In the media

Newsletter #11

The virtual platform of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing is already running. This new tool will be used initially for developing the project “Women and the Right to Land and Housing.” People worldwide can now register and contribute to the thematic report and the guide and leaflet which will be produced on the subject. See also news and pictures of the working visit of the Rapporteur Raquel Rolnik to Haiti earlier this month and her agenda to the next period.

Rio World Cup demolitions leave favela families trapped in ghost town

From the roof of his home in the Favela do Metrô, Eomar Freitas enjoys one of the best views in town. Look south and you see the Christ the Redeemer statue towering over Rio’s mountains. To the north stands the green and pink headquarters of Mangueira, the city’s best-loved samba school.

And in between, one of the world’s top sporting venues, the blue and grey Maracanã stadium, which will host the final of the 2014 football World Cup.

Newsletter # 9

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing Raquel Rolnik has just completed her mission to Argentina, where she has been between April 13th and 21st. After visiting the country, where she met with representatives of the government, civil society organizations and citizens, she presented her preliminary findings. The final report will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in March 2012.

Canada needs a national housing strategy; Support Bill C-304

“I’ll never forget the small, remote communities I visited where I saw people in jail, only because they were homeless and on the street during brutal winter nights.” – Libby Davies, Member of Parliament, Vancouver East.

Ottawa (7 Mar. 2011) – The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) has a strong and proud history of campaigning on important equality and human rights issues. So, I am very proud that the National Union has committed its support to help ensure that my private member’s Bill C-304, An act to ensure secure, adequate, accessible and affordable housing for Canadians, is passed in the House of Commons. I like to call it, a Housing Bill of Rights.

Riots after house eviction in Berlin

Reproduzindo matéria divulgada por correio eletrônico

Numa operação militar digna de filmes de Hollywood, cerca de 2.500 policiais
foram mobilizados ontem (2 de fevereiro) em Berlim para a remoção do squatter
Liebig 14, um dos últimos da cidade. A polícia usou diversos objetos, como
machados e marretas, para quebrar a porta de entrada do Liebig 14, localizado
em Friedrichshain, em Berlim Oriental.

Today one of the oldest squats in the center of Berlin was evicted. The
squat was squatted in the 1990s because of many empty buildings at that
time and the missing affordable living space in Berlin.

In the house people of the age of 18-40, including two babies, tried to
live in an alternative way. They shared their money equal to their income
and participated a lot in the left scene from Berlin – and where connected
all over Europe. Often people from other countries visited the squat. Also
the people from the squat where active in their neighborhood in social
projects.

Recording human-rights cases

By SHELLY BANJO

As urbanization takes hold across the globe, Joshua Mailman is looking to end forced evictions that often arise as a result of large-scale, new development.

Known for being a professional philanthropist, Mr. Mailman has launched a number of philanthropic organizations and wealthy giving circles such as the Social Network and Threshold Foundation. This month he announced a $50,000 gift to Brooklyn-based human rights organization Witness.

‘Regret’ over forced evictions in Cambodia

Monday, 27 December 2010 20:14 May Titthara

A senior government official yesterday expressed “regret” over the forced eviction and relocation of thousands of Phnom Penh residents in recent years, attributing problems to a lack of awareness in resolving government policy.

Speaking at a workshop in Phnom Penh yesterday, Im Chhun Lim, the Minister of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, said that though the removal and relocation of residents’ homes was commonplace in developing countries, it was important that the government takes action based on the proper policies.

Truculent Olympics

December, 21st

Raquel Rolnik

Within the past week, the Olymipic plan for the city of Rio de Janeiro has revealed a strong ambiguity in the quality of large urban development
projects. Investments in public infrastructure, transport and sporting facilities arrive at the same pace as regrettable episodes of basic human rights violations and disrespect for the human condition.

In the West Zone of Rio, since December 15th, horror and tension have characterized the experience of countless families. Reports received from residents, on-lookers and the Public Defenders of Rio de Janeiro detail the abuse of power and state of exception which has been established along the edges of Av. das Américas, which cuts through the communities of Vila Recreio II, Vila Harmonia and Restinga do Recreio dos Bandeirantes.

South Africa’s football lesson

By Simon Kuper Hosts need to understand what a World Cup is: a party – it is fun, but costs money On Sunday Dilma Rousseff will probably be voted president of Brazil. Soon afterwards she should get on her plane and visit the poor South African town of Nelspruit. There she will see the football stadium […]

Nigeria’s urban renewal is trying to bulldoze human rights

The clearing of more than 200,000 people who live on the waterfronts of
Port Harcourt will wreck businesses and lives

Celestine Akpobari

guardian.co.uk, Monday 1 November 2010 14.00 GMT

Having to stand by and watch helplessly as bulldozers destroy home and
possessions is probably one of the hardest things any person could endure.
Yet that threat looms for
more than 200,000 people who live on the waterfronts of Port Harcourt,
in Rivers State, Nigeria. And for some like Love Bassett Okpadio it
has already become a reality.

Okpadio used to live in Njemanze, an informal settlement on Port Harcourt’s
waterfronts, with her husband and five children. In August 2009, Okpadio
and her family were forcibly evicted from their home which was demolished
under state authorities’ orders.

The clearing of more than 200,000 people who live on the waterfronts of
Port Harcourt will wreck businesses and lives

Celestine Akpobari

guardian.co.uk, Monday 1 November 2010 14.00 GMT

Having to stand by and watch helplessly as bulldozers destroy home and
possessions is probably one of the hardest things any person could endure.
Yet that threat looms for
more than 200,000 people who live on the waterfronts of Port Harcourt,
in Rivers State, Nigeria. And for some like Love Bassett Okpadio it
has already become a reality.

Okpadio used to live in Njemanze, an informal settlement on Port Harcourt’s
waterfronts, with her husband and five children. In August 2009, Okpadio
and her family were forcibly evicted from their home which was demolished
under state authorities’ orders.