|
Tent City Eviction |
|
September 25, 2002
Memo to Michael Shapcott, Toronto Disaster Relief
Committee Sept. 25, 2002 General Comment
7 (1997) addresses forced evictions with regard to the right to adequate
housing. General Comment 7
defines forced eviction in such a way as to exclude evictions carried out
by force in accordance with the law and in conformity with the provisions
of the Covenants on Human Rights. Although
Home Depot is not a state party, and it appears to have evicted lawfully
under the Trespass Act, it appears that government did not
adequately protect people being evicted, and in fact may have been
actively involved. The U.N.
criticism of forced evictions has focused on mass forced evictions as a
gross violation of human rights. A
myriad of infringements may flow from evictions, from violations of the
right to be protected against arbitrary or unlawful interference with
one’s home, to violations of the rights of the child.
The U.N. has
commented that in view of the increasing trend in some States towards the
Government greatly reducing its responsibilities in the housing sector,
States Parties must ensure that legislative and other measures are
adequate to prevent and even punish forced evictions carried out by
private persons or bodies. Paragraph 17 of
General Comment 7 is particularly powerful: Evictions
should not result in individuals being rendered homeless or vulnerable to
the violation of other human rights. Where those affected are unable to
provide for themselves, the State Party must take all appropriate
measures, to the maximum of its available resources, to ensure that
adequate alternative housing, resettlement or access to productive land,
as the case may be, is available. Although the
spirit of the U.N. General Comment assists us in assessing what happened
yesterday, it would be difficult to hold Home Depot to a standard which
legally may only be applied to government.
Therefore, the more we might refer to acts or omissions by the City
(or better still the province or Canada), the better.
I am connecting
with people at the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation and at the
Charter Committee on Poverty Issues here in Canada, and at the Centre on
Housing Rights and Evictions and with Habitat International Coalition
internationally. I would like
to hear about mass evictions internationally which were assessed by the
U.N. Committee monitoring compliance with the Covenant.
I suspect that evicted occupants or squatters were often on private
land, and that there was often legal justification such as the Trespass
Act. If I learn of
similar evictions in other countries (or Vancouver?) which were included
in critical U.N. observations, I will let you know. I hope that
this memo helps you develop your own critique of what happened yesterday.
For your convenience, I have quoted key points in General Comment 7
below, but you may access it in its entirety by searching under “General
Comment 7”: In 1976, the
United Nations Conference on Human Settlements noted that special
attention should be paid to "undertaking major clearance operations
should take place only when conservation and rehabilitation are not
feasible and relocation measures are made". [1] The Commission
on Human Rights has also indicated that "forced evictions are a gross
violation of human rights". [5] The term
"forced evictions" as used throughout this General Comment is
defined as the permanent or temporary removal against their will of
individuals, families and/or communities from the homes and/or land which
they occupy, without the provision of, and access to, appropriate forms of
legal or other protection. The prohibition on forced evictions does not,
however, apply to evictions carried out by force in accordance with the
law and in conformity with the provisions of the International Covenants
on Human Rights. Moreover, this
approach is reinforced by article 17.1 of the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights which complements the right not to be
forcefully evicted without adequate protection. That provision
recognizes, inter alia, the right to be protected against "arbitrary
or unlawful interference" with ones home. Moreover, in
view of the increasing trend in some States towards the
Government greatly reducing its responsibilities in the housing
sector, States Parties must ensure that legislative and other measures are
adequate to prevent and, if appropriate, punish forced evictions carried
out, without appropriate safeguards, by private persons or bodies. States Parties
shall ensure, prior to carrying out any evictions, and particularly those
involving large groups, that all feasible alternatives are explored in
consultation with the affected persons, with a view to avoiding, or at
least minimizing, the need to use force. The Committee
considers that the procedural protections which should be applied in
relation to forced evictions include: (a) an opportunity for genuine
consultation with those affected; (b) adequate and reasonable notice for
all affected persons prior to the scheduled date of eviction; (c)
information on the proposed evictions, and, where applicable, on the
alternative purpose for which the land or housing is to be used, to be
made available in reasonable time to all those affected; Evictions
should not result in individuals being rendered homeless or vulnerable to
the violation of other human rights. Where those affected are unable to
provide for themselves, the State Party must take all appropriate
measures, to the maximum of its available resources, to ensure that adequate
alternative housing, resettlement or access to productive land, as the
case may be, is available. NOTES [1] . Report of
Habitat: United Nations Conference on Human [2] . Report of
the Commission on Human Settlements on the work of its [3] . Report of
the United Nations Conference on Environment and [4] . Report of
the United Nations Conference on Settlements (Habitat [5] .
Commission on Human Rights resolution 1993/77, para. 1. [6] .
E/1990/23, annex III, paras. 6 and 8 (d). [7] .
E/C.12/1990/8, annex IV. [8] . Ibid. copyright
information |