Rallies and public gatherings in N'Djamena (Chad), Accra
(Ghana), Nairobi (Kenya), Port Harcourt (Nigeria), Cairo (Egypt) and
Harare (Zimbabwe) will unite thousands of some of the world's poorest
and most disadvantaged people in demanding that their governments
respect their human rights obligations by not forcibly evicting them
from their homes and by providing them with better services such as
clean water and schools.
"Nearly three out of every four people living in African cities or
towns south of the Sahara live in informal settlements or slums," said
Erwin van der Borght, Amnesty International’s Africa director. "Yet when
it comes to city planning they are ignored by the authorities. Today we
are demanding that governments hear what these millions of people have
to say. We are shouting 'People live here'."
"Most people living in slums pay taxes, vote, put their children
through school and contribute to the city’s economy, yet most have
little or no access to sanitation, clean water, education, and adequate
healthcare which are human rights.”
“Governments must develop housing policies that focus on the needs of
residents of informal settlements and which guarantee their rights."
The continent-wide rallies and gatherings will coincide with the
African Ministerial Conference on Housing and Development (AMCHUD) which
takes place in Nairobi, Kenya 20-23 March.
Civil society has not been offered the opportunity to participate in
this crucial meeting and so Amnesty International has invited residents
of informal settlements we have worked with in Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and
Zimbabwe to a parallel meeting in the same venue to represent their
communities and present their key concerns and demands.
One of the most common human rights violations faced by the residents
of informal settlements and slums are forced evictions. A forced
eviction is the removal of people against their will from the homes or
land they occupy without legal and other safeguards.
Amnesty International has documented mass forced evictions in
Nairobi, Accra, N’Djamena, Port Harcourt, Cairo and Harare in addition
to other cities and countries across the continent.
Forced evictions can have catastrophic effects, particularly for
people already living in poverty. They do not just lose their homes and
possessions, they also lose their livelihoods, their social networks and
the basic services they rely on for survival.
They struggle to find clean water, food and toilets. They struggle to
find work and schools for their children. And they struggle to rebuild
their shattered lives, often with no help or support from the
governments that uprooted them.
“Forced evictions are a violation of the right to adequate housing, a
violation that governments are obliged to prevent, but all too often
don’t,” said Erwin van der Borght.
“We are not suggesting that evictions can’t happen in order to allow
for development or upgrading works but safeguards – such as genuine
consultation with affected communities and ensuring that people are not
left homeless - must be adhered to ensure that people aren’t left more
vulnerable to human rights violations.”
“Evictions can only take place as a last resort and only after all other alternatives have been explored”.
“Above all, governments must remember that residents of informal
settlements are human beings and when homes are destroyed, lives are
also destroyed. The next time they allow a slum to be demolished without
safeguards they should remember; People live here.”
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