III. State Action Taken and Needed ................................................................................... 62
Resolution at the Village Level ............................................................................................... 64
Inclusive vs. Divisive Land Committees............................................................................. 65
Lack of Enforcement, Difficulty Finding Consensus........................................................... 68
Politics, Corruption, and Competing Claims to Authority ...................................................70
Local Government Officials ..................................................................................................... 73
Lack of Financial Support from Government ...................................................................... 74
Excessive Cost ................................................................................................................. 75
Lack of Will, Power to Enforce Decisions ........................................................................... 77
Pressure to Accept Potentially Unsustainable Decisions .................................................. 80
Lack of Boundary Lines .......................................................................................................... 84
No Sanctions for Illegal Sales .................................................................................................87
IV. Legal Protection for Land Rights of Refugees and Displaced Persons ........................... 91
Rights of Returning Refugees and Displaced Persons .............................................................. 91
Civil and Economic Rights Related to Property .........................................................................93
Communal and Religious Rights ............................................................................................. 94
Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................ 96
Annex I: Human Rights Watch Letter to the Ivorian Government ....................................... 97
Annex II: Response from the Ivorian Government ............................................................ 102