Sul e Sudeste da Ásia e Pacífico

Cambodia’s sugar rush leaves farmers feeling bitter at ‘land grab’

Published in Wednesday July 10th, 2013 In In the media

Yoen Sarin is just one of thousands of Cambodian farmers who claim they are losing their land and livelihoods to big sugar plantations.

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Reaffirming Justiciability: Judgements on the Human Right to Adequate Housing from the High Court of Delhi

Published in Saturday July 6th, 2013

In the year 2010, the High Court of Delhi passed two significant judgements — Sudama Singh and Others vs. Government of Delhi and Anr., and PK Koul vs. Estate Officer and Anr. and Ors. — upholding the human right to adequate housing, and the right to resettlement and rehabilitation. Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN) considers both these judgements to be very important precedents in Indian case law. They hold great relevance in protecting the human right to adequate housing in India as well as internationally. The judgements, therefore, need to be widely disseminated, read, understood, cited and implemented.

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Migrants to Beijing struggle to afford rent, adequate housing: report

Published in Thursday July 4th, 2013 In In the media

Migrant workers in Beijing live in worse conditions and have more housing pressure than official residents of the capital, according to a report issued Tuesday.

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The Price of Steel: Human Rights and Forced Evictions in the POSCO-India Project

Published in Tuesday July 2nd, 2013

Worth approximately US$12 billion, the POSCO-India project represents the largest single foreign direct investment in India to date, and will require more than 12,000 acres of land, including approximately 4,000 acres for an integrated steel plant and captive port in an area that is home to forest-dwelling communities and a vibrant and sustainable local economy centered around betel leaf cultivation. For the past eight years, affected communities—including betel leaf farmers, fisherfolk, and Dalits—have effectively stalled the project and resisted their forcible evictions from lands they have cultivated for generations.

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Rights Groups Urge Suspension of the POSCO-India Project, Prevention of Forced Evictions

Published in Monday July 1st, 2013 In Social movement news

The Government of India must end human rights abuses tied to its project with South Korean steel giant POSCO, and must immediately cease illegal seizures of land which threaten to forcibly displace as many as 22,000 people in India’s eastern state of Odisha, said rights groups in a new report.

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See some picture from the Indonesia mission

Published in Tuesday June 25th, 2013

Check the photos of the Special Rapporteur’s mission to Indonesia conducted between May 30 and June 11.

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UN Special Rapporteur Raquel Rolnik: Impressed with kampung life

Published in Tuesday June 25th, 2013 In In the media

As the world’s fourth most populous country, Indonesia faces rapid urbanization. According to the World Bank, Indonesia’s urban population is projected to reach 220 million by 2025. UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, Raquel Rolnik, a Sao Paulo-based architect and urban planner with 30 years experience in the field, made her first official visit to Indonesia recently to assess the government’s policies and programs on housing.

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Singda locals hold demonstrations against dam expansion plan

Published in Monday June 24th, 2013 In In the media

As a part of the beautification programme of Singda Dam and to ensure development in the field of power, water and agriculture in Manipur, the Singda Dam area is going to be expanded. A sit-in-protest was held against this decision of the state government by the local people at Singda Kadangband Bazar on Saturday.

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Watch a video made during the Special Rapporteur visit in Jakarta

Published in Friday June 14th, 2013

Watch below a piece of news (in Indonesian) regarding the UN Special Rapporteur mission to Indonesia while in Jakarta. From 0’57” to 1’18”, Ms. Rolnik talks about security of tenure in the country in English (with Indonesian subtitles). To know more about the mission, click here.

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Will Brazil be left counting the cost of hosting the World Cup and Olympics?

Published in Thursday June 13th, 2013 In In the media

BRIC countries have tried to use these mega-events to boost development by accelerating investments in infrastructure and lifting services, governance and local business to international standards. However, the cost to the public purse and the communities affected can be enormous, prompting criticism that the money would be better spent at grassroots level, on improving health and education, rather than on awarding prestige projects to construction companies.

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