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Gender Checklist: resettlement
Institutional Considerations
Institutional considerations are important to ensure that appropriate agencies
are mandated to plan and implement compensation, income-restoration, and rehabilitation
programs and are identified as early as possible in the project preparation.
Cultural restrictions and lack of exposure to bureaucracy preclude women’s
active participation in the formal institutional structure. It is essential
to ensure that appropriate mechanisms are established to enable women’s
participation. Political will is a vital ingredient for sustaining involvement
in the decision-making process.
Institutional Capacity
Three levels
should be considered
- Project authorities
- Local government
- The community
Key Issues
- The executing agency responsible for planning and implementing resettlement
and rehabilitation programs may not have sufficient gender-and-development
(GAD) capacity.
- Local government should be involved in project implementation to ensure
sustainability and should have the appropriate institutional capacity to implement
the gender aspects of the resettlement plan.
- It is important to establish structures and mechanisms to ensure the involvement
and participation of affected persons in resettlement planning, implementation,
and monitoring. An elected committee or representative group could be considered.
Key Questions
- Are existing institutional policies gender sensitive?
- What is the commitment and experience of the executing agency, local government,
or the agency personnel in addressing gender issues?
- Do these institutions have the capacity to monitor progress?
- What is the local government’s commitment to implementing the gender
aspects of resettlement planning?
- Is there any existing GAD expertise?
- Is training or capacity building required?
- What is the gender distribution of staff?
- Have the gender initiatives been budgeted?
Key Strategies
- Ensure that the implementing agency has the necessary GAD and poverty capacity.
- If it does not, plan for GAD capacity building.
- Promote equal sex distribution of staff.
- Ensure proportionate representation of women in all committees.
- A gender specialist should be included on the team.
- Ensure that any NGOs recruited to assist with resettlement implementation
have the necessary gender perspective and experience to deal with vulnerable
groups.
- The NGO team should include female staff.
Top
Grievance Redress Mechanisms
Grievance redress mechanisms are generally of two types: formal courts of appeal
concerning land acquisition and compensation practices, or locally constituted
grievance redress committees (GRCs) for dispute resolution involving resettlement
benefits. Operational procedures for GRCs should be formalized and established
clearly in the resettlement plan.
Key Issues
- Complicated mechanisms that utilize formal legal structures are likely
to work against women, because women are generally unfamiliar with formal
institutions.
- The GRC must be adequately constituted to deal with gender issues that
may arise and include mechanisms to provide specific services for women.
Key Questions
- Is the grievance redress mechanism structured to address gender issues?
- Is the GRC gender sensitive?
- Does it take into account special problems faced by women?
- Are there any women members on the GRC or related group that has been or
will be constituted?
Key Strategies
- Discuss the proposed grievance redress mechanism structure with women.
- Can women easily access and use this mechanism?
- Ensure the presence of women on any GRC or related group at the formal
or informal level.
- Training GRC personnel in the handling of gender-sensitive issues should
be included.
- As far as possible, mechanisms should be established that do not require
women to go to court, because women generally find it difficult to access
legal machinery.
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Financing
Identify areas where community financing will be required in order to ensure
success of the resettlement and rehabilitation programs. For example, community
maintenance of communal facilities could be explored. Identify community willingness
to contribute financially to improved facilities. Joint contributions may be
relevant to operations and maintenance of community or group social infrastructure,
such as water and sanitation facilities, solid waste disposal, and multipurpose
community halls.
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Resettlement Budget
Unless the resettlement budget earmarks funds for specific entitlements and
programs for women and children, such funds may not be available.
Key Questions
- Does the resettlement plan identify the financial resources required for
gender-targeted activities?
- Are specific provisions to address gender issues included in the budget
line items?
Key Strategies
- Ensure that the resettlement budget has allocated adequate funds for gender-related
activities.
- If possible, include a separate budget to address gender concerns specifically.
- Try to provide a separate budget for dealing with the concerns and needs
of women.
- Ensure that women are aware of the budgetary allocation to address their
concerns.
- Trace expenditures and ensure that funds are used appropriately.
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