Conference on Land Policy in Africa (CLPA)

10 - 12 November 2025. Conference on Land Policy in Africa (CLPA)

The Conference on Land Policy in Africa (CLPA) was organized by the African Union Commission, the UN Economic Commission for Africa, and the African Development Bank. The conference focused on "Land Governance, Justice and Reparations for Africans and Descendants of People of the African Diaspora". Key topics included historical injustices, land tenure security, climate resilience, and empowering vulnerable groups. 

Key topics discussed:

• Strengthening land tenure security
• Empowering women, youth, and vulnerable groups
• Ensuring land governance contributes to climate resilience
• Facilitating reconnection between Africa and its diaspora through shared experiences
• Addressing historical wrongs and seeking reparations 

Extracts of the programma #18 pp.

10/11 Opening Ceremony

10/11 Developing capacity for land governance: The role and place of universities and a
robust, sustainble Network of Excellence on Land Governance in Africa

The specific objectives of the Vice Chancellors' convening were as follows:

1. Showcase achievements and lessons from NELGA’s implementation across different universities and regions;
2. Assess sustainability models and explore pathways for institutionalising NELGA in host universities;
3. Strengthen collaboration and ownership of NELGA among African universities and policy actors;
4. Highlight the role of universities in advancing evidence-based land governance policy making in Africa; and,
5. Chart a strategic agenda for the next phase of NELGA’s work, building momentum for its consolidation and growth.

10/11 Land Governance, Justice and Reparations for Africans and Descendants of People of The African Diaspora

• 
  Dr. Janet Edeme - Head of Rural Development Division and Acting Head of Agriculture and Food Security Division of the AUC
• Mr. Claver Gatete - UN Undersecretary and Executive Secretary of the ECA
• Amb. Amr Aljowaily, Director, Citizens & Diaspora Directorate, African Union Commission
• Ms. Stallkamp Silke, Counsellor for Food and Agriculture Embassy of The Federal Republic of Germany
• Hon. Mzwanele Nyhontso - Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development of South Africa

Plenary session 1 - Topic: colonial discontinuities and continuities: who has the right to access and own land in Africa?

• The panel recognised that colonial land governance systems disrupted pre-existing communal and customary access and ownership models across Africa. These disruptions included forced appropriation of land, alienation of communities, legal imposition of private property frameworks by colonisers and marginalisation of indigenous institutions. 
• It was emphasised that many of those structural features—such as concentration of land in the hands of a few, exclusion of particular groups (women, Indigenous peoples, diaspora descendants), and legal frameworks biased towards formal titling—persist today. In other words, the “continuities” of colonial land governance remain relevant.
• Speakers argued that addressing land justice in the 21st century requires not just reforming current laws, but confronting the historical foundations of land dispossession, recognising reparative responsibilities and re‐imagining governance models that restore access, ownership and control to historically excluded communities.
• The session concluded that the question “who has the right to access and own land in Africa?” cannot be answered purely in technical terms of tenure reform—it is deeply political, historical and normative. The panel highlighted that achieving equity will require: (a) transformation of institutions and power dynamics; (b) legal pluralism and recognition of customary rights; (c) mechanisms for reparations, restitution or redistribution (including for diaspora and displaced communities); and (d) data, monitoring and accountability systems that trace land-ownership patterns back to colonial and post-colonial legacies.

Plenary session 2 - Opportunities and challenges of addressing historical land injustices, heritage restitution and reparations for African

• This plenary explored how legacies of slavery, colonial conquest, forced dispossession, apartheid and neo-colonial land grabs continue to shape land access and ownership in Africa today. The discussion highlighted both the opportunities—such as growing political will, increasing recognition of customary and communal rights, diaspora engagement and legal mechanisms for heritage restitution—and the challenges, including weak institutional capacity, contested legal pluralism (customary vs statutory), lack of financial and technical resources, insufficient data on historical injustice, and the complexity of designing effective reparations that avoid new exclusion. 
• The panel underlined that addressing historical land injustices is not simply retrospective but intensely forward-looking: building equitable governance systems, recognizing communal rights, engaging diaspora and descendants, enabling restitution or redistribution and ensuring reparative mechanisms are inclusive. A clear conclusion was that beyond policy rhetoric, meaningful action calls for measurable frameworks, transparency in land-ownership histories, inclusive participation of affected communities, and alignment with broader development and climate agendas.

Plenary session 3 - the 6th region: diaspora, land, and investments

• This plenary explored the role of the African diaspora as a “sixth region” in land governance: how diaspora communities and descendants of those displaced can engage in land access, ownership, investment and restoration on the continent. The discussion addressed both opportunities (such as diaspora investment flows, knowledge transfer, restitution of ancestral lands, diaspora-led agribusiness and land development) and challenges (including legal/institutional barriers in host and home countries, limited data on diaspora land claims, risk of land grabs, ensuring equitable benefit-sharing and aligning investments with local land rights and environmental sustainability). 
• The session emphasised that genuine diaspora engagement in land must go beyond capital entry; it must dovetail with inclusive land governance, recognition of customary systems, community partnership and safeguards against exploitation. The conclusion stressed that recognising the diaspora as a partner in land policy requires creating enabling frameworks (for investment, tenure security, restitution), transparent channels for capital and land rights claims, and alignment with broader justice and reparations agendas.

12/11  Closing ceremony