UFRN collaborates in conflict resolution in the Community of Casqueira

The Institute of Public Policies (IPP) and the Postgraduate Program in Urban and Regional Studies (PPEUR) at UFRN are part of the judicial process that aims to resolve a legal conflict between several people in the Community of Casqueira, in the municipality of Areia Branca, the city hall of this municipality and the National Department of Infrastructure and Transport (DNIT).
UFRN's participation takes place through the extension project “Building Collaborative Solutions for Judicialized Public Issues”. The representatives of IPP and PPEUR are, respectively, professors Raquel Silveira and Dulce Bentes, also from the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning.
The project takes place in conjunction with the Judicial Center for Consensual Conflict Resolution and Citizenship (CEJUSC), coordinated by judge Gisele Leite, from the Federal Court in Rio Grande do Norte (JFRN).
The lawsuit involves a complex social issue. Members of the Casqueira Community discuss the demolition orders for their properties issued by DNIT. They argue that they have the right to remain in the territory as they have occupied it for many years. On the other hand, the federal agency argues that it is a non-edifindi area (where construction cannot be built) of the federal highway that crosses the community.
The efforts of the mediation participants are aimed at a solution that avoids the removal of the entire community from the territory, built by the bonds of history and affection. The aim is to readjust the limits of the highway's right-of-way and non-building areas, based on recent legislation published on the matter. In this way, only parts of the buildings would be demolished or only families whose properties do not fit into this new highway design would be removed.
It was in this context that the UFRN team developed in the Casqueira Community: through a face-to-face workshop coordinated by UFRN staff. The objective was to include community members in mediation discussions, as well as strengthen understanding of the dimension of the land conflict in which they are involved, giving importance to the election of leaders to better defend the community's interests in negotiations.
The IPP and PPEUR team sought to clarify doubts and questions presented by the participants, also encouraging the joint realization of the community's historiography based on the report of each member and the recovery of the residents' history.
The full report of this workshop was recently presented in the case file, in order to support new discussions and the next steps of mediation, the importance of which was summarized by the CEJUSC supervisor, Maísa Meira.
The extension project “Building Collaborative Solutions for Judicialized Public Issues” is the subject of a cooperation agreement signed between JFRN and UFRN, which was renewed last June, for another year, thus expanding the role of the UFRN team of teachers and students in the structuring processes underway in the respective courts.
Source: with information and photo from JFRN