PROPERTY RIGHTS FOR POOR ARE SUPPORTED AT ROME FORUM OF UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE

PROPERTY RIGHTS FOR POOR ARE SUPPORTED AT ROME FORUM

OF UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 7 November (ECE)–- The Land for Development Forum of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) –- dealing with financing the infrastructure for land and property markets in transition economies -- has just ended in Rome.  It brought the cooperation between the Commission and many national, regional and international bodies to a new level.

The Forum was organized by the Real Estate Advisory Group of the ECE, and hosted by Tecnoborsa, a non-governmental organization of the Rome Chamber of Commerce, and was held on 30-31 October.  It was attended by more than 150 experts from some 30 ECE member States and a number of United Nations and other bodies.  They held a forthright discussion on issues of implementation, on practical projects for bringing property rights to economic development and to the alleviation of poverty which is of great concern to all member States of the ECE region. A two-day elaboration resulted in important findings and concrete recommendations on further work and joint activities.

Addressing the Forum in a satellite link-up from Lima, Peru, Hernando de Soto, international expert on the role of property rights in poverty alleviation, declared that there was strong evidence that countries which gave priority to secure property rights had strongly advanced in gross domestic product (GDP), while those that had not, had fallen behind.  He said that too many countries were not making enough use of their assets and that a special effort was needed to sensitize policy makers around the world on the role of property rights in enhancing the position of the poor.  “Property rights”, he said, “secure the credit for the poor.”

Rocco Buttiglione, Minister for European Union Affairs of the Italian Government, speaking in support, argued that Italy’s economy had grown not as a result of markets without rules, but within a framework of good regulation and respect for rights of all citizens.  He declared that this vision of secure rights open to all was the basis of economic development and was also the basis of the cooperation that underlay European Union integration.

Some speakers reviewed the weaknesses in property rights systems, namely, the low level of mortgage banking and finance, non-existent systems of credit rating, legal impediments to property rights, lack of professions that can facilitate trading, as well as those specific issues which are holding back the access of property rights to the poor, such as effective land dispute resolution systems, the high cost of services, uncertain ownership, restitution, power of new elites and judicial systems that give inadequate protection especially to the poor and vulnerable groups.

Many speakers agreed on the need to improve and strengthen property rights for economic development by improving the capacity of government, the judiciary and legal institutions, as well as transparent and harmonized standards in property valuation and banking procedures.

It was decided to establish a high-level panel under the chairmanship of Mr. de Soto to prepare a “Tool kit on Property Rights for the Poor”.  Such a tool kit would be the first comprehensive inventory of tools that would show how property rights could promote prosperity and wealth creation.  The proposal will be discussed at the fifty-first session of the Working Party on International Legal and Commercial Practice (17-19 November) in Geneva.

For further information please contact:

Geoffrey Hamilton, Secretary to the Working Party on International Legal and Commercial Practices (WP.5), UNECE Industrial Restructuring, Energy and Enterprise Development Division, CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland; tel:  +41(0)22 917 28 38; Fax:  +41(0)22 917 01 78; e-mail:  geoffrey.hamilton@unece.org;

Robert Hall, Chairman of UNECE-Real Estate Advisory Group, 57 North Hill, London N6 4BS, United Kingdom; tel: +44 (0) 20 8340 4566, fax: +41 (0) 22 917 0178; e-mail:  Bob.Hall@un-reag.org

Web site:  http://www.unece.org/ie/Wp5/reag/reag.html

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