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Making the Kampala Convention work for IDPs
In October 2009, the African Union adopted the Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (the Kampala Convention). Building on the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and the experiences, laws and policies of African states, the Kampala Convention represents an important milestone in the protection of IDPs’ rights.
Land loss to speculators, industries and cities result in hunger – UN rights expert
An estimated 500 million small-scale farmers across the world are hungry, partly as a result of losing their farmland to industrial expansion, urbanization or environmental degradation, the United Nations independent expert on the right to food told the General Assembly today.“As rural populations grow and competition with large industrial units increases, the plots cultivated by smallholders are shrinking year after year,” Olivier De Schutter, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, said as he presented a report to the Assembly.
IAI welcomed the decision to extends the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing
The UN Human Rights Council, during its 15th session in late September, decided to extend for a period of three years the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing. Concerning the permanency of Raquel Rolnik as Special Rapporteur, initially stablished to end up on April 2011, it will be appreciated by the Council in March 2011, who will decide if her mandate should be extended for an additional period of three years.
The IAI welcomed the decision, saying that it demonstrated a commitment of the international community to acknowledge the challenges the world still faces, and confirmed his willing to collaborate with Raquel Rolnik to defend the right to adequate housing, without borders.
UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Housing - newsletter #1
We are pleased to present the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing website! There you will find reports and other documents prepared by the Rapporteur, as well as news on the topic. With this tool, we hope to facilitate access to information concerning the Rapporteur’s work, create a space of reference on the subject and a channel for direct communication with the public. For that purpose, we expect to receive contributions and news from all over the world. Welcome!
China silences women housing rights activists ahead of Expo 2010
Shen Peilan (left), Mao Hengfeng (middle) and Jin Yuehua (right)
"Better city - better life" is the theme of Expo 2010, which begins in the Chinese city of Shanghai on Saturday. Yet it is a hollow slogan for more than 18,000 families who were evicted from their homes to pave the way for China's global technology and innovation showpiece.
The Access of Selp-Help Networks to the International Arena
International Meeting of Rambouillet (France) - March 23—25, 2009
In March 2009, the Ford Foundation and the Institute for Research and Debate on Governance (IRG) invited members from eleven different self-help networks and community-based/grassroots organizations, to participate in a joint seminar.
Zimbabwe's 700,000 victims of forced eviction still ignored five years on
A woman stands outside her home at Gunhill informal settlement on the outskirts of Harare, Zimbabwe, 24 March 2010
The government of Zimbabwe must take action to protect hundreds of thousands of people left to survive in substandard settlements five years after a program of mass forced evictions, Amnesty International and the Coalition Against Forced Evictions are calling on the government to provide adequate alternative accommodation or compensation to those left homeless and jobless.
Stopping corruption to save lives: A practical guide for humanitarian emergencies
A timely, comprehensive practical guide for combating corruption in relief and reconstruction has been published today by Transparency International (TI), the global anti-corruption organisation, in collaboration with seven major humanitarian agencies.
The loss of Han van Putten
Han van Putten
Pioneer of the right to the habitat with no frontiers
Han van Putten born May 28, 1922, died October 25, 2009 at his home in The Hague (Netherlands). Han was married to the late Anneke van Putten-Torensma, Father of Sietske, Frank, Marc, Willem (dec.) and Rebecca and dear Friend of Lidie Luursema.
Africa: Talking about forced displacement
The displaced in Bulo Hawo, near the Kenyan border
KAMPALA, 22 October 2009 (IRIN) - Civil society and government officials are gathered in the Ugandan capital of Kampala to discuss the Convention on the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Africa
and a declaration on refugees, returnees and IDPs.