Special Rapporteur participation in the World Urban Forum in Naples

From September 1st to 5th, Special Rapporteur Raquel Rolnik participated in the World Urban Forum, organized by the UN-Habitat, and in the Urban Social Forum, promoted by civil society organisations and right to housing activists.

Apart from the interventions and participation in both events – in roundtables, dialogue,  women’s assemblies, among others – the Rapporteur participated in  the tribunal established in the external area of the Forum  by the organizers of the Urban Social Forum so that different communities  could complaint on violations to the right to housing in their countries and regions.

Furthermore, she visited two communities in Naples and surrounding areas. In the city of Giuliano, for example, Raquel visited Roma settlements which are facing eviction, as well as settled Roma families.  She also visited Scampi, an occupied public housing project in Naples, together with civil society groups that operate in the area, like the  Sportello Anti-Camorra.

On the 6^th, the Special Rapporteur held an informal consultation on security of tenure to inform her study on the topic. Some 30 participants attended, discussing a wide range of issues, such as: the challenges preventing communities from enjoying secure tenure and from being protected from forced evictions; the political economy of land and urban development as root causes for today’s forced evictions; the role that land use regulations, urban planning and other tools as such could play in strengthening secure tenure; a working definition of security of tenure, its main elements; the multitude of tenure arrangements and their legitimacy, even though the dominant discourse and practice today is geared towards private ownership and or individual freehold, among other topics. Furthermore, those present also discussed ways for further contribution to the Rapporteur’s studies.

To learn more about the study, click here.

Finally, on the 7^th and 8^th, the Rapporteur participated in a expert meeting on  methodologies for evaluation of the impact of forced evictions, organized by the UN-Habitat and the  OHCHR.