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 nd E v ic t ions - S ri L a n k a
Issue No.12 – October/December 2009
Housing Rights in response to the December flood disaster
In this Twelfth edition of the COHRE - News, the front page highlights the Housing Rights in response to the December flood disaster in Sri Lanka.
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Next there is an article on COHRE works to strengthen coordinated advocacy on the right to water and sanitation in the occupied Palestinian territory by Lara El-Jazairi, Legal Officer - COHRE Right to Water Programme.
s of December 15, 2009, over 80,000 families from Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka have been affected due to severe flooding from continuous and heavy rains. Most of the affected families have been displaced from their homes and lands. Two people have died, and over 1,500 houses have been fully or partially damaged. With most of the displaced living in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, attention needs to be drawn to the return and restitution rights of those displaced. COHRE appreciates the Government of Sri Lanka’s and international and local agencies’ fast and effective response to IDPs during the initial emergency relief phase. However, it is noted by COHRE that there is still much that needs to be done by the Government and other actors to protect and promote the housing rights of IDPs. Substantial planning must occur to ensure the human rights of IDPs are respected beyond the humanitarian phase, and the return and recovery of those displaced are carried out in a safe and dignified manner. In order for this to happen, more than simple pledges and delivery of aid are needed. While the humanitarian effort following the recent floods have been substantial, it is not clear whether assistance for recovery is adequate to address the housing, land and property (HLP) rights of those affected. HLP rights need to be incorporated into all post-disaster plans if reconstruction and the return to normalcy are to succeed. An active respect for community participation and a transparent and accountable process that continues past the initial return phase is essential to create the conditions for effective restitution and recovery. Many policy gaps became apparent in the post tsunami recovery phase that have yet to be rectified for the protection of current natural disaster IDPs (as well as conflict IDPs). Without the protection of HLP rights, IDPs can become more vulnerable to other forms of human rights abuses, including gender based violence, discrimination, inadequate housing, restrictions
on the freedom of movement, and inadequate water and sanitation, among others. The Government of Sri Lanka is urged to incorporate an adequate HLP rights framework into their response to the recent floods as well as to all of their post-disaster relief and recovery efforts in the future. This is especially important in view that some of the affected have been subjected to recurrent disaster related displacement. In particular, the following key areas should be addressed in order to alleviate housing violations that have occurred following the tsunami, and from other natural disasters: • Return and restitution: • Participation, consultation & non-discrimination: • Right to adequate housing and security of tenure: • Women and children’s rights • Documentation and property issues • Right to water and sanitation While responses to the initial emergency phase of the recent floods were efficient and commendable, further steps must be taken to develop a human rights framework that may be incorporated throughout the full relief and recovery process following a disaster. The Government is obligated, together with NGOs and international agencies to ensure that return and recovery programmes address key human rights concerns. Housing, land and property rights are often overlooked due to their complexity and the tendency to focus only on the immediate humanitarian need. However, HLP rights are fundamental to ensuring a successful and sustainable recovery process. Without a stable family unit, with access to adequate house, water and sanitation, livelihoods recovery will not be possible in the long run as insecurity will prevail and returnees will be vulnerable to a host of other human rights abuses.
E D I T O R I AL
This article is followed by a brief summary on Two workshops were held in the eastern districts of Batticaloa and Trincomalee on the general topic of Housing Land and Property Restitution. Next there is a write up on campaign for recognition land rights as a fundamental right under the Constitution. 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. The above human rights considerations should be incorporated immediately into the flood response by all concerned actors, and into regulations governing disaster management in general. The recent flooding provides policy makers with an opportunity to show they have not only learned the appropriate immediate response lessons from the tsunami, but also longe term human rights implications of displacement that address housing, land and property rights in a comprehensive and sustained manner.
Housing Rights for Everyone, Everywhere...