PART II ECONOMIC SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS RIGHT TO PROPERTY: - Article 14 Constitutional Guarantee The right to property is guaranteed in the Constitution and under other enabling laws. Article 40 of the FDRE constitution guarantees the right to property. It states clearly that every Ethiopian citizen has the right to the ownership of private property. Unless prescribed otherwise by law on account of public interest, this right shall include the right to acquire, to use and, in a manner compatible with the rights of other citizens, to dispose of such property by sale or bequest or to transfer it otherwise. Ethiopian peasants have right to obtain land without payment and have protection against eviction from their possession. In the same way Ethiopian pastoralists have the right to free land for grazing and cultivation as well as the right not to be displaced from their own lands. The legal framework for rural land acquisition, transfer, redistribution, removal of a holding right, administration and security is set out in the 1995 Constitution and Proclamation No. 456/2005. These documents state that every citizen from 18 years of age who wants to make a living from agriculture should be accorded free access to land. The implementation of this federal proclamation rests with the regional states. Thus, any regional-level proclamations, regulations and directives are part of the legal framework.29 The FDRE Constitution art 41/4/ declares that the state has the obligation to allocate ever increasing resources to provide social services. The constitution states that to the extent the country‟s resources permit, policies shall aim to provide all Ethiopians with access to public health and education, clean water, housing, food and social security. Policy Measures The government adopted 29  The Urban Development Policy/2005/ and the Rural development policy  The Capacity Building Strategies and Programs Federal rural land proclamation 72