Scott Leckie

Displacement Solutions

Scott Leckie is the Founder and Director of Displacement Solutions, an organization focused on assisting people displaced from their homes due to conflict or climate change. He actively works to identify and implement durable solutions for displaced persons, including securing housing, land, and property (HLP) rights.

Oneness World Foundation

Scott Leckie is also a Director of the Oneness World Foundation, which aims to develop peaceful and evolutionary approaches to establish a post-nation-state world, advocating for global citizenship where all humans are considered equal citizens of Earth.

Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE)

Leckie founded and was the Executive Director of the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) from 1991 to 2007, an organization dedicated to the realization of housing rights globally.

Habitat International Coalition

From 1989 to 1999, Scott Leckie served as Legal Counsel and United Nations Representative for Habitat International Coalition, an international network working on human settlements and housing rights.

Cambridge University Press

Cambridge University Press has published several of Scott Leckie's works, including 'Housing, Land and Property Restitution Rights of Refugees and Displaced Persons: Laws, Cases and Materials', 'Housing, Land, and Property Rights in Post-Conflict United Nations and Other Peace Operations: A Comparative Survey and Proposal for Reform', and 'Conflict and Housing, Land and Property Rights'.

Coordinated projects on the Peninsula Principles on climate change within States

Coordinated major projects on Climate Displacement Havens and a feasibility study for a World Restitution Agency; wrote memoirs

Authored a lengthy report on climate change case law

Wrote a legal analysis of land grabbing in Myanmar; advised UNDP Uzbekistan on a new Housing Code

Led a project in Nepal on post-earthquake housing response; advocated for a National Climate Land Bank in Myanmar; advised Asian Development Bank on HLP legal matters in Myanmar; advised UN on peace efforts in Syria; co-founded Podcast Jointly Venturing

Worked in Myanmar on a new restitution law and mechanism; advised UN on Syria peace process, focusing on HLP rights; managed first construction phase of homes for climate displaced families in Bangladesh

Advised UK Government and Norwegian Refugee Council on land and peace in Myanmar; designed plans for a Climate Land Bank in Myanmar; established the One House, One Family at a Time project in Bangladesh

Awarded one of the prestigious UN Sasakawa Awards; co-edited 'Repairing Domestic Climate Displacement: The Peninsula Principles'; advised International Finance Corporation on land acquisition law in Myanmar

Published 'Land Solutions for Climate Displacement'; backed the 'Where Will We Go Exhibition'

Completed publications on land acquisition for climate displaced persons and communities, including 'Finding Land Solutions to Climate Displacement: A Challenge Like Few Others'; coordinated activities leading to the adoption of The Peninsula Principles on Climate Displacement Within States

Worked extensively on HLP rights themes in Myanmar, published groundbreaking reports

Instigated the Bangladesh HLP Initiative, acquiring 10,000 acres of land; co-edited 'The Climate Displacement Reader'; taught the world’s first law school course on climate change and displacement at the Australian National University; provided HLP training in Bangladesh and Kiribati

Helped establish the Bhutanese Refugee Restitution Organisation (BRRO); co-authored 'Housing, Land and Property Rights and Conflict'; designed intensive training on HLP rights for climate-induced displacement; led a fact-finding mission to Fiji, Kiribati and Tuvalu

Compiled the entire legal code of Burma related to HLP rights, resulting in the book 'Housing, Land and Property Rights in Burma: The Current Legal Code'; completed the first practical handbook for climate displaced persons; designed and established the Climate Change Land Fund

Focused on links between climate change and displacement in the Maldives, Papua New Guinea, and Pacific Island nations

Established Displacement Solutions; primarily authored the DS report 'Housing Timor'; addressed rights of Palestinian refugees and climate displaced persons

Developed the Burma HLP Initiative and the Bougainville HLP Initiative

Worked in Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Thailand on land restitution post-Indian Ocean Tsunami; initiated the process culminating in the adoption of the 'Pinheiro Principles'

Prepared a draft UN Policy on Housing, Land and Property Rights in Post-Conflict Settings for the United Nations

Worked with a Supreme Court Justice in Sri Lanka on institutional design for land, housing, and property restitution; designed the Iraqi Housing, Land and Property Directorate for the UN Mission in Iraq

Developed a legal reform plan in Albania with OSCE and World Bank support; assisted Palestinian Negotiations Support Unit in developing restitution positions, prepared 'Survey of Housing, Land and Property Restitution: Precedents for Palestinian Refugees'

Prepared a draft Policy on Population Displacement and Involuntary Resettlement for British Petroleum (BP)

Designed the institutional and legal framework for an East Timor Housing and Land Commission for UNTAET

Conceived and designed the UN Mission in Kosovo’s (UNMIK) Housing and Property Directorate, settling over 29,000 restitution claims

Prepared a Plan of Action for UNHCR on return of refugees and IDPs in Georgia and South Ossetia; worked with Bhutanese refugees in Nepal to document restitution claims

Acted as Legal Counsel and UN Representative for Habitat International Coalition

Executive Director of the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE)