Mozambique’s land law 2024

This fact sheet by Natural Justice outlines the proposed changes to Mozambique's land laws, specifically focusing on 'Draft 1' of the proposed Land Law. It warns that the new law would privatise land, remove access to 'unavailable land', and fail to protect local communities from forced displacement or provide legal guarantees for their role in land decision-making.

• The proposed Land Law (Draft 1) introduces a shift from state ownership to private ownership of land, which contradicts the current system where land is owned by the State and used by communities.
• Draft 1 creates 'unavailable land' through state reserves, which would make land occupation based on customary law or 'good faith occupation' illegal and restrict access for marginalised groups and local communities.
• The proposed law does not provide legal guarantees for local communities to participate in land decision-making processes, such as land titling, and fails to align with international human rights standards regarding free, prior and informed consent.
• The proposed law does not protect communities from forced displacement caused by development and extractive megaprojects, which are often framed as being in the public interest for economic reasons.
• Public consultation for the initial draft (Draft 0) was inadequate, reaching only approximately 75,000 people out of a population of around 32 million.

APA

Natural Justice (2024). Mozambique’s land law 2024. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/English_Mozambique-Land-Laws-Pamphlet_-July-2024.pdf

Chicago

Natural Justice. Mozambique’s land law 2024. 2024. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/English_Mozambique-Land-Laws-Pamphlet_-July-2024.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Natural Justice |title=Mozambique’s land law 2024 |date=2024 |url=https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/English_Mozambique-Land-Laws-Pamphlet_-July-2024.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{naturaljustice2024mozambiques, author = {{Natural Justice}}, title = {{Mozambique’s land law 2024}}, institution = {Natural Justice}, year = {2024}, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/English_Mozambique-Land-Laws-Pamphlet_-July-2024.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }