Settlement of Indigenous Land Disputes by the CHT Land Dispute Resolution Commission of Bangladesh: Challenges and Possible Solutions

Abstract

The historic Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord of 1997 between the Government of Bangladesh and the indigenous leaders of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) provides, inter alia, for the establishment of a CHT Land Commission to settle the land disputes of the CHT region, which is home of 11 different indigenous peoples. The disputes are the direct result of colonial and post-colonial policy of denial of customary land rights of indigenous people as well as other policies of dispossession leading to constant unrest in this region ever since its colonization by the British in 1860. Resolution of “the Land Question” is central to establishing durable peace in CHT, and the role of the CHT Land Commission could be pivotal in that. But ever since its establishment in 1999, the Commission has been non-functional. This chapter diagnoses the reasons behind the Commission’s failure to settle even a single dispute so far, and suggests that recognizing customary land regimes on par with the mainstream Anglo-American-type land regime should be the modus operandi of the Commission moving forward. Being the first of its type in South Asia, the Commission could set good example for other nations which face similar land issues with their own indigenous people.