Conflict related displacement fosters urbanisation: lessons learned from five post-conflict cases

Conflicts are greatest obstacles to global growth and human development. The most serious concerns from conflicts nowadays are: death, injury, destroyed infrastructure and houses, and displacement. Conflict related destruction and displacement have big impact on land, its administration and management. This is specifically a case at the end of the conflict, when displaced population in masses return to their country of origin. Then, land and land related issues come up on horizon as very sensitive issues to be dealt with. If land and its administration are neglected or not properly addressed after the end of a conflict, they can be a cause for a renewed armed conflict and an obstacle in the rebuilding of a post-conflict society. In such a situations examples from both literature and practice have shown that conflict related displacement fosters urbanisation.

This paper presents the lessons learned from five cases about the relation between displacement and urbanisation from the five case studies and how were these challenges addressed via adequate land administration and land claim mechanisms.