In 100 piazzas, the 10th of October and beyond!
The promoters' complaint: evictions are not private tragedies but violations of law caused by disastrous political choices; a national policy is needed immediately: a moratorium on all evictions, including those caused by arrearage and inculpable foreclosures, a control of the market and financing for social housing. A mission to Italy by UN's Special Rapporteur on Housing Rights will take place soon.
On October 10th, Zero Eviction Days will take place all over Italy: there are more than 100 initiatives planned, organised by over 500 promoters who have answered the summer tam-tam circulated on the Internet. This, in turn, re-launched the proposal at a national level of the global campaign supported by the International Alliance of Inhabitants as well as other networks to raise awareness amongst national and local governments to respect the right to housing, laid out by Article11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). ICESCR was ratified by Italy through Law no. 881/77, but is grossly violated on a daily basis by local and national government choices. In particular, due to the scrapping of financial aid to the sector in deference to the “fiscal compact” with the European Union in order to pay 900 billion euros within the next 20 years for debts. However, instead a public audit is needed?
Evictions: the figures of a tragedy aggravated by the politics of austerity
On a global level, violations of this right are enormous: between 60 and 70 million people around the world are threatened by eviction to varying degrees.
In Italy, the figures regarding the 2011 evictions, taken from a study by the Home Office, are dramatic: 64,000 new eviction orders, of which approximately 56,000 were due to arrearage, in other words 87%. Also in 2011, there were more than 123,000 requests for public order forces to carry out the evictions, of which as many as 29,000 were carried out. In fact, in Italy, around 140 families are evicted every day by public order forces. This does not include the over 40,000 families who have lost their homes through foreclosure in 2011, and another 200,000 foreseen in the future.
The numbers regarding the terrible impact of the economic crisis on the already precarious housing situation in Italy are rather worrying. They have been aggravated by the total lack of serious and efficient public policies to help the family units in difficulty; for example by guaranteeing the move from one house to another for the evictees, confronting the subject of 'expensive housing' and 'expensive mortgages'. Finally, it is worth noting one last figure: more than 650,000 families are currently placed on waiting lists for social housing, but with no hope of getting any results.
For these reasons, the promoters' tam-tam has involved not only the committees of the struggle, the movements for housing and the Tenants' Union, but also institutional representatives. Several of these have been at the forefront of the strugglee against evictions, including those regarding arrearage, to be considered a result of the crisis and violations of legality, not just as personal tragedies.
The Monti government and the local authorities who are giving the free market free reign, cutting public spending, withdrawing funds for rent and for financing social housing, and in particular provoking evictions without other alternatives, are responsible for the gross violations of the legal obligations assumed by Italy on ratifying the ICESCR, including the reason for which they are violating the principle of social non-regression. In this regard, it is worth underlining that General Comments 4 and 7 of the UN Committee for Rights ban eviction without adequate and safe alternatives for rehousing.
For these reasons, the same UN Special Rapporteur on Housing Rights, Raquel Rolnilk, present at the International Tribunal on Evictions organised in September at Naples' Urban Social Forum, was disconcerted by the complaints presented and has stated that Italy is now at the top of the agenda for her next official missions.
In support of this battle, the protagonists of many battles, hundreds of anti-eviction pickets, demonstrations, orders of business? Ordini del giorno and ordinances, have launched Zero Eviction Day on October 10th . This is a unified initiative for excellence, given that it starts from the bottom. It’s aim is rigorously putting the subject of housing rights and evictions on the political agendas of Monti's government and that of local authorities.
What will they do?
The same initiatives that already exist, but, for the first time, on the same day, in a coordinated manner that is visible both on a national and an international level, thereby strengthening everyone's struggle.
The promoters assure that the Zero Eviction Days will also continue after the 10th , and are already accepting proposals for initiatives throughout the month of October and in the future.
This is to due to the desire to obtain concrete results.
Georeferences
The Volunteer translators for housing rights without frontiers of IAI who have collaborated on the translation of this text were: