Local Government Officials Sub-prefects—administrative authorities under the Interior Ministry responsible for a certain number of villages—help manage the implementation of the 1998 land law. They head sub-prefectural land committees, mandated to resolve individual land conflicts and to oversee investigations when people seek to transform customary-based claims to land ownership into a state-backed land certificate. They also oversee the village chiefs who, as discussed above, are the first point of contact for land conflicts. When customary authorities are unable to resolve a complaint, it is often passed to the sub-prefect. In western Côte d’Ivoire, many sub-prefects work diligently in directing land committees, dealing with hundreds of land conflicts linked to the post-election crisis alone.216 The subprefect in Doké said he deals with land issues almost daily, trying to calm disputes while finding a solution that works for all parties. He calls witnesses from the different parties and says he at times finds himself “studying claims to specific land in which each side goes back to [the year] 1700 with their history.”217 Many of the residents of western Côte d’Ivoire who spoke to Human Rights Watch expressed great respect for the sub-prefects’ work. However, they also raised a number of concerns. First, the national government appears to have provided almost no support for the sub-prefectural land committees’ efforts to resolve land disputes, negatively impacting their ability to investigate and make timely rulings. Second, and in part related to the lack of national financing, some of the sub-prefectural committees resolving land disputes charge exorbitant fees to hear complaints, impeding the filing and resolution of restitution claims. Third, sub-prefects often appear to lack the ability or the will to enforce their decisions. There is a general reluctance to involve the gendarmerie or judicial system, even when people refuse to appear for hearings or to accept sub-prefects’ decisions. This greatly undermines people’s faith in bringing complaints to the administrative authorities. Finally, in the misguided name of social cohesion, some of the sub-prefectural land committees appear to pressure people into “sharing” arrangements that one or both parties is clearly opposed to. The early indication is that such decisions are unlikely to be respected, threatening future conflicts. 216 Human Rights Watch interviews with sub-prefects, western Côte d’Ivoire, February and June 2013. Some of the land committees formally include customary authorities as well. In Duékoué, for example, the sub-prefect’s land committee includes three Guéré canton chiefs, a Burkinabé chief, a Baoulé chief, and a Senoufo (a northern Ivorian ethnic group) chief. 217 Human Rights Watch interview with sub-prefect, Doké, February 11, 2013. 73 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | OCTOBER 2013