WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW LAND LAW

This fact sheet by Natural Justice outlines concerns regarding the proposed reform of the Land Law in Mozambique, specifically focusing on 'Draft 1' of the legislation. The document argues that the proposed law moves toward the privatisation of land, removes access to 'unavailable land', and fails to provide legal guarantees for local communities or protection against forced displacement.

• The proposed Land Law represents a significant shift in land ownership in Mozambique, moving from a system where land is owned by the State and used by communities to one that privatises land.
• Draft 1 of the proposed Land Law is criticized for lacking alignment with international human rights standards, specifically regarding the principle of free, prior and informed consent. It provides no legal guarantees for local communities to participate effectively in land decision-making processes, such as land titling.
• The proposed law introduces the concept of 'unavailable land' via State reserves, which would make land occupation through 'good faith occupation' or customary law illegal, thereby restricting access for marginalised groups and local communities.
• The document asserts that Draft 1 does not protect communities from forced displacement caused by development and extractive megaprojects, which are often framed as being in the public interest but serve economic and private interests.
• The public consultation process for the initial draft (Draft 0) was deemed inadequate, consulting only approximately 75,000 people out of a population of around 32 million.

APA

Natural Justice (n.d.). WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW LAND LAW. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Moz-Land-Law-Fact-Sheets-2024-1-1.pdf

Chicago

Natural Justice. WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW LAND LAW. n.d. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Moz-Land-Law-Fact-Sheets-2024-1-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Natural Justice |title=WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW LAND LAW |url=https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Moz-Land-Law-Fact-Sheets-2024-1-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{naturaljusticendwhat, author = {{Natural Justice}}, title = {{WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW LAND LAW}}, institution = {Natural Justice}, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Moz-Land-Law-Fact-Sheets-2024-1-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }