CIVIC RESPONSE ON ENVIRONMENT AND D

CRED was founded in 2011 by Denis Kabaale, Muhsin Serwadda and Bashir Twesigye as a non-political, non-religious and non-profit making research and advocacy organisation with the view of addressing the disconnect between national policies and interventions, and the realities on the ground for the communities in areas rich in natural resources. The founding of CRED was informed by the desire to establish a credible and vibrant civil society organisation that promotes democratisation of the decision makingprocess and ensurethat policies in the realm of environment and development deliver tangible benefits to the people especially the poor and marginalised. CRED started operations in 2012. In 2015, it embarked on an elaborate and highly consultative process of developing a StrategicPlan. The CRED Strategic Plan 2016-2020 considered the previously broad organisational objectives and narrowed them down basing on the organisation#s track record and accomplishments at the time. Consequently, the illuminatingvision is #an empowered community that promotes equitable utilisation and sustainable governance of natural resources for poverty alleviation and social transformation#. In light of the important need to include communities in the governance of their ownaffairs, CRED has adopted the use of a paralegal network at the grassroots in the implementation of its interventions. In addition, CRED partners with Community Based Organisations in the districts of its operations and works through coalitions at the national level. CRED has also since obtained approval from the Uganda Law Council to formally provide legal aid services to vulnerable communities. CRED employs a broad definition of gender to mean effective participation of men and women, boys and girlsandother vulnerable categories in the development process. We believethat understanding gender based power relations between women and men, girls and boys is critical in any meaningful poverty reduction effort for equitable development. CRED has developedaGender policy which is the organization#s guiding framework. This Gender policy, which was approved by the Board of Directors in 2015 promotes gender mainstreaming in CRED#s programmes as well as institutionally. It has ensured that concerns regardingwomen#s and girl#s rights are clearly identified and requisite investments made for effective implementation of proposed interventions. Gender responsive programming in CRED programs and projects is an integral part of the planning and programming cycleat alllevels The CRED gender policy also provides for a Gender Focal Point Person who is responsible for promoting institutional gender sensitivity. 2. ACHIEVEMENTS What have been the principal results in the past three years that contribute to significant,structural, sustained and positive improvement in the lives of men, women, girls and boys suffering from poverty, injustice, insecurity and exclusion? CRED has made substantial strides towards its vision; the principal results include; 1.Communityempowerment on land issues enhanced CRED has enhanced understanding of land issues in the districts it#s operating. Communities are empowered to demand transparency, accountability, equity and good governance in the management of natural resources. The sensitized communities are knowledgeable on the basic tenets of secure land tenure such as boundary demarcation, land documentation (writing sales agreements, wills, donation deeds, etc), land registration (freehold, leasehold, private customary and communalcustomary), handling succession matters, and women land rights among many other themes. Reports from Hoima and Buliisa District Land Boardsindicate that more people apply for land registration than was previously the case. At least 13 community groups fromHoima and Buliisa districts approached CRED seeking assistance to register Communal Land Associations, which would help secure communal land resources from land grabbers. In addition, the local people are more empowered and are able to speak fortheirrightseach time there is a threat. For example, group of vulnerable groups in the Albertine region wrote to the president of Uganda explaining their plight andcalling for action from the office of the president. In response, the president put in place a commission of inquiry on land that is currently moving around the country investigating land injustices. At the same time, CRED has created spaces for local communitiesexperiencing land rights violations to engage directly with duty bearers. Thishasincreased duty bearer responsiveness to rights violations. For example, because of this pressure from the communities, the government has cancelled several fraudulently acquired landtitles in oil rich Hoima and Buliisa districts. A key lesson for CRED has been that strengthened community understanding of their land rights increases their need for security of tenure and formalizing their land ownership through legal processes, and increasing the households and community potential for safeguarding their livelihoods. 2. Leadership responsiveness and support of land rights strengthened CRED#s community empowerment activities have enhanced citizen demand for accountability and increased responsiveness from the leaders. In Buliisa district for example, the empowered community demanded for transparency in land title allocations. In response, the District Land Board issued a public notice that is displayed on notice boards, with names of applicants who had applied for land, the type of land tenure they applied for, the village and sub-county where the land is located, the approximate size of the land in question, the status of their respective applications, and the relevant minute in the district land board meeting minutes. As a result of this action ofthe land board, it was discovered that a land grabber had irregularly applied for 5000 acres of land in Buliisa Sub County. Consequently, this title application was declined. Recently, another 60 land title applications were dismissed for not following the right channels.Buliisa district has moved ahead to formulate a District Land Ordinance, which will provide detailed guidance on administration and management of customary land in the district. In Hoima district, CRED has worked with leaders toresolve anumber of land issues. For example, we worked with the office of the RDC to mediate a violent conflict between the Bunyorokingdom and residents of Rwengabi village, Kabwoya Sub County which has restored peace relations. CRED also worked with the AreaMember of Parliament and Security offices to restore the displaced community of Rwamutnoga back onto their customary land. A key lessonfor CRED is that strengthening the community voice to demand for accountability from their leaders leads to increased transparency among dutybearers, results in restraint from perpetrators, respect for the rights of individuals, and attainment of justice for the vulnerable people. 3. Stronger safeguards for involuntary displacement put in place Through CRED monitoringprogrammes and feed-backmechanisms, stronger safeguards were put in place for displaced persons. For example, government displaced over 7,000 people on 29 square miles of land in Kabaale Parish, Buseruka sub-county, in Hoima district. The land is earmarked for a Petroleum refinery project. The initial compensation and resettlement processes did not adhere to the principles of disclosure of information, consultation, and informed participation of the affected people as stipulated in the International Finance Corporation Performance Standard 5 -#Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement# from which the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) was modelled. CRED intervened by monitoring the implementation of RAP. After acrimonious engagements with government officials, positive shifts were made from the initial RAPimplementation. In October 2013 the Minister of State for Energy and Mineral Development announced that the Government and Resettlement Action Plan Implementation Agency had put in place measures to address concerns oftheaffected people raised with the initial RAP process. An administrative grievance mechanism was strengthened and gender concerns were addressed, among them the requirement for spousal consent before the compensation was finalized. Previously,officials tendedtoseek consent of the men and would ignore the requirement for attaining the consent of women. The voices of women were amplified in RAP implementation. CRED has learnt that strong interlocutors and mediators are very critical inthe protectionof the rights of communities, in order to ensure that their voices reach the key decision makers in the country. CRED will work to strengthen its institutional and organization capacity in order toposition the organization (CRED) into acredible and professional body that will continue to stand up for and defend the rights of the communities. 4. Successful resolution of disputes through mediation CRED lawyers have assisted disputing parties# to reach mutual understanding usingmediation principles.For example,in Igwanjura village, Kabwoya Sub County, CRED lawyers successfully mediated a dispute that had threatened to render a community of 300 households homeless. After a four months negotiation process, the matter was amicably resolved and community ownershipofthe disputed land was acknowledged through a Memorandum of Understanding drafted by CRED, executed by the parties and witnessed by the sub county leaders. In addition, local leaders that benefited from CRED trainingshave played amore meaningfulroleinreconciling parties in dispute. For example, the sub-county chairperson of Panyimur sub-county, Nebbi District has been involved in land dispute resolution and has successfully used the knowledge he acquired to mediate and resolveland disputes. In 2014, heresolved a boundary dispute between a local school and Wangkado community members through mediation. A network of community volunteers/ paralegals was trained and is stationed in the communities to facilitate on spot quasi-legal services.Akey lesson forCREDis that for programmes interventions to be sustainable, CRED must train and build community skills to take up andmediate cases using their own human and other resources. CRED will strengthen the programme strategies to build community skills forpeaceful dispute resolution and mediation so that they can take over even after CRED has left the area 3. INSTITUTIONAL PURPOSE Mission: What is the current purpose of the organisation? To implement research,advocacy and outreachinitiativesthat empower citizens and local communities to demand for transparency, accountability and participation in decision making and work with duty bearers to promote good natural resources governance. Institutional objectives:What are the principal changes the organisation seeks to achieve over the long term? a) Relevant and timely policy research across the organisation#s programmatic strands; (b)Advocacy that fosters the utilisation and implementation of our research and novel ideas in policy formulationandimplementation; (c) Capacity building initiatives and provision of legal advice to empower citizens to demand accountability and good governance in public affairs; and (d) Build and strengthen CRED as a relevant and credible institution working with and for communities at all levels. Field(s) of activity: What are the principal thematic and geographic areas in which the organisation works? Who are the social actors that benefit from the work? CRED focuses on natural resources governancein Uganda and operates in the Albertine region. CRED partners with Community Based Organisations (CBOs) within the project areas such as RICE-WN in the West Nile region, BIRUDO in Buliisa, NAVODA in Hoima and New Eden ChristianOrganisation inKasese. In addition, CRED works through a trained a network of over 20 community volunteers/paralegals who are interspersed in our districts of operation. CRED engages with the local government leadership in these districts and has also supported the formulation of the Albertine Region Land Platform which is a loose network with a membership of 34 NGOs and CBOs in the Albertine region, to align and synergize work within the region and promote knowledge sharing. At the national level, CREDpartners with other NGOs and works with coalitions such as the Civil Society Coalition on Oil and Gas, and the Uganda Contracts Monitoring Coalition. All these social actors benefit from CRED#s work. 4. STRATEGIC POSITIONING Analyse the environment in which the organisation works? Who arethe other relevant social actors, including government and business, and what roles do they play? ' In this context, what is unique about the position of the organisation? The importance of natural resourcesin Uganda has gained prominencein the last couple of years.According to the National Development Plan and Vision 2040, natural resources like oil and minerals present a key development pathway for the country in the short and medium terms. In spite of that, complexities around governance of these resources has rendered ownership, administration and access to these resources a major fault line for peace relations at all levels of society. Many communities have suffered rights violations due to the emerging opportunities in the extractives industry. Most affected arethe indigent and the vulnerable sections of society including the most poor, orphans and widows, minority communities, the elderly, women, youth, and persons with disabilities who lack the technicalcapacity and financial means todefend violationof theirrights. They also live in hard to reach areas where legal aid is mostly unknown. The central government holds in trust natural resources on behalf of citizens, whereas it has developedlaws and policies for the sector they remain unimplementedand government has failed to put in place strong mechanisms that deter human rights violations. Further still, the local leaders are mandated with protecting the rights of these host communities but are equally disempoweredand largely lacking intechnicalcapacity. State institutions such as District Land Boards, Area Land Committees, and Local Councils have a duty to ensure that due process is followed and any grievances handled but unfortunately are plagued with corruption and incompetence. The oil and mining companies have a responsibility to adhere to national laws and international standards in conducting business; however in a private sector led economy these companies have a strong influence on the government andhave the protection of security agencies.As such there is need for stringent regulatory and monitoring mechanisms as guided by the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. CRED is uniquely positionedto empowerhost communities, provide legal aid services andsupport local governments and institutions to build their capacity. CRED also bridges the gap between communities, government and the companies by creating spaces for engagement on how citizen rights can be protected.CRED also workswith public sector institutions such asthe Uganda Human Rights Commission, Equal Opportunities Commission and local governments to reach out to affected persons and can advocate for legislative and policy reforms at the national level. Finally CRED is in the position tomonitor theactivities of businesses in the extractives and their compliance to national laws and policies, and international standards.

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