For over a decade, the Central African Republic (CAR) has been affected by conflict, with the continued presence of armed groups. Violence against civilians and the effects of climate change continue to force people to flee their homes.
Nana can finally reclaim her home
Numerous protection violations and incidents affecting diverse groups persist across the country. Conflict continues to devastate many areas with economic potential, impacting people's wellbeing and rights, and causing forced displacement and other protection issues such as access to housing, land and property (HLP) rights.
Nana, 49, used to live in Berberati in the west of CAR with her two children. In 2014, violence descended on her neighbourhood. Nana witnessed horrors that she will never forget. “All of a sudden, there was shooting everywhere, from morning to night. People were being killed everywhere. I saw people dying in front of my eyes, it was horrible. I was so scared,” she recalls.
Due to the intensity of the fighting and her origins, Nana no longer felt safe. She feared for her family and had no choice but to flee to seek refuge in another town. Eventually she managed to cross the border into neighbouring Cameroon.
“We fled and walked for days to get out of Berberati. Each time we heard gunshots, we hid. When we got to Gamboula, we finally managed to find a vehicle to take us to Kentzou [in eastern Cameroon]. Everyone was running away, and it was up to the strongest. We lost most of the little savings we had,” she says.
Numerous protection violations and incidents affecting diverse groups persist across the country. Conflict continues to devastate many areas with economic potential, impacting people's wellbeing and rights, and causing forced displacement and other protection issues such as access to housing, land and property (HLP) rights.
Nana, 49, used to live in Berberati in the west of CAR with her two children. In 2014, violence descended on her neighbourhood. Nana witnessed horrors that she will never forget. “All of a sudden, there was shooting everywhere, from morning to night. People were being killed everywhere. I saw people dying in front of my eyes, it was horrible. I was so scared,” she recalls.
Due to the intensity of the fighting and her origins, Nana no longer felt safe. She feared for her family and had no choice but to flee to seek refuge in another town. Eventually she managed to cross the border into neighbouring Cameroon.
“We fled and walked for days to get out of Berberati. Each time we heard gunshots, we hid. When we got to Gamboula, we finally managed to find a vehicle to take us to Kentzou [in eastern Cameroon]. Everyone was running away, and it was up to the strongest. We lost most of the little savings we had,” she says.
Weeks turn to years
Nana thought the situation would soon return to normal. But things didn't turn out as she'd imagined. “We stayed for a few weeks in a community that welcomed us. But more and more people were arriving from CAR every day, and as we had no means of support, we were obliged to go and live in the Lolo refugee camp,” she says.
She thought that she and her family would stay in Cameroon for a few months, but they ended up staying for 10 long years. Throughout all this time, Nana had not forgotten what she had left behind, and especially the house she had built from scratch with her late husband. But how could she hope to find it again after so many years?
“I used to receive news from certain people who had returned to the country, that a woman had occupied my house and that she said she would never leave,” she recalls.
Unresolved land disputes
Nana's story is just one of thousands in CAR. Housing, land and property (HLP)* rights present a particular challenge. Secondary occupation, whereby people move into homes where the owners have been forced to flee, is one of the major consequences of the conflict. The impact is still being felt more than 10 years on.
The conflict has led to numerous violations of HLP rights. Existing HLP challenges have been exacerbated by the destruction and looting of homes in many areas, and the massive population movements. According to protection monitoring data, 12,552 cases of property rights violations were recorded in 2024.
As the security situation in CAR has been relatively calm for several years, more and more people are returning in the hope of recovering their belongings. Unfortunately, for those who have lost everything and lack documents to prove ownership, restitution is very difficult.
In response to this situation, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is working to protect displaced people’s HLP rights and promote lasting solutions to displacement, with support from the European Union. A total of 11 HLP community mechanism groups were set up across the country to support the peaceful resolution of property disputes, including one in Berberati.
* Housing, land and property rights are drawn from international law and the right to adequate housing, and are what makes it possible for people to live on their land and use their property.
The six members of the community mechanism groups in Berberati are supported by local authorities to analyse and deal with each dispute in a fair manner. The aim is to find lasting solutions for the people affected.
“I heard about this community mechanism and thought I'd give it a go to try and get back possession of my house. And I wasn't wrong. But it took time, and I had to fight because the lady occupying my house didn't want to leave,” says Nana.
When Nana returned to CAR, she rented a small house for 1,500 Central African francs per month, while waiting for her house to be returned. After several months of battles and discussions with the various authorities involved, she was happy to regain possession of her house in 2024.
“I found my house in a pitiful state, but at least I got it back. This is all I have left in this life that I wish to leave as a legacy for my children,” she says.
A total of 66 cases of secondary occupation were dealt with by community mechanism groups in 2024 in the western prefectures of Nana-Mambéré and Mambéré-Kadey. These included two stores, 50 houses and 14 plots of land, enabling people to regain their property.
In addition, NRC conducted awareness-raising sessions for nearly 500 people on the importance of respecting HLP rights, promoting community-based protection and collaborative approaches to resolving housing, land and property disputes.
Women encounter barriers to housing, land and property rights
Displaced people face difficulties in accessing their housing, land and property rights due to having to leave their homes, farms and other land and property behind. In addition, lack of money and opportunities forces displaced people and host communities to adopt negative coping mechanisms to meet their needs. This makes them more vulnerable to exploitation and gender-based violence, which particularly affects women and girls.
In general, women-headed households have a higher dependency burden than male-headed households. This means they often have more children or elderly relatives to support with fewer working adults. Poverty in these families is made worse when gender-biased inheritance laws deprive women of access to the property of a deceased or missing spouse.
Even before conflict, women are disadvantaged when it comes to HLP entitlements. Land ownership remains largely restricted to men, both by tradition and law. Globally, men’s landholdings are almost three times the size of those of women. Inheritance is fundamental for the accumulation of assets, including land, yet often women and girls have fewer inheritance rights than men and boys.
With the continued reduction in humanitarian funding, people affected by displacement will continue to face challenges in securing their land and property. This will have long-term consequences, as investments in meeting basic needs will be less effective without secure land and property rights. It is therefore more imperative than ever to step up our response to provide these populations with lasting solutions and a brighter future.
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