NEPAL: No support to children, elderly and pregnant women victims of forced eviction

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Update: AHRC-UAU-016-2012

24 May 2012

[RE: AHRC-UAG-001-2012: NEPAL: Community threatened with eviction, no alternative housing offered or provided]
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NEPAL: No support to children, elderly and pregnant women victims of forced eviction

ISSUES: Forced Evictions, right to adequate housing, right to health, right to education, child rights, women's rights
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the situation of the community living on the banks of the Bagmati River, in Thapathali, Kathmandu. On 8 May 2012, 2000 police officers were deployed in the area and conducted the forced eviction, destroying almost 250 houses and rendering almost 1000 persons homeless, with no access to food, water, sanitation and health facilities. The eviction was conducted with a disproportionate amount of force, and many, including children and pregnant women, were injured. The evictions were conducted before arrangements could be made to relocate the community to another area, the government did not even conduct a thorough survey of the affected community and government bodies in charge of relocating the community were not informed that they would be evicted on that day. Among the persons evicted, the situation of 401 children below 15 and at least 15 pregnant women is of particular concern. Still no arrangement has been made to relocate them in another area, and the government has not taken any steps to provide social services to the affected community.

UPDATED INFORMATION:

In an appeal published on 16 March 2012 (AHRC-UAG-001-2012), we expressed our concern at government's plan to evict the slum dweller communities living on the banks of the Bagmati river in Kathmandu. The evictions were decided without having made proper plans for relocation of the affected nor having conducted a coherent and comprehensive survey of the number of households to be affected, their composition and their socio-economic situation and without even having communicating properly with the slum dwellers.

On 7 May 2012, late at night, the slum dwellers living in the Thapathali settlement on the bank of the river were informed that the eviction would take place the next day, in the morning. Due to that late notice, most of the households were unable to make proper arrangement to find a place to stay or to rescue their belongings. On 8 May at 5.30am the destruction process was initiated.

Almost 250 houses, one school that at least 150 children attended were destroyed in the process rendering 994 persons homeless, including at least 401 children under 15. In a statement (AHRC-STM-102-2012) published on May 10, the AHRC denounced the violence with which the forced eviction was conducted, with bulldozers and more than 2000 personnel from Nepal Police and the Armed Police Forces having been deployed in the area to conduct the eviction. The statement reads "The AHRC deplores the violence with which the evictions were conducted. Police used rubber bullets and tear gas to control the community. Several civilians including the elderly, pregnant women and children were beaten, ill-treated or suffered injuries from the tear gas and rubber bullets. As of the information available on 9 May, 25 to 30 people had been injured from the beatings, including four who suffered serious head injuries. There are reports that women who wanted to get back inside their houses to save some of their belongings were beaten up by the police. The police prevented those injured from getting treatment until 4 pm when they were allowed to receive treatment at the Bir hospital. According to the police 31 people were taken into custody, which according to NGOs included several children. Women and children were released in the evening and the other arrested were released the following day."

The families whose houses were destroyed first did not have the time to save their belongings and some reports have come of women being beaten up by the police because they had rushed to their homes to try to rescue some of their belongings. In addition to the loss of belongings essential to the daily life such as cooking tools, clothes or school books, many families have also lost their sources of income in the destruction. Housenet Nepal conducted a preliminary study which found 41 families of home based workers had lost their main source of income, such as stitching machines, weaving looms and spinning wheels. Others who were running small shops saw those shops destroyed. Lumanti, a NGO focusing on urban poverty, reported the concerns voiced by some women that they had taken up small loans to build their houses or launch a small-scale business and were now in the impossibility to pay the banks back.

The destruction of the families' belongings and of their income sources has placed them in a situation of food insecurity.

The evictions were conducted before arrangements could be made, by mutual agreement, to relocate the community to another area. As a result, the evictions have rendered many families homeless, vulnerable to violation of their right to food, health and safe drinking water, in a clear violation of Nepal's human rights obligations. According to the data collected by Lumanti as of 14 May, 112 families have been forced to remain in the settlement as they had nowhere else to go. They have pitched some tents and sought cover from plastic sheets to protect themselves from the pre-monsoon rain. The police regularly destroy the tents set up by the families, who have to rebuild it in the evening.

The health of the squatters has reportedly started to deteriorate due to the current living conditions, as they are forced to live in the open, exposed to the pre-monsoon rains, without proper food and access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities. Some children and lactating mothers have started to suffer from diarrhea, fever, coughing and have developed colds.

Lumanti has conducted a WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) assessment in the affected community and found that most of the toilet facilities, as well as the sewerage system previously used had been destroyed. They warned that it made the community vulnerable to a potential outbreak of water-borne diseases. They further expressed concern at the lack of access to safe and hygienic latrine and bathing spaces which exposed women and girls to insecurity.

In addition, on May 14, the Women's Rehabilitation Center (WOREC) issued a press release alerting that 15 pregnant women were now homeless, of which 5 had suffered a miscarriage due to the excessive force used by the police in conducting the eviction. The remaining ten are suffering from pregnancy-related complications due to lack of clean water and clean environment.

Many children have been unable to go back to school and are now deprived of education.

Since 8 May 2012, the government has not provided any kind of support to the community. On 13 May 2012, the Prime Minister of Nepal, Baburam Bhattarai, visited the affected community and pledged to temporarily relocate them in another area and to provide them with food and shelter in the meanwhile. He further encouraged the squatters to accept a Nrs 15,000 (175 USD) relief package serving as a three-month renting allowance but only a handful of families have received it so far. The burden to provide food, water and medical assistance to the evictees has fallen on the shoulders of NGOs and of community solidarity. The strikes which have affected Kathmandu in the past week have disrupted the provision of essential support.

On 9 May, the National Human Rights Commission and the National Women Commission have both expressed their concern at the eviction and urged the government to relocate the squatters immediately.

Representatives of the community have held at least two meetings with government stakeholders and representatives of political parties on 11 and 15 May and the government has informed that it was making plans to relocate them temporarily to another area.

This case reflects the serious consequences of the lack of coordination between the relevant government authorities, of the lack of proper planning and transparent process and dialogue with the concerned community. Some of the authorities whose mandate was crucial to prevent the community from being rendered homeless from the evictions were not even informed that the eviction would take place on that day. That is the case of the Kathmandu Valley Development Authority in charge of coordinating the planning of urban development efforts in the valley whose commissioner was neither informed nor consulted beforehand although they are the authority working to relocate the community. That lack of coordination between the government agencies was acknowledged by the Prime Minister in his visit to the community on 13 May.

The Prime Minister, on the other hand, tried to shift the blame on the civil society, national and international NGOs for the situation in which the squatters had found themselves for believing their 'false promises'. Portraying the NGOs and the human rights defenders as being detrimental to the victims of human rights violations and as playing a negative role in the development of Nepal is a growing trend and one that has to be stopped immediately. We recall that fostering a conducive environment to the work of human rights defenders is one of the core obligations of the government as recalled in the UN Declaration on the Right and responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally
Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Under international law, development-induced displacements are regulated by the UN Basic principles and guidelines on development-based evictions and displacement. Those principles set up guidelines that the government should follow prior, during and after evictions, to ensure that the rights of the affected communities are safeguarded in the process. The AHRC is of the opinion that the government's action in evicting the squatters did not follow any form of due process and constitute a blatant violation of Nepal's human rights obligations.

Prior to evictions according to the UN principles and guidelines quoted above "all those likely to be affected" should be involved in the planning process, provided with appropriate notice and adequate information and presented with an opportunity to voice their concerns and present their demands to the government. In a previous urgent appeal, (AHRC-UAG-001-2012) the AHRC had denounced the fact that the community was not adequately consulted in the process leading to the eviction, as different government agencies were rejecting the responsibility to settle the issue of the squatter community on each other. In addition, no proper research was done beforehand by the government to identify the socio-economic conditions of the community, including identifying those who were landless or the number of children or elderly to be affected. Such research should be a pre-requisite to any further move by the government to displace the community. Finally, the government plan did not include any long-term arrangement for relocation of the community in a suitable place but merely mentioned a meager 3-month renting allowance to those identified as "genuine" squatters.

Further the community only came to know that the eviction would happen on 8 late into the night of 7 May, leaving many families unable to make proper arrangements for relocation. This communication does not follow the due process established by the UN principles and guidelines.

The most fundamental principle which should guide the eviction process is that "evictions should not result in individuals being rendered homeless or vulnerable to the violation of other human rights". Nevertheless, as underlined above no final decision on such adequate alternative resettlement was reached before conducting the destruction of the settlement, houses were destroyed before the community was given the possibility to move to alternative places, therefore rendering them homeless, vulnerable to violation of their right to food, health and safe drinking water. This also runs contrary to orders by the Appellate Court, Patan and the Supreme Court to develop appropriate alternatives for the community.

In addition, the principles and guidelines recall that the government has a responsibility to ensure the safe and secure access of the community to fundamental and basic needs including food, potable water, sanitation, basic shelter, education for children or essential medical services. As underlined above, although the community's access to food, clean water and education has been disturbed by the eviction, the government has been impotent in providing those basic services to them, further increasing their vulnerability to violation of their economic, social and cultural rights.

Further, the fact that children and elderly counted among those injured as a result of police violence and that at least five women have been alleged to have suffered miscarriage because they were dragged by the police speak at length of the fact that the evictions were conducted with disproportionate use of force. The forced evictions did not respect the principles of necessity and proportionality, in violations of international law enforcement and human rights standards such as those edicted by the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials. The government now has the responsibility to investigate into those allegations of violence and take sanction against those having committed or condoned acts of violence.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please join us in writing to the authorities listed below to condemn the violence and lack of due process in the forced eviction of the community living in Thapathali area. Please urge the government to take immediate action to provide relief to the affected, including food, shelter, clean water and medical services targeting in priority the pregnant women, the children, elderly and disabled persons living in the area.

The AHRC is writing a separate letter to the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context, the Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation and the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences.

To support this appeal, please click here: 

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear ___________,

NEPAL: Forced eviction of slum dwellers, no support received from the government

Affected community: slum dwellers living in the Thapathali settlement in the banks of Bagmati river, Kathmandu.
Date of incident: 8 May 2012
Place of incident: Thapathali settlement, Kathmandu, Nepal

I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the forced eviction of about 1000 slum dwellers that have been living on the bank of the Bagmati River in Thapathali, Kathmandu, Nepal, on 8 May 2012. According to the information I have received from the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), the eviction was conducted before proper housing alternatives were made available to the community resulting in 112 families being rendered homeless and disproportionate force was used in the process.

According to the information I have received from the AHRC, on 7 May 2012, late at night, the slum dwellers living in Thapathali settlement in the bank of the river were informed that the eviction would take place the next day, in the morning. Due to that late notice, most of the households were unable to make proper arrangement to find a place to stay or to rescue their belongings. On 8 May at 5.30am the destruction process was initiated.

I am informed that almost 250 houses, one school that at least 150 children attended were destroyed in the process rendering 994 persons homeless, including at least 401 children under 15.

I am shocked to hear that disproportionate force was used to conduct the eviction. Bulldozers and more than 2000 personnel from Nepal Police and the Armed Police Forces having been deployed in the area to conduct the eviction. Police used rubber bullets and tear gas to control the community. Several civilians including the elderly, pregnant women and children were beaten, ill-treated or suffered injuries from the tear gas and rubber bullets. As of the information available on 9 May, 25 to 30 people had been injured from the beatings, including four who suffered serious head injuries. There are reports that women who wanted to get back inside their houses to save some of their belongings were beaten up by the police. The police prevented those injured from getting treatment until 4 pm when they were allowed to receive treatment at the Bir hospital. According to the police 31 people were taken into custody, which according to NGOs included several children. Women and children were released in the evening and the other arrested were released the following day.

I am sorry to hear that the families whose houses were destroyed first did not have the time to save their belongings and some reports have come of women being beaten up by the police because they had rushed to their homes to try to rescue some of their belongings. In addition to the loss of belongings essential to the daily life such as cooking tools, clothes or school books, many families have also lost their sources of income in the destruction such as stitching machines, weaving looms and spinning wheels. Others who were running small shops saw those shops destroyed. Some women who had taken up small loans to build their houses or launch a small-scale business are now facing an impossible situation.

The destruction of the families' belongings and of their income sources has placed them in a situation of food insecurity.

I am surprised that the evictions were conducted before arrangements could be made, by mutual agreement, to relocate the community to another area. As a result, the evictions have rendered many families homeless, vulnerable to violation of their right to food, health and safe drinking water, in a clear violation of Nepal's human rights obligations. According to the data collected by Lumanti,a NGO working with the community, as of 14 May, 112 families have been forced to remain in the settlement as they had nowhere else to go. They have pitched some tents and sought cover from plastic sheets to protect themselves from the pre-monsoon rain.

I am concerned by information received that the health of the squatters has started to deteriorate. Most of them are still forced to live in the open, exposed to the pre-monsoon rains, without receiving proper food, not having access to clean water and living in unhygienic conditions. Some children and lactating mothers have started to suffer from diarrhea, fever, coughing and have developed colds.

I want to draw your attention to the fact that Lumanti has conducted a WASH Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) assessment in the community and found that most of the toilet facilities in the settlement, as well as the sewerage system previously used had been destroyed in the eviction and warned that it made the community vulnerable to a potential outbreak of water-borne diseases. They further expressed concern at the lack of access to safe and hygienic latrine and bathing spaces which exposed women and girls to insecurity.

In addition, please not that on May 14, the Women's Rehabilitation Center (WOREC) issued a press release alerting that 15 pregnant women were now homeless, of which 5 had suffered a miscarriage due to the excessive force used by the police in conducting the eviction. The remaining ten are suffering from pregnancy-related complications due to lack of clean water and clean environment.

I am further worried to learn that many children have been unable to go back to school and are now deprived of education.

I am shocked to hear that since 8 May 2012, the government has not provided any kind of support to the community. On 13 May 2012, the Prime Minister of Nepal, Baburam Bhattarai, visited the affected community and pledged to temporarily relocate them in another area and to provide them with food and shelter in the meanwhile. Nevertheless, at the time of writing this appeal no assistance had been received from the government and the burden to provide food, water and medical assistance to the evictees has fallen on the shoulders of NGOs and of community solidarity. Further, I am informed that the strikes which blocked Kathmandu during the last week have disrupted the provision of support, placing the community in a dire situation.

On 9 May, the National Human Rights Commission and the National Women Commission have both expressed their concern at the eviction and urged the government to relocate the squatters immediately.

Representatives of the community have held at least two meetings with government stakeholders and representatives of political parties on 11 and 15 May and the government has informed that it was making plans to relocate them temporarily to another area but no definitive arrangement has been made so far.

This case reflects the serious consequences of the lack of coordination between the relevant government authorities, of the lack of proper planning and transparent process and dialogue with the community. Some of the authorities whose mandate was crucial to prevent the community from being rendered homeless from the evictions were not even informed that the eviction would take place on that day. That is the case of the Kathmandu Valley Development Authority in charge of coordinating the planning of urban development efforts in the valley whose commissioner was neither informed nor consulted beforehand although they are the authority working to relocate the community. That lack of coordination between the government agencies was acknowledged by the Prime Minister in his visit to the community on 13 May.

I am also concerned by reports that the Prime Minister tried to shift the blame on the civil society, national and international NGOs for the situation in which the squatters had found themselves for believing their "false promises". I am informed that portraying the NGOs and the human rights defenders as being detrimental to the victims of human rights violations and as playing a negative role in the development of Nepal is a growing trend and one that has to be stopped immediately. I would like to recall that fostering a conducive environment to the work of human rights defenders is one of the core obligations of the government as recalled in the UN Declaration on the Right and responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

I am of the opinion that the way the evictions were conducted constituted a breach of Nepal's human rights obligations as regulated by the UN Basic principles and guidelines on development-based evictions and displacement. Those principles set up guidelines that the government should follow prior, during and after evictions, to ensure that the rights of the affected communities are safeguarded in the process. I am of the opinion that the government's action in evicting the squatters did not follow any form of due process and constitute a blatant violation of Nepal's human rights obligations.

According to the UN principles and guidelines quoted above "all those likely to be affected" should be involved in the planning process, provided with appropriate notice and adequate information and presented with an opportunity to voice their concerns and present their demands to the government. I am informed that the community was not adequately consulted in the process leading to the eviction, as different government agencies were rejecting the responsibility to settle the issue of the squatter community on each other. In addition, no proper research was done beforehand by the government to identify the socio-economic conditions of the community, including identifying those who were landless or the number of children or elderly to be affected. Such research should be a pre-requisite to any further move by the government to displace the community. Finally, the government plan did not include any long-term arrangement for relocation of the community in a suitable place but merely mentioned a meager 3-month renting allowance to those identified as "genuine" squatters. Those facts were already brought to the attention of your office in a letter sent by the AHRC on 16 March 2012 (reference number: AHRC-UAG-001-2012)

The government argued that it was compelled to move as no agreement could be reached with the community on an acceptable alternative. I further want to recall that the guidelines specify that "In the event that agreement cannot be reached on a proposed alternative among concerned parties, an independent body having constitutional authority, such as a court of law, tribunal or ombudsperson should mediate, arbitrate or adjudicate as appropriate." On 11 December 2011 the Appellate Court, Patan issued ordered the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers to conduct an identification process of the "genuine" slum dwellers and to develop appropriate housing alternatives for them if they are to be evicted. On 27 January, the Supreme Court upheld the government decision to evict the slum dwellers but further ordered appropriate alternatives for them. That order was unheeded by the government.
Further the principles state that "Any decision relating to evictions should be announced in writing in the local language to all individuals concerned, sufficiently in advance". Although the government put notice in newspapers asking the community to vacate the area before, most of the community was not informed that the eviction would take place on that particular day and only came to know about it late into the night of 7 May, leaving many families unable to make proper arrangements for relocation. I am of the opinion that this communication also does not follow the due process established by the UN principles and guidelines.

One of the basic principles which should guide the eviction process states the following "Evictions should not result in individuals being rendered homeless or vulnerable to the violation of other human rights". To ensure the respect of that principles, among other things "The State must make provision for the adoption of all appropriate measures […] to ensure that adequate alternative housing, resettlement or access to productive land, as the case may be, is available and provided." The provision of alternative accommodation must be done "immediately upon the eviction". In that context, I am shocked that no final decision on such adequate alternative resettlement was reached before conducting the destruction of the settlement, houses were destroyed before the community was given the possibility to move to alternative places, therefore rendering them homeless, vulnerable to violation of their right to food, health and safe drinking water. I am of the opinion that this places the State of Nepal in violation of its international obligations.

In addition, the principles and guidelines recall that "at a minimum, regardless of the circumstances and without discrimination, competent authorities shall ensure that evicted persons or groups, especially those who are unable to provide for themselves, have safe and secure access to: (a) essential food, potable water and sanitation; (b) basic shelter and housing; (c) appropriate clothing; (d) essential medical services; (e) livelihood sources; (f) fodder for livestock and access to common property resources previously depended upon; and (g) education for children and childcare facilities." As underlined above, although the community's access to food, clean water and education has been disturbed by the eviction, the government has been impotent in providing those basic services to them, further increasing their vulnerability to violation of their economic, social and cultural rights.

Further, I am of the opinion that the "evictions shall not be carried out in a manner that violates the dignity and human rights to life and security of those affected. States must also take steps to ensure that women are not subject to gender-based violence and discrimination in the course of evictions, and that the human rights of children are protected" which in particular implies that "Any legal use of force must respect the principles of necessity and proportionality, as well as the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials and any national or local code of conduct consistent with international law enforcement and human rights standards." I am aware that the fact that children and elderly counted among those injured as a result of police violence and that at least five women have been alleged to have suffered miscarriage because they were dragged by the police speak at length of the fact that the evictions were conducted with disproportionate use of force. I now call on the government to acknowledge its responsibility to investigate into those allegations of violence and take sanction against those having committed or condoned acts of violence.

I want to reassert my deep concern for the situation of the evicted community, in particular children, pregnant women and elderly forced to live under the open sky, with no proper access to clean water, sanitation, health services and education. I therefore urge the government of Nepal to:
1-Immediately provide health services and medical treatment free of costs to the affected community
2- Immediately make arrangements to relocate the community in another area which must fulfill the criteria for adequate housing according to international human rights law. The community must be involved in every stage of the decision-making process leading to the identification of the area of settlement
3-In the meanwhile, provide food, shelter, clean water, sanitation and education services to the community without discrimination
4- Provide just and fair compensation for any economically assessable damage including material damages and loss of earnings as well as physical or mental harm, or the costs required for medicine and medical services.
5-Immediately stop further eviction until a policy is framed, in line with internationally accepted norms and standards to regulate the displacement and relocation process of the affected communities based on a comprehensive survey of the situation of the affected community.

I am looking forward to your immediate intervention to protect the fundamental rights of those affected by the evictions,

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Mahesh Basnet
Chairperson
High-Powered Committee for Integrated Development of the Bagmati Civilization
Guheshwori
Kathmandu
NEPAL
Fax: 977-01-448-2848
E-mail: info@bagmati.gov.np

2. Dr. Baburam Bhattarai
Prime Minister of Nepal
Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Nepal
Singh Durbar
P.O. Box: 43312
Kathmandu
NEPAL
Fax: +977 1 4211 086
E-mail: info@opmcm.gov.np, bhattaraibaburam@gmail.com

3. Hon. Justice Kedar Nath Upadhyay
Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission
Harihar Bhawan, Pulchowk, Lalitpur
G.P.O. Box: 9182, Kathmandu
NEPAL
Tel: +977-(0)1-5010015 (Hunting Line)
Fax: +977-(0)1-5547973
E-mail: nhrc@nhrcnepal.org

4. Mr. Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar
Home Minister
Ministry of Home Affairs
Singha Durbar
Kathmandu
NEPAL
Fax: +977 1 42 11 232
Tel: +977 1 4211211

5. Minister of Land Reform and Management
Land Reform and Management Ministry
Singha Durbar
Kathmandu
NEPAL
Fax: +977 1 42 11708
Email: info@molrm.gov.np

6. Hridayesh Tripathi
Minister
Ministry of Physical Planning and Works
Singha Durbar
Kathmandu
NEPAL
Tel. +977 - 1 - 4211782
Fax. +977 - 1 - 4211720
E-Mail: info@moppw.gov.np

7. Hem Raj Tater
Minister
Ministry of Environment
Singha Durbar
Kathmandu
NEPAL
Tel: +977-1-4211641
Fax: +977-1-4211954
Email: info@moenv.gov.np

8.Sheikh Chandtara
Chairperson
National Women Commission
Bhadrakali Plaza, Kathmandu, Nepal
Tel.No: +977-1- 4256701
Fax No: +977-1-4250246
E-mail- info@nwc.gov.np

9. Mr. Rajendra Mahato
Minister for Health and Population
Ramshah Path, Kathmandu
NEPAL
Fax: +977 1 4262 896 / 4262 468 / 4262 935

10. Ministry for Women, Children and Social Welfare
Singha Durbar, Kathmandu
NEPAL
Fax: +977 1 4241 516
E-mail: info@mowcsw.gov.np

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)