Angola: Forced Evictions in Lubango

Re: Forced eviction ofmore than three thousand families in Lubango – seven or more deaths to beconfirmed – and other violent and illegal evictions and demolitions in Angola
Excellency,

The Centre on HousingRights and Evictions (COHRE) is an international human rights non-governmentalorganisation based in Geneva Switzerland. COHRE has consultative status withthe United Nations and the Council of Europe and works to promote and protectthe right to adequate housing for everyone, everywhere, including preventing orremedying forced evictions. In partnership with international civil societyorganization Christian Aid and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) want to call your attention to the following:

COHRE, Christian Aid and OMCT and ourAngolan partners are gravely concerned about the reported forced eviction ofmore than three thousand families and demolition of houses in Lubango city,Huíla province, since beginning of March 2010. 7 deaths were reported duringthe demolition of houses. Many evicted families and their belongings were leftin the open–air where bad weather is damaging their property; and / or severalfamilies are sharing a tent.

There is no water, sanitation, food,medical facilities, and schools, giving rise to a humanitarian emergency. Atnight the evicted are robbed by bandits due to lack of police protection.According to citizens affected by the eviction they will not receive anycompensation from the government for damages caused or assisted with buildingmaterials for reconstruction. During the eviction process, His Excellency theprovincial Governor of Huila interfered with the media, forbidding them tocover and report the eviction events.
There are also registered or threatenedviolent and illegal evictions of other citizens in Benguela, in Luanda, as wellas in other poor urban neighbourhoods and many rural communities inAngola. Indeed, COHRE, ChristianAid and OMCT and our Angolan partners’ organizationsare concerned with the housing, land and human rights situation in Angola. Inthe February 2010 Angola UPR review one of the recommendation given was on thestate of Angola to increase housing to low-income families and create lawsdefining eviction and prevention of illegal evictions.

The international community has indicated forced evictions as a grossviolation of human rights, particularly affecting the right to adequatehousing. In its General Comment No. 4, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Socialand Cultural Rights states that “the instances of forced eviction are primafacie incompatiblewith the requirements of the International Covenant on Economic, Social andCultural Rights (ICESCR). COHRE, Christian Aid and OMCT remind the provincial Government of Huíla, theAdministration of Lubango and all relevant authorities in Angola that as aState Party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and CulturalRights, it is bound to comply with the State Party obligations containedwithin this international treaty, including the obligations to respect, protectand fulfil the right to adequate housing enshrined in Article 11.

COHRE,Christian Aid and OMCT would like to remind the Angolan authorities that interms of international human rights law, for evictions to be considered aslawful, they must satisfy legal requirements as articulated in General Commentsnumbers 4 and 7 of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Evictions should not result inrendering individuals homeless or vulnerable to the violation of other humanrights. Where those affected are unable to provide for themselves, Angolagovernment must take all appropriate measures, to the maximum of its availableresources, to ensure that adequate alternative housing, resettlement or accessto alternative land able to support the community livelihood, as the case maybe is available.
In this case, not only has the eviction process not beenfollowed, but a human-made emergency was created. Thestate of Angola must cease immediately the illegal demolitions in the cityof Lubango and otherthreatened evictions in other towns or rural areas in Angola.

State authorities need to providehousing, food water and sanitation facilities for the evicted families asdialogue platforms are made available with Angola civil society organisationsand community groups, on compensation and other ways of enabling the familiesto restart their lives in environment they feel comfortable with.

The State of Angola must ensure thatfurther forced evictions will stop until basic standards, legislation and ruleson carrying out an eviction can be put into practice in all the territory andprotection is ensured to all Angolan Citizens.

Requests for further information orelectronic replies should be sent to salih@cohre.org.

Sincerely,

SalihBooker, ExecutiveDirector, Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions

Paul Valentin, Director,International Department, Christian Aid

Eric Sottas, Secretary General, World Organisation Against Torture