Criminal sanctions may well be inappropriate when there is a legitimate question over land ownership and a person acts in good faith when entering into a sale. But sellers acting in bad faith—of which there are likely hundreds related to the crisis period in western Côte d’Ivoire alone—are engaging in theft and fraud. Victims of land dispossession, community leaders, and local government officials could not cite to a single case in which such a seller had been subject to criminal sanctions. Indeed, local government authorities said they thought avoiding “the law” was best for reconciliation.273 This feeling appeared to stem from distrust for the judicial system’s effectiveness and a belief that the security forces, with a reputation more for brute force than skilled investigations, would be more likely to raise than ease tensions. Many people in western Côte d’Ivoire disagree strongly, and believe that sanctions for illegal sales are the only way to eradicate or at least reduce the problem. The chief of a village between Guiglo and Bloléquin said simply: “The authorities need to say, ‘If you do this, these will be the consequences,’ and then they need to follow through and send illegal sellers to the justice system.”274 Another elder from a village outside of Duékoué said similarly: “The illegal sellers are never punished. They sell, they make their money, and they’re still here [in the community]. So it continues and continues.”275 A woman from a campement outside Guiglo told Human Rights Watch that she had been involved in a dispute over an illegal sale since before the post-election crisis. In 2012, the committee in Guiglo for resolving land disputes had ruled in her favor, saying the Guéré man who sold to a Burkinabé and a Baoulé had done so illegally. Yet the woman said that while the illegal seller faced no sanctions—and indeed remained able to enjoy the money earned from the sale—she had to pay around 15,000 CFA ($30) to file the original complaint, 60,000 CFA ($120) to obtain an attestation de propriété (proof of ownership) after the committee’s ruling, 40,000 CFA ($80) for a mapping of her land, and 273 Human Rights Watch interviews with local government officials, western Côte d’Ivoire, February and June 2013. A community leader who sits on the Duékoué sub-prefecture’s land committee told Human Rights Watch that “so that peace goes forward … we do not issue fines or implicate the authorities, but we warn the [illegal seller] that if this ever happens again, the law will take care of you.” Human Rights Watch interview with community leader on the Duékoué land committee, Duékoué, February 4, 2013. The thought process ignores that sanctions could play an important role in peace and reconciliation, by deterring others from engaging in fraudulent sales. If the perception is that everyone can get off without penalty for their first illegal sale, there is little disincentive—and often great monetary incentive—for people to make fraudulent sales. 274 Human Rights Watch interview with village chief, western Côte d’Ivoire, February 9, 2013. 275 Human Rights Watch interview with village elder, western Côte d’Ivoire, February 10, 2013. “THAT LAND IS MY FAMILY’S WEALTH” 88