Yougoslavia, Federal Rep.of
31.10.02
Urgent Interventions
Yougoslavia: a Roma family threatened with eviction
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS CONCERN
Case YUG 311002 ESCRC
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Yugoslavia.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by a reliable source that five members of a Roma family are about to be evicted from the apartment in which they have been living for 27 years, by the authorities in the Cukarica Municipality of Belgrade.
According to the information received, the authorities of the Cukarica Municipality, where the apartment occupied by the Saiti Family is located, issued an order on October 3 2002 for the Saitis to vacate their apartment. The eviction of the family was planned by the authorities for October 28 2002 and was prolonged for 10 days.
It is reported that Bajram Saiti occupied the apartment illegally in 1975 and supported his nine-member family with his social welfare benefits. According to the information received, five members of the family are currently living in the apartment. It is reported that only one of them, Samit Saiti (23), has a job and has been providing for his siblings since the death of their father, mother and elder brother. If evicted, the Saitis would find themselves in the street without any possibility of securing a home for themselves, since no alternative accommodation is being proposed by the authorities.
According the information received, on October 28, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) filed a law suit against Yugoslavia and the Cukarica Municipality regarding the Saiti case, requesting that the state establish the right of permanent tenure for the Saiti family, taking into account that this family has been living permanently in the apartment for 27 years, regularly paying the rent and all expenses (electricity, water, etc.) and that members of this family are officially registered as residing at this address. It is also reported that the HLC sent an appeal to the Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic and the Yugoslav Minister for National and Ethnic Communities Rasim Ljajic, but that the authorities have as yet given no answer. Moreover, it is reported that Ljubomir Minic, a Cukarica Municipality official, asserted in the daily Newspaper "Nacional" that the Saiti family lived illegally in a municipal flat and given that this flat has already been assigned to others, nothing will prevent the authorities from evicting the Saitis.
Action requested
Please write to Yugoslavian authorities urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the right to adequate housing of the Saiti family which includes the authorities’ obligation to ensure that adequate alternative housing is provided in the case of an eviction, as is prescribed in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;
ii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Addresses
· His Excellency Vojislav Kostunica, President of The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Predsednik SRJ, Bulevar Mihaila Pupina 2, 11070 Belgrade, Yugoslavia
Fax: (+ 011 381) 11 636 775 /(+ 011 381) 11 636 682) / (+ 011 381) 11 636 167 E-mail: VojislavKostunica@gov.yu
· His Excellency, Prime Minister, Predsednik Savezne Vlade, Bulevar Mihaila Pupina 2, 11070 Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Fax: (+ 011-381) 11 636 775 or (011-381) 11 659 682
· His Excellency, Minister of Justice, Ministar pravde, Republicko Ministarstvo za pravosudje i optu upravu, Namanjina 26, 11000 Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Fax: (011-381) 11 361 659
· Minister of Foreign Affairs Fax: + 38 111 681 572
Please also write to the embassies of Yugoslavia in your respective country.
Geneva, October 31st 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply
Case YUG 311002 ESCRC
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Yugoslavia.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by a reliable source that five members of a Roma family are about to be evicted from the apartment in which they have been living for 27 years, by the authorities in the Cukarica Municipality of Belgrade.
According to the information received, the authorities of the Cukarica Municipality, where the apartment occupied by the Saiti Family is located, issued an order on October 3 2002 for the Saitis to vacate their apartment. The eviction of the family was planned by the authorities for October 28 2002 and was prolonged for 10 days.
It is reported that Bajram Saiti occupied the apartment illegally in 1975 and supported his nine-member family with his social welfare benefits. According to the information received, five members of the family are currently living in the apartment. It is reported that only one of them, Samit Saiti (23), has a job and has been providing for his siblings since the death of their father, mother and elder brother. If evicted, the Saitis would find themselves in the street without any possibility of securing a home for themselves, since no alternative accommodation is being proposed by the authorities.
According the information received, on October 28, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) filed a law suit against Yugoslavia and the Cukarica Municipality regarding the Saiti case, requesting that the state establish the right of permanent tenure for the Saiti family, taking into account that this family has been living permanently in the apartment for 27 years, regularly paying the rent and all expenses (electricity, water, etc.) and that members of this family are officially registered as residing at this address. It is also reported that the HLC sent an appeal to the Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic and the Yugoslav Minister for National and Ethnic Communities Rasim Ljajic, but that the authorities have as yet given no answer. Moreover, it is reported that Ljubomir Minic, a Cukarica Municipality official, asserted in the daily Newspaper "Nacional" that the Saiti family lived illegally in a municipal flat and given that this flat has already been assigned to others, nothing will prevent the authorities from evicting the Saitis.
Action requested
Please write to Yugoslavian authorities urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the right to adequate housing of the Saiti family which includes the authorities’ obligation to ensure that adequate alternative housing is provided in the case of an eviction, as is prescribed in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;
ii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Addresses
· His Excellency Vojislav Kostunica, President of The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Predsednik SRJ, Bulevar Mihaila Pupina 2, 11070 Belgrade, Yugoslavia
Fax: (+ 011 381) 11 636 775 /(+ 011 381) 11 636 682) / (+ 011 381) 11 636 167 E-mail: VojislavKostunica@gov.yu
· His Excellency, Prime Minister, Predsednik Savezne Vlade, Bulevar Mihaila Pupina 2, 11070 Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Fax: (+ 011-381) 11 636 775 or (011-381) 11 659 682
· His Excellency, Minister of Justice, Ministar pravde, Republicko Ministarstvo za pravosudje i optu upravu, Namanjina 26, 11000 Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Fax: (011-381) 11 361 659
· Minister of Foreign Affairs Fax: + 38 111 681 572
Please also write to the embassies of Yugoslavia in your respective country.
Geneva, October 31st 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply