2025 Africa Land Conference Spotlights Reparative Justice for Africans, Diaspora

The 2025 Conference on Land Policy in Africa (CLPA 2025), scheduled for 10–13 November 2025 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, will bring together African leaders, policymakers, academics, and civil society representatives to discuss land governance, justice, and reparations for Africans and people of African descent.

Anchored on the African Union’s 2025 Theme of the Year: “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations,” the conference seeks to advance inclusive policies that address historical land injustices and promote equitable access to land and resources across the continent and the Diaspora.

Held under the theme: “Land Governance, Justice and Reparations for Africans and Descendants of People of the African Diaspora,” the 2025 CLPA is jointly organized by the African Union Commission (AUC), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), and the African Development Bank (AfDB) through the African Land Policy Centre (ALPC). The conference offers a continental platform for dialogue on both the historical and contemporary dimensions of land governance, justice, and reparative measures for Africans and their descendants worldwide.

A Landmark Dialogue on Justice and Equity

For centuries, African people and their descendants have endured systemic land alienation, resource exploitation, and cultural dispossession. The 2025 CLPA aims to confront this legacy by examining how land governance reforms, restitution of cultural property, and equitable access to land can serve as pathways to justice, inclusion, and shared prosperity.

The conference will convene policymakers, traditional leaders, academics, development partners, civil society organizations, private sector actors, and youth representatives to exchange knowledge, share best practices, and strengthen partnerships for transformative action.

Key Sub-Themes

The 2025 CLPA will feature plenary sessions, technical panels, side events, exhibitions, and policy dialogues structured around the following sub-themes:

• Land tenure, equity, and reparative justice
• Colonialism, displacement, livelihoods, and conflicts
• Global justice, climate resilience, and reparations
• Restitution of Africa’s cultural property and ancestral land
• Enhancing land governance for equitable access and distribution
• Colonial boundaries, economic justice, and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)

Cross-cutting themes such as gender, youth, climate change, agriculture, and reparations will inform all discussions and outcomes.

Driving Africa’s Development Agenda

By fostering evidence-based policy dialogue and inclusive participation, the 2025 CLPA aims to strengthen Africa’s capacity to implement responsive, transparent, and equitable land governance systems. The conference will directly contribute to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—notably SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), and SDG 15 (Life on Land)—as well as the African Union’s Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want.

The Conference on Land Policy in Africa (CLPA) is a biennial high-level forum jointly organized by the AUC, ECA, and AfDB under the auspices of the African Land Policy Centre (ALPC). Formerly known as the Land Policy Initiative (LPI), the ALPC is a tripartite programme of the three institutions dedicated to promoting the strategic use of land to drive inclusive and sustainable development across Africa.