COHRE-NEWS N ews l e t t er o f t he C en t re on H o u sin g R i g h t s a n d E v ic t ions - S ri L a n k a
Issue No.11 – July/September 2009
CAMBODIA: Yet another community forced out of their homes Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, is a city experiencing a building boom that rapidly changes the face of the city and increases the value of land. Urban poor communities that live on prime land increasingly feel the pressure of these developments, as they are forced out of their homes to make way for real estate development. On 17 July 2009, yet another community had to stand by as their homes were torn down by bulldozers. At 4 am, dozens of armed police took up positions around the Group 78 land in order to enforce a municipal order that families dismantle their homes or be forcibly removed.
land, which was independently valued at over $1,000 per square metre. The Group 78 community had been living on their land in inner city Phnom Penh since 1983, had established small businesses and used the land as collateral to access credit. Despite the fact that the community had been officially recognised by local authorities and the Cadastral Office in 1992, and could document their continued residence on the land over the years, families were denied title to their land. This unlawful denial of their rights was later used by the Municipality of Phnom Penh as a pretence to justify their forced eviction. The community,
A house in the Group 78 community before the forced eviction, with a banner saying “Stop Evictions”
On the day before the forced eviction, 53 families had “agreed” under duress to the authorities’ demands that they take an offer of $8,000 compensation, or their homes would be forcibly destroyed. On the morning of the eviction, negotiations with the remaining 7 families who had not “agreed” led to a final officer to them of up to $20,000 in compensation, which they all accepted, except for one family whose home was destroyed against their will and who never received any compensation. Compensation amounts fell far short of the market value of the
which numbered almost 150 families five years ago, was subjected to threats, harassment and intimidation over the years, to pressure them to leave their land. To date, it is unclear whether the land is claimed by a private developer or for public use as a road. Forced eviction, or the removal of people from their homes and lands against their will, and without access to remedies, is recognised as a gross violation of international human rights law. Those affected by forced eviction often belong
E D I T O R I AL In this eleventh edition of the COHRE-Newsletter the front page highlights the brutal forced eviction of the Group 78 community in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on, Friday, 17 July 2009 by Hannah Neumeyer – Researcher- Global Forced Evictions Programme – COHRE. Next there is an article by Mr. Herman Kumara Convener, National Fisheries Solidarity Movement on challenges face by Kappaladiya fishermen regarding their traditional fishing lands. This article is followed by an article on the National Housing Development Authority’s response for the Housing needs in Sri Lanka. This article followed by a brief summary on publications on “The Status of Housing, Land and Property Rights in Sri Lanka – 2008”, which COHRE Sri Lanka launched. Finally there is a write up on COHRE-Sri Lanka comprehensive Resource Centre on housing, land and property rights. We hope you find this News-Letter useful in understanding the rights and problems faced in Sri Lanka and internationally on the right to housing. We welcome any comments, submission of any new case notes and articles and relevant events on the right to housing. If you have any comments, require additional copies, or wish to subscribe to the mailing list for the Quarterly Newsletter on HLP-rights in Sri Lanka or For further information, please contact COHRE office, located at 106 1/1 Horton Place, Colombo 7. Sri Lanka. Telephone/Fax +94.11.2693143 or e-mail at srilanka@cohre.org.
to the poor and marginalised sections of society, and forced evictions usually lead to even deeper poverty. In Cambodia, forced evictions are one of the most widespread forms of human rights abuse, affecting an estimated 70,000 people in the capital alone, and potentially up to one hundred thousand more in other urban centres and in rural Cambodia. Like Group 78, many others threatened with forced eviction have the legal right under national law to apply for ownership titles over their land, but are unable to access these rights due to an inefficient and often corrupt land administration system. The forced eviction of Group 78 highlights once more how vulnerable communities are pushed to the margins of society in the name of development. COHRE and its partner organisations in Cambodia continue to work with these communities to defend their right to adequate housing. For further information on the case of Group 78, go to http://www.cohre.org/group78
Housing Rights for Everyone, Everywhere...