Land tenure in Timor-Leste

A reply to Formal land tenure in East-Timor: an insider's perspective

Congratulations to Bernardo Almeida for drawing attention to the desperate need for a formal land tenure system in Timor-Leste. It is perhaps the single largest block to the advancement of Timorese society and the country's economy.

There are new generations of aspirational Timorese who are eager to build their lives and businesses in their country. Without land tenure laws, most find it difficult to access capital at attractive rates because they have no security to use for bank loans. A system of land tenure will provide liquidity, lower interest rates, and generate economic activity amongst the cash strapped Timorese so that they can participate in their country's development, achieve individual prosperity, and unlock their great potential.

Business and the economy is one side of the story, but Australian readers might get a better sense of the importance and emotion of this issue by calling it by its other name: land rights. The Timorese people will live with uncertainty and fear about their future until this problem is resolved. In 2017, an Asia Foundation survey found that under the draft land laws which have been before parliament since 2017, one-quarter of Dili residents would not have 'legal tenure security on the land where they're currently living' and so risk eviction. That was 63,000 people back in 2017. [1]

We collectively must resolve this problem so the naturally tenacious and enterprising Timorese can take up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build their own lives, kick-start the economy, and help build the nation.

A decision on land law simply needs to be made.

I come from a business background. While law and policy are a different world to mine, I have always found it useful to act based on sound and detailed research, then address problems as they arise. There is nothing to stop applying this approach to land tenure. There may not be a perfect solution; there rarely is for anything, but if the powers that be adopt this approach, it might well open up a resolution, rather than perpetuate the current stagnation.

The prime minister's announcement on 1 October of a substantial budget release is welcome news. To a degree, it will as he says, 'serve as a lever for the country's development [and] for creating an attractive business environment'. However, we should not pin all hopes of development on a budget because it will not overcome the fundamental problems caused by the lack of land tenure law. That requires specific attention.

So, what are the discussion points to address? What are the hurdles? Where are the obstacles? We should be doing anything and everything we can to find a solution and a good start would be for the sharing of information and open discussion. If we know more detail about what we face, then there could be a national debate. But without these basics, we are blind.

One key point in Bernardo Almeida's research summary was that 'states need to get their ideology right' about land law. He elaborates by saying that 'getting it right' is not solely the task of politicians. It is also the task of 'state officials, practitioners, academics, and the general population’.[2] This seems to be a sensible and important point to focus on because it means opening up the debate.

There have been many years of productive and detailed discussion and research by leaders and academics about this complex topic. If the prime minister wishes to encourage 'small and medium-sized cooperatives or businesses', then perhaps now is the time to heed Almeida's research findings and open the land law debate to the broader stakeholders and the Timorese community. Discussion and debate could occur through a variety of traditional public forums, such as newspapers, radio, social media and television, so that a resolution to this issue of national importance is found.

I have always believed that Timor-Leste could be a country where, as the prime minister says, 'there are opportunities for everyone', and that it is 'a country of freedom, a country of choices, in which every citizen can happily build their life project'. If land law can be resolved, that time may be close at hand. We just need to open the debate.

[1] Felicity James, ABC News, ‘Timor-Leste household survey finds majority in Dili fear eviction’, 24 January 2017,
[2] Bernardo Almeida: ‘Building land tenure systems: The political, legal, and institutional struggles of Timor-Leste.’ Doctoral Thesis, Faculty of Law, Leiden University, 24 September 2020.