UN-Habitat
 
Loading...
Subscribe to News updates via Email

Subscribe to News updates via RSS newsfeed
  Home » Feature Stories » News » Forced evictions rise dramatically around the world says UN-HABITAT advisory group
Forced evictions rise dramatically around the world says UN-HABITAT advisory group Bookmark and Share
  Email this story
  Print This Page!
 

Nairobi, 17 Apr 07
UN-HABITAT’s Advisory Group on Forced Evictions launched its second report during the 21st Session of the Governing Council. It carries updated information on eviction cases documented by AGFE in its first report and 15 new cases from Angola, Botswana, Brazil, India, Nigeria, Japan, Pakistan, Palestine, Peru, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

At the launching ceremony, Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, expressed her appreciation for the work of AGFE and saying: “It is critical that we are constantly on the alert against illegal arbitrary evictions. Instead the UN calls for consultation with communities followed by negotiated relocation. By documenting these cases, AGFE is providing UN-HABITAT and the international community with an important service”

One of the major findings of the report is that forced evictions over the past three years have increased dramatically in frequency, in number and in the level of violence. They appear to have become a common practice in lieu of sustainable urban planning and inclusive social policies, both in many developed and developing countries. Evictions, often at massive scale, have been taking place or are to take place in at least 60 countries.

However, despite this negative trend, local initiatives at various levels and by different actors prove that alternatives to forced evictions can be found. Some of these cases where people, their organisations and their governments have successfully developed practices that prevent evictions and provide security of tenure are documented in the AGFE report. These cases give real hope to hundreds of thousands of children, women and men all over the world who live under constant threat of eviction.

The findings of the report were presented at the launch ceremony by Ms. Leticia Osorio, Coordinator of Americas Programme of the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) and Mr. Cesare Ottolini, Coordinator of the International Alliance of Inhabitants (IAI), a global network of grassroots associations that implement the global Zero Evictions Campaign.

An electronic copy of the report is available on this website.

 
Site Map | Site Directory | Contact Us | Feedback | Terms & Conditions | Fraud and scam alert