3. FORCED EVICTIONS The international community has long recognised forced evictions as an area of serious concern and a serious violation of human rights.5 Amnesty International has documented forced evictions in both developing and developed countries.6 While the causes may vary - urban renewal programmes, rising real estate prices, increased security, health and safety concerns or infrastructure development projects - it is often some of the most disadvantaged individuals and groups who are forcibly evicted. Some of the cases of forced evictions documented by Amnesty International include those where they have taken place to make way for urban and infrastructure development. For example, in Mombasa, Kenya, scores of families living in Jomvu, an informal settlement along the A 109 highway in Mombasa, Kenya, were forcibly evicted in May 2015 as their homes were located on land ear-marked for a highway expansion project. The project is part of Kenya’s ‘Vision 2030’, an ambitious blueprint for long-term national development that aims to transform Kenya into a middle-income country. The forced evictions in Jomvu adversely impacted the lives and livelihoods of all those whose homes were demolished, many of whom belonged to some of the most disadvantaged sections of society. It also created a climate of fear and uncertainty for others who lived in the project area.7 Amnesty International’s most recent report entitled ‘The Human Cost of a Mega City’, on forced evictions in Lagos, Nigeria documents seven forced evictions of more than 30,000 residents of the city between March 2016 and April 2017. The forced evictions and related attacks resulted in at least 11 deaths, raising concerns of unlawful killings. Amnesty International also documented, 17 cases of people who disappeared during the forced evictions, massive destruction of property, homelessness, loss of livelihoods, separation of families, and children deprived of access to schools. Official reasons for carrying out these forced evictions, included claims to save the environment, and preventing crime.8 In order to fulfil their human rights commitments and achieve a safe and inclusive environment as highlighted in the Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda, governments must both prohibit and not carry out or facilitate forced evictions with immediate effect. In so doing they must ensure that all development projects are human rights compliant and follow and apply appropriate international law and standards, including the Basic Principles and Guidelines for Development Based Evictions and Displacement. One suitable method of ensuring this is for the Guidelines and Principles to be integrated into urban development policies and planning. 4. HOMELESSNESS As noted by the UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, homelessness is an extreme violation of the right to adequate housing. Homelessness exists in developed and developing countries and as noted in the New Urban Agenda, must be prevented and eliminated through the adoption of inclusive and participatory housing strategies. Amnesty International notes that homelessness, however, has increased in the aftermath of the economic crisis. In the UK, for example, the number of rough sleepers has more than doubled since 2010 amid government’s cuts in welfare and social housing programmes. A recent survey by the Refugee Council has shown that people granted refugee status are particularly at risk of becoming homeless and destitute as there are no programmes to support their transition from receiving asylum support to living independently.9 In Albania, Amnesty International found that that young people leaving state social care do not receive the support they need to make the transition to independent life. Many leave school without the skills and qualifications that would enable them to find the means to live independently. With no family to turn to, and often only insecure and ill-paid employment, they may have little choice but to live in the grim conditions of UN Commission on Human Rights Resolution 1993/77, para 1 Amnesty International has documented cases of forced evictions in several countries including in Afghanistan, Angola, Brazil, Cambodia, Chad, China, Egypt, France, Ghana, Haiti, Italy, Kenya, Nigeria, Romania, Serbia and Zimbabwe 7 For details, see Amnesty International, ‘Driven Out for Development, Forced Evictions in Mombasa, Kenya’, 2015 Index number: AFR 32/2467/2015 8 For details, see Amnesty International, ‘The Human Cost of a Mega City: Forced Evictions of the Urban Poor in Lagos, Nigeria’, 2017 Index number: AFR 44/7389/2017 9 See Amnesty International, ‘Governments are criminalizing homeless people to distract from their own failures’, 2 October 2017 5 6 EFFECTIVE HUMAN RIGHTS-BASED HOUSING STRATEGIES SUBMISSION TO THE UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON ADEQUATE HOUSING AS A COMPONENT OF THE RIGHT TO AN ADEQUATE STANDARD OF LIVING, AND ON THE RIGHT TO NON-DISCRIMINATION IN THIS CONTEXT Amnesty International 5