Why Liberia Could Plunge Back into Conflict if a Historic Land Rights Bill isn't Passed

Aug 17, 2016 | Elsa Buchanan
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Liberia could plunge back into civil war if the nation does not pass a historic bill protecting community land rights in a region where weak land rights have been tied to armed conflict, civil society organisations have warned. In 2014 and 2015, Liberia President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf proposed the draft Land Rights Act (LRA) and Land Authority Act (LAA), which would strengthen the rights of rural communities to land on which they have lived and worked for generations, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).

In its proposed form, the act legally recognises communities' rights to native "customary land" –defined as land owned by a community that is used in accordance with traditional practices such as crop farming.