Social movement news

Stopping Evictions in Spain

Published in Monday January 21st, 2013 In Social movement news

As Spain’s unemployment rate climbs above 25 percent and its social welfare system is meticulously dismantled, around 500 eviction orders are issued each day. Banks are repossessing the homes of those who can’t meet their mortgage payments. This trend is sadly not new. There were more than 325,000 foreclosures between 2007 and 2011, according to Spain’s justice department. A fellow Polis blogger explored who is to blame for evictions in Spain early last year. In this post, I look at how advocacy and grassroots groups, including Platform of People Affected by Mortgages (PAH) and the housing groups from 15M assemblies, are working to stop and transform this process.

Tags , ,

Kenya’s decision to confine refugees and asylum-seekers in camps is unlawful

Published in Friday December 21st, 2012 In Social movement news

Kenya’s decision to place refugees and asylum seekers in camps away from urban centres is a discriminatory and unlawful restriction on freedom of movement, Amnesty International said. The government stated the policy is a reaction to security concerns in the country.
“This restriction on freedom of movement is likely to lead to other serious human rights abuses in already overcrowded, insecure refugee camps,” said Kathryn Achilles, Amnesty International’s East Africa expert.

Tags , , ,

The Roma who were evicted to live by a landfill site in Romania

Published in Tuesday December 18th, 2012 In Social movement news

Two years ago the local authorities of Cluj-Napoca forcibly evicted around 300 people – mostly Roma – from Coastei Street in the centre of the Romanian city. Since then, most of them have been living close to the landfill and a chemical waste dump in an area on the outskirts known as Pata Rât, where they were moved by the municipality. Soon after their eviction, Romani people started a long struggle for justice.

Tags , ,

Forced Evictions From African Cities

Published in Friday December 7th, 2012 In Social movement news

December 07, 2012 Africities 2012 – is an international summit taking place in Dakar, Senegal, where delegates, including local government officials, city mayors, property developers and private companies from around the world, will discuss urban development in African cities. Amnesty International is attending the summit to remind delegates of their obligations under international human rights […]

Tags

Disaster Planning from an International Grassroots Perspective

Published in Thursday December 6th, 2012 In Social movement news

December 04, 2012 By Elizabeth Zeldin, Program Director As we continue to focus on the effects of Superstorm Sandy on the New York area, it is important to acknowledge that the hurricane also devastated communities in the Caribbean, where millions of homes have sustained significant damage. I recently spoke with Jamaica-based grassroots leader Carmen Griffiths to […]

Tags

Make the voices of Africa’s inhabitants heard

Published in Tuesday December 4th, 2012 In Social movement news

From 4 to 8 December the IAI will make the voices of Africa’s urban inhabitants heard at Dakar by hosting and participating in a series of events, including the Sixth Africities Summit (no registration charge for anyone to attend the Thematic Session on Associations of Inhabitants) and meetings with local residents organisations in the neighbourhoods. In this way the network is building upon relationships and convergences developed at the last World Assembly of Inhabitants (WAI, WSF Dakar 2011) and encouraging participation in the next WAI which will take place in Tunis (WSF, March 2013). Your signature is needed to support the recognition of inhabitants organisations.

Tags

Human Rights Defenders and Land Ownership in Uganda

Published in Friday November 30th, 2012 In Social movement news

November 29, 2012 by JAMIE HITCHEN Northern Uganda is rising from the debris of a long conflict involving the rebel Lord’s Resistance Movement. Many challenges remain especially on land issues. But human rights defenders are trying to help. Lira Town, situated some 350km from Kampala to the north, is an area deeply affected by the […]

Tags ,

France must protect against forced evictions

Published in Thursday November 29th, 2012 In Social movement news

Focusing on the region of greater Paris, the report “Chased away”: Forced evictions of Roma in the Ile-de-France exposes the negative impact of forced evictions on the lives of migrant Roma and the failure of the French authorities to incorporate international human rights standards concerning evictions into domestic law.

Tags ,

Arrest of activists protesting criminalization of homelessness in Hungary

Published in Wednesday November 14th, 2012 In Social movement news

November 14, 2012 On 11 November 2011 the City is For All (AVM) held a demonstration in front of the municipality of Budapest’s 8th district claiming that local mayor Mate Kocsis repeal his proposal to impose a 530 euros fine on homeless people or 60 days of imprisonment for “residing in public places”. Despite the […]

Tags ,

Hungarian Constitutional Court struck down on the criminalization of homelessness

Published in Wednesday November 14th, 2012 In Social movement news

November 13, 2012 We are very happy to announce that the Hungarian Constitutional Court, the country’s highest court, has confirmed what The City is for All has represented for years: “The mere fact that someone lives in public space does not infringe on other people’s rights, does not cause damage and does not endanger the […]

Tags ,