• Land Rights Information Centres
• Legal Education&Awareness
• Paralegal programme
• Women’s Land Rights Programme

Background

Legal Empowerment: This could be defined as “the use of law to specifically strengthen the disadvantaged”. It is a process of systematic change through which the poor are protected and enabled to use the law to advance their rights and interests as citizens.

Legal empowerment is thus a necessary component of poverty alleviation efforts and it is one of the tools that Uganda Land Alliance is using to fight for the land rights and interest of the poor and vulnerable in the communities.

Objectives of the department:

1. To protect the land rights of women, men, children and minority rights, through Legal advice, mediation, and counselling and court representation.

2. To Increase access to information on land rights and the law and protection of land rights of the women, men , children and the minority groups

Strategies:

• Legal education of the community on land rights
• Training community based volunteers/paralegals to sensitise the communities on the basic laws on property rights as well as handling cases.
• Building the capacity of traditional leaders. ULA recognises the importance of non-state justice institutions, which are prevalent in Uganda.
• Building the capacities of local councillors
• Opening up land Rights Information Centres (LRICs) in the districts of operation. These centres are manned by Legal officers and Land rights Desk officers.

In increasing access to information and protecting the land rights of the vulnerable communities, the department runs various projects and these include;

• Promotion and protection of land rights of the poor and vulnerable in post conflict and transitional justice in Acholi and lango Sub region. These projects are implemented in the districts of Pader and and Apac.
• Enhancing the land and property rights of women. This project is specifically focused on the land and property rights of women. This project is implemented in the five districts of Mukono, Ntungamo, Kibaale, Pader and Mbale.
• A paralegal monitoring project. This project is using the paralegal model, wherein the capacity of already trained paralegals is built further to advance the land and property rights of women. This model is implemented in Luwero district.
• A Project on secure tenure among the communities. This is implemented in Amuru and Katakwi districts.

For further information, please do not hesitate to contact the officer in charge on: hellenedimu@ulaug.org