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BASIC PRINCIPLES & GUIDELINES ON
DEVELOPMENT-BASED EVICTIONS &
DISPLACEMENT
Examples of Gender Components of
Document:
III. PRIOR TO EVICTIONS
38. States should explore fully all
possible alternatives to evictions. All potentially affected groups and
persons, including women, indigenous peoples and persons with disabilities, as
well as others working on behalf of the affected, have the right to relevant
information, full consultation and participation throughout the entire process,
and to propose alternatives that authorities should duly consider.....
39. During planning processes,
opportunities for dialogue and consultation must be extended effectively to the
full spectrum of affected persons, including women and vulnerable and
marginalized groups, and, when necessary, through the adoption of special
measures or procedures.
IV. DURING EVICTIONS
47. Evictions shall not be carried
out in a manner that violates the dignity and human rights to life and security
of those affected. States must also take steps to ensure that women are not
subjected to gender-based violence and discrimination in the course of
evictions, and that the human rights of children are protected.
50. States and their agents must
take steps to ensure that no one is subject to direct or indiscriminate attacks
or other acts of violence, especially against women and children, or
arbitrarily deprived of property or possessions as a result of demolition,
arson and other forms of deliberate destruction, negligence or any form of collective
punishment.....
V. AFTER AN EVICTION: IMMEDIATE
RELIEF AND RELOCATION
53. Special efforts should be made
to ensure equal participation of women in all planning processes and in the
distribution of basic services and supplies.
54......Special attention should be
paid to: (a)the health needs of women and children, including access to female
health care providers where necessary, and to services such as reporductive
health care and appropriate counselling for victims of sexual and other abuses;
(b)ensuring that ongoing medical treatment is not disrupted as a result of
eviction or relocation.....
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Forced evictions
constitute gross violations of a range of internationally recognized human
rights, including the human rights to adequate housing, food, water, health,
education, work, security of the person, freedom from cruel, inhuman and
degrading treatment, and freedom of movement.
Basic principles and
guidelines on development-based evictions and displacement |
Forced evictions are often
linked to the absence of legally secure tenure, which constitutes an essential
element of the right to adequate housing. Forced evictions share many
consequences similar to those resulting from arbitrary displacement, including
population transfer, mass expulsions, mass exodus, ethnic cleansing and other
practices involving the coerced and involuntary displacement of people from
their, lands and communities.
As a result of
forced evictions, people are often left homeless and destitute, without means
of earning a livelihood and, in practice, with no effective access to legal or
other remedies. Forced evictions intensify inequality, social conflict,
segregation and invariably affect the poorest, most socially and economically
vulnerable and marginalized sectors of society, especially women, children,
minorities and indigenous peoples.
The obligation of
States to refrain from, and protect against, forced evictions from home(s) and
land arises from several international legal instruments including the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights (art. 11, para. 1), the Convention on the Rights of
the Child (art. 27, para. 3), the non-discrimination provisions found in
article 14, paragraph 2 (h), of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination against Women, and article 5 (e) of the International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
In its resolution
1993/77, the Commission on Human Rights stated that the "practice of
forced eviction constitutes a gross violation of human rights, in particular
the right to adequate housing". In 1977, the Committee on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights issued its General
Comment n°7 on forced evictions.
Evictions must be
carried out lawfully, only in exceptional circumstances, and in full accordance
with relevant provisions of international human rights and humanitarian law.
In 2007, the Special
Rapporteur on adequate housing presented to the Human Rights Council a set of
"Basic principles and guidelines on development-based evictions and
displacement". These guidelines aim to assist States in developing
policies and legislations to prevent forced evictions at the domestic level.
The basic principles and guidelines on development-based evictions and
displacement represent a further development of the United Nations
Comprehensive Human Rights Guidelines on Development-based Displacement
(E/CN.4/Sub.2/1997/7, annex).
The Basic
principles and guidelines on development-based evictions and displacement are
contained in Annex I of the report of the Special Rapporteur, A/HRC/4/18:
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