Commission Chair András Osskó attends the International
Seminar on Victims of Dispossession Initiatives to Settle the Debt
Bogotá, Colombia, 24-26 November, 2010
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Podium discussion at the Seminar. |
July 2010, the displaced population in Colombia was approximately 4.2
million people with a high percentage of homes lead by women. Land abandoned
or forced dispossession is about 6.6 million hectares. The Parliament passed
a Bill to grant victims the restitution of their land. The Colombian
Government has also made a decision to study some agricultural reforms and
implement the constitutional action for termination of ownership rights. Due
to the importance of these decisions for the agricultural and social
problems in the country, the Colombian Government with the support of the
embassies from the Federal Republic of Germany, The Netherlands and the
German Technical Agency for Cooperation (GTZ) jointly organized the
International Seminar which was held at the Tequendama Hotel in Bogotá.
The seminar was focused on analyzing the governmental challenge of land
restitution to victims of abandonment and dispossession under circumstances
that will guarantee that they will be granted their rights to justice and
truth and they can enrol in the economic life of the country under
conditions of dignity and security.
More than 200 participants attended the Seminar, top government, court
officials representatives of many civil associations including Indian and
Afro Colombian ethnic groups. The Vice President of the country also gave a
presentation.
András Osskó, Chair of Commission 7 was invited by GTZ and gave a
presentation on the Restitution and Privatization Procedures in Hungary and
Central Eastern Europe as a good practice. In his presentation he pointed
out the importance of the development of operational land administration
institutional framework especially cadastre and land registry, where
institutions play a very important role in any country to implement
restitution or other land privatization processes successfully.
Colombia is really in a post conflict situation and FIG, particularly
Commission 7, can contribute to the success of implementation of the land
reform not only in Colombia but also in the region.
András Osskó
Chair, FIG Commission 7
16 December 2010
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