villages by the end of 2014. He expressed disappointment, however, that donor interest had slowed—which he felt could allow for greater progress.262 On May 2, 2013, the Council of Ministers adopted a decree from the Agriculture Minister that proposes to define the procedures for demarcating village boundaries, “hoping to limit disputes between villages and, at the same time, provide a durable solution to land conflicts” that result from disputes between villages over boundaries.263 In the Ivorian government’s written response to Human Rights Watch, it reiterated its commitment to prioritize the demarcation of village boundaries and also said it would reduce costs associated with the registration of individual landownership. Regarding village boundaries, the response referenced the May decree and noted: “Based on financing already acquired, the delimitation of around 1,300 villages is envisaged over the next three years.”264 Regarding individual property registration, the government’s letter said: “Conscious of the limited means of rural populations, the Government is currently taking appropriate measures to allow these populations to obtain [the necessary] documentation of their land ownership at affordable costs.”265 The government’s letter did not respond to Human Rights Watch’s query about the current costs for individual landowners to get their boundary lines demarcated, nor did it specify what precise measures it was taking or what the relevant costs would be in the future. In June 2013, an advisor on land issues to the Prime Minister said that the demarcation of village and individual land boundaries was constrained by the country’s lack of qualified land surveyors, more of whom would need to be recruited.266 Like the Agriculture Minister, the Prime Minister’s advisor said that there was a need for donor assistance to speed up the process of demarcating village boundaries.267 A land expert told Human Rights Watch 262 Human Rights Watch interview with Mamadou Sangafowa Coulibaly, minister of agriculture, Abidjan, February 18, 2013. 263 Communiqué du Conseil des Ministres du Mercredi 02/05/2013, Man, Côte d’Ivoire, May 2, 2013, http://www.primaturecotedivoire.net/site/suite.php?newsid=2035 (accessed August 30, 2013) (original French: “Le Gouvernement, tout en inscrivant ce décret dans le cadre d’une administration du territoire plus efficace, entend circonscrire les litiges inter villageois, et par la même occasion, apporter une solution durable aux conflits fonciers qui en découlent.”). 264 Letter from Gnénéma Mamadou Coulibaly, minister of justice, human rights, and public liberties, to Human Rights Watch, September 13, 2013, p. 9. 265 Ibid., p. 10. 266 Human Rights Watch interview with Vincent Sedalo, Prime Minister’s advisor on rule of law and land issues, Abidjan, June 11, 2013. 267 Human Rights Watch interview with Vincent Sedalo, “THAT LAND IS MY FAMILY’S WEALTH” Abidjan, June 11, 2013. 86