A/HRC/20/25/Add.1 houses; and the gender dimensions of accessing the benefits. 75 Without these criteria in place, the programme will be seen as charity, not an entitlement of the beneficiaries, and will be open to abuse and manipulation. 65. A serious impediment to the realization of the right to adequate housing in TimorLeste is the complex situation of land titling. The violence following the 1999 referendum resulted in the destruction, inter alia, of many valuable records and files, including land and property titles. Land claims are complicated by historical land confiscations, population displacement and the multiplication of legal regimes, which include Portuguese, Indonesian and local land regimes and transactions. 76 A 2012 report of the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation ranked Timor-Leste 183rd out of 183 countries in terms of ease of registering property.77 Of the estimated 200,000 land parcels in Timor-Leste, less than 25 per cent have ever been formally registered. Few recorded deeds still exist, the majority having been destroyed during the violence of 1999. 78 A large number of families dwell on land to which they do not hold a legal title, or which is claimed by several parties or the State. 66. Throughout the visit, the Special Rapporteur received information concerning forced eviction practices in the country. Meeting with families temporarily living in Aitarak Laran after having been evicted from their homes in ex-Brimob in Bairo-Pite, she witnessed the detrimental impacts of these evictions. In some cases families had been living on plots for many years before being evicted without proper notice. While the majority of evicted families had received some financial compensation, many claimed that it was insufficient to purchase new land and rebuild new homes. Their new living conditions do not provide adequate shelter to withstand the rainy season, nor access to adequate sanitation facilities. 67. While the Special Rapporteur is confident that the Government is aware of the complex situation of land ownership in Timor-Leste, the use of such eviction practices is in clear violation of its human rights obligations. The struggles of nation-building and development cannot be an excuse to displace and destroy the homes of people living in poverty, who are entitled to protection against forced evictions and arbitrary interference in their home and privacy. Where justifiable in the most exceptional circumstances, evictions must meet the strict requirements set down in the basic principles and guidelines on development-based evictions and displacement.79 68. Three land laws have been under long and extensive discussion in Parliament, and were adopted after the completion of the Special Rapporteur’s visit. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the identification of land-regime reform as a priority, and acknowledges that both Government and Parliament have taken steps to provide a clear and stable legal framework. However, a preliminary review of the recently adopted laws raises concerns about the compliance of several aspects of the laws with international human rights standards and obligations, including with respect to the participation of civil society in the discussions. With these reservations in mind, the Special Rapporteur welcomes the recent decision by the former President to veto the laws and send them back to Parliament for additional appraisal, and she calls on the Government to invite the Special Rapporteur on adequate 75 76 77 78 79 18 See below the analysis of these elements in social protection programmes. World Bank, ―The lay of the land: land access and dispute resolution in Timor-Leste‖, Justice for the Poor briefing note, June 2010. World Bank and the International Finance Corporation, ―Ease of doing business in Timor-Leste‖, available from www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploreeconomies/timor_leste. USAID Country Profile, Property Rights and Resource Governance: Timor-Leste, 2011, p. 7. A/HRC/4/18, annex I. See also Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights general comment No. 7 (1997) on the right to adequate housing: forced evictions.