Kampala-Uganda is set to host a high level conference on land and conflict in the East and Horn of Africa.
The conference scheduled to take place from 24th to 28th October 2022, at Speke Resort Munyonyo, Kampala is being organized by the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development in partnership with the Inter Government Authority and Development (IGAD) and the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) .
It will draw participants from IGAD member states including line Ministers, Chief Justices, Judges, Permanent Secretaries and Directors of Surveys and Mapping, Directors responsible for Climate Change, Directors responsible for access to Justice, Representatives of Governments, Development Partners and UN Agencies, Civil Society Organizations, Academia and other Non-Governmental organizations among others.
Addressing a press conference at Uganda Media Center on Thursday, the Minister of Lands Housing and Urban Development Judith Nabakoba noted that the conference follows a resolution by the IGAD Land Governance Program 11th Steering Committee Meeting of member states that was held in Entebbe from 1st to 2nd June 2022.
She said the overall objective of the conference is to enable high level policy makers to exchange country and cross-country policy experiences and lessons learned with a view to establishing a regional agenda and national policy priorities that comprehensively respond to land conflicts.
“The conference is the main series of events that have been organized by Government of Uganda, IGAD and IDLO as part of the East Africa Justice Week. The other associated events to the Land and Conflict Conference include, the Biannual Conference of the International Association of Women Judges and the Annual East African Court of Justice Judiciaries Symposium, to be held at Speke Resort Munyonyo and Mestil Hotel respectively” noted the minister.
IGAD is an eight-country trade bloc in Africa with a mission to assist and complement the efforts of member states to achieve, through increased cooperation: food security, environmental protection, peace, security, economic cooperation and integration in the region. Uganda is a member state. Other members include Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan.
The International Development Law Organization (IDLO) is the only global intergovernmental organization established in 1988 and exclusively devoted to promoting the rule of law to advance peace and sustainable development. Uganda became a member state of IDLO in October 2019 and concluded a Host Country Agreement with the organization in 2020 that paved way for establishment of the Uganda Country Office and rollout of programs supported mainly by Government of Sweden.
