WUNRN
Full Article Link: http://www.cohre.org:80/deykrahorm
Geneva,
29 January 2009: Cambodia Evictions - The Centre on Housing Rights and
Evictions (COHRE) today condemned the eviction of at least 400 families from
the Dey Krahorm community in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, as a
violation of human rights. The eviction, conducted on Saturday 24 January, was
violent, illegal under Cambodian and international law, and has left hundreds
homeless.
The eviction was carried out in the early hours of Saturday morning, by over
400 breakers from the 7NG company, accompanied by over 300 heavily armed police
officers. Officials from the Municipality of Phnom Penh were also present.
Attempts were made to remove human rights observers and journalists from the
area. In the course of the eviction, tear gas was fired into the community and
heavy machinery, including a bulldozer, was used in a dangerous manner. As a
result, 18 community members were injured, including five who were seriously
injured. Private property was systematically destroyed during the eviction.
_____________________________________________________________________
UN HABITAT
Publication PDF Download is free but
requires registration.
Policy
Makers Guide to Women’s Land, Property and Housing Rights Across the World
|
|
|
Implementation
of women’s rights to land, property and housing rights remains one of the
more difficult challenges facing the world today. One of the difficulties associated
with developing effective laws and policies on land rights stems from the
immensely complex and diverse ways by which land is accessed, and the often
gaping expanse between the position of formal laws and the reality of women’s
lives. Member States and the international community have agreed upon a
series of commitments towards the establishment of security of tenure, for
example through the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 7, Target 11 on the
improvement of the living conditions of slum dwellers, and Target 10 on
access to improved water and sanitation. There is further political impetus
and consensus on promoting women’s security of tenure through equal rights to
land, property and inheritance through a host of international human rights
standards, and more recently through the elaboration of Millennium
Development Goal (MDG) 3 and the 2005 World Summit Outcome, where women’s
land, property and inheritance rights are seen as an important indicator of
women’s empowerment and human development. |
WOMEN'S EQUAL RIGHTS TO LAND,
PROPERTY, HOUSING
Under international human rights law, secure tenure is one of the seven components of the human right to adequate housing, which again is linked to the right to land. The other six components of this human right are:
- availability of services, materials, facilities and
infrastructure
- affordability
- habitability
- accessibility
- location and
- cultural adequacy
The right to adequate housing is laid down in Article 11(1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The right to property is a human right that is laid down in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Together with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, these two International Covenants form the “International Bill of Human Rights”. All human rights apply equally to women and men and discrimination on the basis of sex is prohibited by the International Bill of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments, such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Women’s equal rights to adequate housing, land and property are firmly entrenched in international law.
GENDER & SECURE LAND
Secure land tenure and property rights are fundamental to
shelter and livelihoods, and a cornerstone for the realisation of human rights
and for poverty reduction.
Secure
land rights are particularly important in helping reverse gender
discrimination, social exclusion of vulnerable groups, and wider social and
economic inequalities linked to inequitable and insecure access to land.
The Millennium Development Goal 7, Target 11, commits the international community to improving the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by the year 2020. However, rural urban migration, natural increase and expansion of urban centres all contribute to rapid urbanisation resulting in the constant increase in the number of slum dwellers.
It is now well-recognised that secure land and property rights for all are essential to reducing poverty, because they underpin economic development and social inclusion. Secure land tenure and property rights enable people in rural and urban areas to invest in improved homes and livelihoods. They also help to promote good environmental management, improve food security, and assist directly in the realization of human rights, including the elimination of discrimination against women, the vulnerable, indigenous groups and other minorities.
We are now seeing important changes in land policies, which reflect these principles in a variety of countries across the world. Today, however, land resources face multiple pressures and demands as never before, and developing countries still lack the tools, systematic strategies and support necessary to deliver secure land rights for all.
Sound land policies should protect people from forced removals and evictions, or where displacement is determined by legitimate processes as necessary for the greater public good and is carried out in conformity with national and international norms, ensure they have access to adequate compensation. Another critical dimension is ensuring gender equality, because women face such widespread discrimination in questions of land and property. Yet when women enjoy secure and equal rights, everybody benefits. Also, a secure land rights for all citizen contributes to conflicts reduction and improvement in environmental management as well as household living conditions.
================================================================
To contact the list administrator, or to leave the list, send an email to:
wunrn_listserve-request@lists.wunrn.com. Thank you.