28 July, Dili, Timor-Leste

A long-running and violent dispute over land between two communities in the district of Metinaro, east of Timor-Leste’s capital Dili, ended today with a dance, a prayer, a speech and the sacrifice of two farmyard animals.

The celebration, including the killing of a pig and goat, came at the end of a three-month community dialogue that combined formal negotiation techniques with informal and traditional methods of dispute resolution.