Security of tenure and access to land is a central issue in disaster and post conflict environments. It is also crucial when developing programmes to minimize vulnerability of populations to future crises. DMP’s focus on land issues incorporates a rights based approach and seeks mechanisms to ensure land and property rights are protected, for both women and men equally. This includes undertaking immediate measures protecting the land and property rights of displaced persons, and developing longer term solutions for land and property dispute resolution. These issues will have a profound effect on the ability of societies to recover from crises and develop systems that will reduce their vulnerability to conflict and disaster in the future.

From mid-1999 until mid-2002 UN-HABITAT was responsible for the management of the Housing Property Directorate (HPD) and the Housing Property Claims Commission (HPCC) in Kosovo. However, to continue the provision of such support regionally, UN-HABITAT remains, currently, responsible for the HPD in Serbia and Montenegro. In December 2003 DMP/UN-HABITAT completed a comprehensive evaluation exercise of its Kosovo Cadastre Support Programme. The output of the evaluation was an immediate measures land management evaluation tool for emergency through reconstruction in post-conflict situations.