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6CHAPTERPOLICY RESPONSES TOTENURE INSECURITYChapter 5 provided a brief overview of security of tenureand the many complex definitions and localized meaningsthat are associated with this term. The chapter examined thescale and impacts of tenure insecurity, the reasons whysecurity of tenure is not yet universally enjoyed, and thesocial groups who are particularly affected by conditions oftenure insecurity, with a key focus on those driven fromtheir homes by forced eviction, market evictions and othercauses, including armed conflict and disaster. The analysisconcluded with coverage of the ways in which the ‘illegal’ orinformal city is now an increasingly accepted reality in muchof the developing world. It is in these ‘illegal cities’ – nowhome to perhaps one quarter of humanity – that security oftenure conditions are at their worst.As Chapter 5 showed, security of tenure is complex,multifaceted and difficult to define purely in terms of formalityor informality, legality or illegality, or modern orcustomary law. The United Nations has grappled with thecomplexities of security of tenure since its earliest years aspart of its broader efforts in support of peace, security,poverty reduction and human rights. Although attention wasplaced more on rural than urban areas during the early years,a resolution on land reform adopted in 1950, for instance,speaks of ‘systems of land tenure’ that impede economicdevelopment and ‘thus depress the standards of livingespecially of agricultural workers and tenants’. The resolutionalso urges states to institute appropriate forms of landreform and to undertake measures to ‘promote the securityof tenure and the welfare of agricultural workers andtenants’. 1The debate has moved on considerably since 1950,and there has been an ever growing recognition of theproblem and how best to address it, particularly concerningurban land. Security of tenure issues are now routinelyexamined as a core concern and component, not just ofsustainable human settlements and urban policies, but alsoas a fundamental concern of human rights. This increasinglyexpansive approach, where questions of tenure, rights,policies and laws converge, contributes to the emergence ofmore integral or multidimensional approaches to security oftenure. This, in turn, can lead to the identification of morenuanced, practical and appropriate measures designed toensure that ever larger numbers of urban (and rural)dwellers are protected by adequate degrees of securetenure.As discussed in Chapter 5, cities are characterized bya wide range of tenure categories, from legal categoriesbased on statutory, customary or religious law, to extra-legalones, such as squatting, unauthorized land subdivisions andhouses constructed in contravention of official norms. Inpractical terms, this implies that most people in the cities ofdeveloping countries live within a continuum in which someaspects of their housing are legal, while others are not. Theexistence of such a continuum has serious consequences forthe development and implementation of urban policy: ‘It isessential to identify the range of statutory, customary andinformal tenure categories in a town or city so that theconsequences of urban policy on different tenure submarketscan be anticipated.’ 2 Governments and internationalagencies have undertaken a wide range of policies to redressproblems of tenure insecurity and to remedy the oftendeplorable living conditions found in the world’s informalsettlements.This chapter builds on Chapter 5 and turns to thequestion of how national and local governments, the internationalcommunity and civil society have attempted tograpple with tenure insecurity, both through policy and legalmeasures. Several key policy and legal responses onquestions of tenure security are examined, including upgradingand regularization; titling and legalization; landadministration and registration; legal protection from forcedeviction; and addressing violations of security of tenurerights. This is followed by a discussion of the roles andpotential contributions of civil society and the internationalcommunity. The final section contains a more in-depthreview of how three countries – South Africa, Brazil andIndia – have approached the question of security of tenure interms of both policy and human rights.UPGRADING ANDREGULARIZATIONSlum upgrading and tenure regularization are perhaps themost common policy responses to illegal settlementsthroughout the developing world. Such processes, whenMost people in thecities of developingcountries live withina continuum inwhich some aspectsof their housing arelegal, while othersare notGovernments andinternationalagencies haveundertaken a widerange of policies toredress problems oftenure insecurity