Lack of property registration is a widespread problem in Kyrgyzstan, where private ownership is a relatively new concept. This has added to the problems of the victims of the 2010 violence in Kyrgyzstan. The Danish Refugee Council works to help the returnees regain the right to their own property.

Private ownership did not appear in Kyrgyzstan till the country became independent of the Soviet Union and it is not fully comprehended yet. A lack of awareness of property rights often prevents those affected in finding durable solutions.

Dilfulsa Abdulaeva and her family were among the 400,000 people, predominantly of Uzbek Kyrgyz descendant, who had to flee during the large-scale violence in Southern Kyrgyzstan in June 2010, which led to more than 400 killings and the destruction of 2,000 houses and hundreds of private businesses.

When the extensive ethnic violence stopped, Dilfulsa Abdulaeva and her family wanted to return home, but their home was burned down and with it all their belongings, including property documents. Dilfulsa Abdulaeva inherited the house and the plot it was build on from her father who died in 1991 – as he had inherited it from former generations. When Dilfulsa Abdulaeva tried to claim her rights to the plot after the violent clashes, she was refused as she was no longer in position of a death certificate of her father.

“We meet a lot of people, who were not previously aware they had to register their inheritance. The lack of recognized ownership stands in the way of them returning to their homes – or to claim compensation in case of expropriation, which increases the risk of further displacement,” says Natia Mosashvili, DRC Kyrgyzstan Protection Project Manager.

The situation changed for Dilfulsa Abdulaeva, when she came in contact with the DRC legal team in September 2010. She began the long and complex process of obtain her ownership rights. First she had to obtain property documents, then it was necessary for her to present her case in court to establish the legal fact of death of her father, when she had been obtained, she was ready to begin the final step – the procedure towards ownership rights registration.

Dilfulsa Abdulaeva won the case and has now the legal right to the plot she inherited from her father. She is also the legal owner of a new house, as she is one of the beneficiaries of the DRC 2011 construction project, implemented with the support of Asian Development Bank. This time she is of no risk of losing her legal rights, as she has obtained documents for construction which guarantee that the house provided by DRC shelter project is hers – securing that her property rights is protected by law.

Note:  For security reasons, the beneficiary’s name is changed.

Read about DRC activities in Kyrgyzstan

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