ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the constitutions, legislation, and regulations on land acquisition and involuntary resettlement enacted in 50 developing countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The key research question asked by this study is: do the national laws of these 50 countries provide a robust framework for people affected by development-caused expropriation and displacement to ensure that they are not left worse off than before their land was acquired for a development project?
To answer this question, the author analyzed the national laws, as well as the policies enacted to address land acquisition by the state for development projects in 50 countries. This comparative study assesses the content of the countries’ legal frameworks on resettlement against a set of indicators derived from the World Bank’s Involuntary Resettlement policy OP/BP 4.12, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the United Nations’ Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure. The main finding of the study is that hardly any of the 50 countries (with the exceptions of China, India, Laos, the Philippines, and Vietnam) have enacted binding laws with provisions for resettling and reconstructing the livelihoods of the displaced people. Several governments have issued statements defined as nonbinding policies, but such policies are not justiciable. In these countries, displaced populations have no formal legal guarantees to resettlement and rehabilitation assistance. The chapter concludes by arguing that the necessity to protect displaced people against impoverishment risks and actual impacts, ensuring that they do not end up worse off as a result of development projects, logically requires the adoption of binding national legislation and regulations that ensure adequate resettlement and livelihood restoration for displaced populations.
