The Consultative Institute for Socio-Economic Development of Rural and Mountainous Areas (CISDOMA) recently collaborated with the Nghe An Provincial Legal Aid Center and the Justice Division of Que Phong District to organize three training courses on “Enhancing Land Law Knowledge and Skills for Grassroots Mediation Teams/Women’s Clubs” in the project communes of Nam Nhong, Cam Muon, and Tien Phong, Que Phong District, Nghe An Province.

According to CISDOMA, Clause 1, Article 202 of the 2013 Land Law stipulates that when land disputes arise, “The State encourages the parties to land disputes to reconcile themselves or resolve land disputes through grassroots mediation,” and “when the disputing parties cannot reconcile, they must submit an application to the Commune-level People’s Committee where the disputed land is located for mediation.”

However, it is estimated that over 70% of current civil disputes and conflicts in society are related to land issues. The main reasons are the limited legal awareness and knowledge of land law among citizens, land legal documents that have not kept pace with socio-economic development requirements, and the fact that legal communication, consultation, and grassroots mediation activities have not been truly effective.

Practical experience in grassroots mediation shows that it plays an important role in contributing to raising the awareness and consciousness of the people regarding law compliance.

The three training courses to enhance land law knowledge and skills for Grassroots Mediation Teams were organized with the participation of 109 people (58 women), including members of mediation teams and village women’s clubs from the three communes: Nam Nhong, Cam Muon, and Tien Phong.

During the training, participants exchanged knowledge on legal regulations concerning:

  • Basic Rights and Obligations of the State in land management.
  • Rights and Obligations of Land Users who are households and individuals.
  • Conditions for Exercising Land Use Rights by individuals and households.
  • Steps for Conducting Grassroots Mediation in land disputes and essential skills for grassroots mediation teams to guide and assist the parties in reaching voluntary agreements to resolve conflicts, disputes, and legal violations in the land sector.

After attending the training, members of the grassroots mediation teams agreed that in addition to conducting grassroots mediation activities as prescribed, they would participate in:

  • Communication, Consultation, and Advocacy activities for households in the village currently using land and eligible for a Land Use Right Certificate (LURC or “red book”) to register and declare for LURC issuance.
  • Monitoring and Continuing to Support households on the list who wish to complete the dossiers and procedures for LURC issuance.
  • Reviewing, Statistics, and Listing cases where households in the village already have LURCs but the information is incorrect (such as wrong name, address, area, or the user has passed away without title transfer, etc.).
  • Consulting on Procedures for local households who need LURC correction, re-issuance, title transfer due to inheritance, donation, or transfer, and land use purpose conversion.

The training courses were held within the framework of the Project “Strengthening Legal Knowledge and Legal Assistance to Ensure Equal Land Rights for Ethnic Minority Women,” funded by the INKOTA network (Germany) and managed by CISDOMA from 2020–2022.

The Project Goal is that the land rights of ethnic minority women in Que Phong district are equally protected through full awareness and improved free legal aid services. To achieve this, the project aims to enhance legal knowledge related to gender equality in land use rights, communication skills, and consultation skills for functional staff at all levels. These staff will then implement communication, consultation, and legal aid activities for local residents, especially ethnic minority women.