Genuine engagement is fundamental to building trust with displaced households and to eventual successful resettlement. Informed by the site’s Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) (see Section 3A), a Resettlement Stakeholder Engagement Plan (RSEP) must be developed by a resettlement expert. The purpose of the is to guide engagement from the commencement of displacement management planning (see 4F.2 Guidance, Task 7). The must be updated periodically as the resettlement process progresses. An is needed because of the lack of specificity of the to address land access, compensation and resettlement activities, and the fact that the should be specifically focused on displaced households and/or individuals, rather than on all local stakeholders. However, the and must be aligned.
The must address engagement methods and activities with the displaced households and/or individuals at various stages of the process. Critical to the is the design of a resettlement working group (RWG) or similar committee(s), depending on project requirements, context, institutional arrangements and needs of displaced communities. The formation of the happens as part of development (see 4F.2 Guidance, Task 7), when this aspect of the must be updated. The is distinct from the CEF (Section 3A) and other site-level engagement platforms in the same way that the is distinct from the , in that it is specifically focused on resettlement-related consultation. More than one or similar committee can be established. The resettlement project team must apply the same guidance provided for establishing a CEF.
The composition of the must include a resettlement expert and representatives from the displaced households/individuals, resettlement project team, and formal and traditional leadership structures as appropriate. The project team must consider the viability of involving civil society and non-governmental organisations in this forum, and ensure that vulnerable groups, women and host communities are included.
The must detail a resettlement-specific grievance mechanism, aligned with the grievance management process established under Section 3B but tailored to the resettlement context. There are important differences in focus and approach to grievance management specific to land access, compensation, resettlement and livelihood restoration.
In addition, the must include, as a minimum:
- Stakeholder mapping, including vulnerability assessment in relation to engagement (see 3A.2 Guidance, Task 3);
- Analysis of stakeholders’ capacity and availability to meaningfully participate in the resettlement process;
- An overview of previous resettlement-related stakeholder engagement undertaken at the site, including a summary of issues raised by stakeholders during such engagement (which may be indicative of legacy issues – see 4F.2 Guidance, Task 7);
- Activities, procedures, structures and roles in relation to stakeholder engagement during the resettlement planning process;
- Engagement and communication activities to be undertaken as part of stakeholder engagement;
- Disclosure requirements in terms of the /, notifications and other materials; and
- Additional consultation or capacity-building requirements for the , vulnerable people and/or households.