their reporting on customary practices was invaluable for understanding how dispute resolution “works” in multiple communities at the village level. Finally, the author and NRC greatly appreciate the strategic input, detailed reviews of drafts of the study and support for this research by Swati Mehta and Zaw Myat Lin of MyJustice (British Council). Acronyms ADR Alternative Dispute Resolution, also referred to as Collaborative Dispute Resolution (CDR) ABF Administrative Body of the Farmlands including the Central ABF, Region/State ABF, District ABF, Township ABF, Ward/Village Tract ABF. ABsF Plural for more than one ABF. (ABsF in some government documents are also called Farmland Management Committees.) CABF Central Administrative Body of the Farmland (Also called the Central Farmland Management Committee) CCMVFVL Central Committee for Management of Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands including its subsidiary bodies CCRCFOL Central Committee for Rescrutinizing Confiscated Farmlands and Other Lands CDR Collaborative Dispute Resolution, also referred to as Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) CLC Central Land Committee of the Karen National Union DALMS Department of Agricultural Land Management and Statistics (Formerly the Settlements and Land Records Department – SLRD) DA District Administrator DABF District Administrative Body of the Farmland EAO Ethnic Armed Organisation FL Farmland Law of 2012 GAD General Administration Department GORUM Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar ICLA Information, Counselling and Legal Assistance Project of the Norwegian Refugee Council VFVLML Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Management Law LGBTQ Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer KNU Karen National Union the political wing of an Ethnic Armed Organisation in South East Myanmar MOALI Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation (Formerly the Ministry of Agriculture) MOHA Ministry of Home Affairs MONREC Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation (A consolidation of the former Ministry of Mines and Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry) NLD National League for Democracy NRC Norwegian Refugee Council RCs Rescrutinizing Committees, subsidiary bodies of the Central Committee for Rescrutinizing Confiscated Farmlands and Other Lands R/SA Region/ State Authority R/SABF Region/State Administrative Body of the Farmland (Also called Region/State Farmland Management Committee) SIG Special Investigation Group SLRD Settlements and Land Records Department (Currently the Department of Agricultural Lands Management and Statistics (DALMS) TA Township Administrator TABF Township Administrative Body of the Farmland (Also Called Township Farmland Management Committee) United Nations Development Programme UNDP 5 UNHCR United Nations High Commission for Refugees VFVL Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands VFVLML Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Management Law VLC Village Land Committee VT Village Tract VTA Village Tract Administrator WA Ward Administrator WVTAL Ward and Village Tract Administration Law VTABF Village Tract Administrative Body of the Farmland (Also called VT Farmland Management Committee) 6 Glossary For the purpose of this study, the following definitions will be used. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) A catch-all term for a range of voluntary procedures used by parties engaged in a dispute, grievance or conflict to cooperate, find or develop mutually acceptable agreements to settle their differences. ADR procedures were originally developed and used as alternatives to going to court to obtain a judicial ruling by a judge. ADR procedures are similar or identical to those used in Collaborative Dispute Resolution (CDR) Amyotha Hluttaw The House of Nationalities, the upper house of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, the Assembly of the Union of Myanmar. Arbitration A third party dispute, grievance or conflict resolution process in which disputants or grievants voluntarily submit issues in dispute to an acceptable individual or group for either a non-binding recommendation for a settlement or a binding decision. Arbitration is considered to be an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) or Collaborative Dispute Resolution (CDR) procedure because parties voluntarily submit their dispute to a mutually acceptable third party and are not compelled to participate as in a judicial proceeding. Additionally, parties commonly have input into the procedures/rules that will be used and can decide whether the arbitrator’s decision will be non-binding or binding. If it is binding, the parties voluntarily commit to comply with the outcome of the proceedings and are not compelled to do so as occurs in a court of law. Arbitrator/Arbiter A person who provides arbitration assistance. Collaborative Dispute Resolution (CDR) A number of procedures that facilitate voluntary engagement of parties in a dispute, with a grievance or in conflict to cooperate and discover or develop mutually acceptable agreements that settle their differences. CDR procedures generally result in consensus agreements. Consensus may be reached through unassisted discussions or negotiations; with the help of a third party who helps involved parties address relationship issues and engage in effective problem-solving or negotiations; or by voluntary acceptance by parties of a third-party recommendation or decision for a settlement. CDR procedures are not tied to any context or institution – customary, statutory judicial or administrative