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Housing Rights Awards 2002
Recipients
Housing Rights Violator Award 2003
Burma (Myanmar)
The Government of Myanmar has used forced displacement as a political
tool, resulting in the military regime displacing more than a million
Burmese in an effort to control areas populated by ethnic minority groups.
The military has looted and destroyed property and livestock belonging to
villagers living along border areas. Despite their actions, the government
fails to give compensation for their losses or help in building new homes
to the displaced populations.
Colombia
Colombia has the world's third largest population of internally displaced
persons. The collapse of the fragile ceasefire in 2002 has thrown the
country back into a cycle of violent conflict resulting in the forced
displacement of nearly 300,000 people in 2001 – 2002 and the brutal
eviction of 10,000 people from Magdalena in January and February of
2002. Displaced Afro-Colombians continue to face racial discrimination.
They make up 26 per cent of the population and also the majority of
displaced communities. Displaced women from rural areas also confront
great difficulties in obtaining land titles, loans, a home and health and
education services.
Croatia
Following the conflict of the 1990's, the Croatian government has denied
nearly 300,000 ethnic Serbs refugees the fundamental right to return to
their original homes. In cases where restitution was not possible due to the
destruction of homes, discriminatory and complicated legislation passed in
Croatia, such as the Reconstruction Law, effectively excluded Serbs from
accessing government programmes, although thousands of Serb homes
were damaged or destroyed as a result of the war. The lack of any
mechanisms for property rights compensation and the discriminatory
obstacles facing Serbs attempting to physically repossess their property
often forces them to return to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or
Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Guatemala
Inadequate housing conditions characterise life for many in Guatemala,
and are endemic within many of Guatemala's indigenous community.
Compounded by profound poverty, the indigenous population suffers
disproportionately from the housing shortage. Approximately half of
Guatemala's population live in inadequate housing, concentrated in
Guatemala's over 200 squatter settlements. Over five thousand children
live in the streets of Guatemala City are vulnerable to violence. Forced
evictions occur frequently and it was reported in 2002 that former
members of Guatemala's right-wing civil defence patrol forcibly evicted 80
families in the community of Los Cimientos and over 2500 from the
municipality of San Miguel Petapa.
India
Although India has laws recognizing the right to adequate housing, forced
evictions take place across the country on a daily basis, and as a result
hundreds of thousands of people become homeless each year. These
forced evictions disproportionately and most negatively affect women,
who often suffer gender-based violence both during and after a forced
eviction. Unfortunately, women are already subject to personal rules that
deny them the right to own land or a home in their own name. The dismal
reality of Indian women is emphasized in the case of the forced eviction of
the village of Dom Khedi on 20 July 2002. Villagers had been forcibly
removed from their homes by a force of about 400-500 police officers.
These police officers brutally mishandled the villagers, sexually harassed
the women and met any resistance from the evictees with violence.
Israel
Israel continues with impunity to violate international human rights and
humanitarian law concerning forced evictions and housing demolitions. In
April 2002, Israeli forces destroyed hundreds of homes in the Jenin
Refugee Camp leaving 4,000 people homeless. In the past year, Israeli
forces destroyed over 400 homes and damaged 200 more in the Gaza
strip, citing 'administrative' and 'punitive' reasons as justification for these
demolitions. In July 2002, the Israeli cabinet voted for the adoption of a
bill that restricts access to 'state land' to Jews only. The Israeli
government's history of discrimination against the Palestinian Arab
community continues to restrict the ability of Palestinians to own and use
the land.
Nigeria
The Nigerian government is responsible for persistent forced evictions
and massive destruction of properties that have left thousands of people
homeless across the country. Despite significant oil revenues, government
housing programmes are insufficiently funded while thousands of people
are evicted in Lagos under a 'beautification' campaign to clear the city of
some of its slums in time for the All Africa Games and a Commonwealth
Conference in 2003. In May 2001, 5,000 residents of Apostolic Church
Estate in a suburb of Lagos were violently evicted from their homes with
only thirty minutes notice provided by the authorities.
Pakistan
The Pakistani government is guilty of proceeding with destructive
development projects that leave thousands of citizens homeless and
without proper compensation. The Mangla Dam Project is estimated to
destroy the homes of at least 40,000 people. The Lyari Expressway
project, in addition to destroying 25,000 homes, will demolish countless
shops, mosques, churches, schools and hospitals, leaving over 200,000
katchi abadi dwellers homeless. Although 90% of residents pay regular
taxes and an average of 60 percent of homes have been legalised in the
Lyari corridor, the majority will not receive any alternative land or
compensation.
United States
The United States government continues a policy that is hostile to
economic, social and cultural rights and actively opposes recognizing the
right to adequate housing as a human right. Homelessness has been made
a criminal offence in at least fifty cities in the country. Homeless people
are routinely targeted through discriminatory laws aimed at removing them
from public areas and visible spaces. Every year, at least 2.3 million adults
and children in the US experience homelessness, many because of
evictions.
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe, which was until the mid-1990's grouped among the more
prosperous and politically stable countries in Africa, has since allowed its
economy and political stability to shatter due to a government policy of
white-owned commercial farms. Approximately one million people
comprising farm workers and their families have been forced to leave their
homes in recent years. 20,000 people have been forced to flee their homes
due to their affiliation to the opposition movement over the past two
years. As a result, violence has erupted when war veterans and their
supporters conduct farm invasions to "speed up" the process.
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Housing Rights Protector Award 2002 - Recipients
Federative Republic of Brazil
In 2002, the Government of Brazil adopted the “Statue of the City”, one of the most progressive and commendable housing rights laws in the world. This law enhances social control in the area of urban development and implements important housing provisions consistent with international human rights law. Special mention goes to Sao Paulo, Brazil, which successfully prevented over 100 forced evictions in 2002.
Democratic Republic of East Timor
The Democratic Republic of East Timor, after emerging from decades of violence, affirmed its commitment to housing rights by recognizing the right to adequate housing within its National Constitution on 20 May 2002.
Republic of South Africa
The Republic of South Africa has emerged as one of the leading international advocates of economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to adequate housing. The Constitutional Court recognized the right to adequate housing in its landmark decision in the Government of the Republic of South Africa vs. Irene Grootboom (2000).
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