COHRE Newsletter 13th Edition - 2010

COHRE-NEWS

NEWSLETTER OF THE CENTRE ON HOUSING RIGHTS AND EVICTIONS - SRI LANKA

ISSUE NO.13 – JANUARY/MARCH 2010

A message from COHRE’s Executive’s Director rights throughout the country, such as the right to adequate housing.

The changing context in Sri Lanka presents new challenges but also many opportunities to promote housing, land and property rights.

COHRE hopes to continue to partner with the Sri Lankan government and civil society in their valuable work on such issues.

Along with fulfilling the immediate needs of returning IDPs, property restitution will be an important issue to resolve in the process of return and rehabilitation, as has been shown in many other post-conflict situations worldwide.

This is an area COHRE has been working on for several years, both in Sri Lanka and elsewhere, and we are confident that we will be able to contribute positively in this regard.

W

elcome to this Thirteenth edition of the COHRE quarterly newsletter, the first of the New Year in Sri Lanka. I begin by wishing you a happy and peaceful New Year.

Last year in Sri Lanka was certainly a time of great change, most notably with the end of the country’s long-running civil war.

Last year also saw the submission of a report

by Sri Lanka to the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review mechanism, while the coming year will see the government reporting under both the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. COHRE is well placed to contribute to these processes through our headquarters in Geneva.

COHRE is hopeful that the new-found peace will lead to increased development in Sri Lanka, along with greater progress towards the realisation of social, cultural and economic

The past year has also proven to be a very busy year for COHRE, both in Sri Lanka and globally.

COHRE has more than doubled the size of its operations in Geneva to enable greater support

A new year presents an opportunity to both reflect on the previous year and plan for the new.

for field programmes and a strengthening of our engagement with international mechanisms.

The Geneva team is very excited and enthusiastic about the opportunities the new year presents for our mission to improve the protection of housing rights.

The Sri Lanka office has seen considerable change over the past year too, with the appointment of a new Country Director, Craig Hollingsworth, who joins us from the Norwegian Refugee Council and brings many years of management experience within NGOs working to protect housing and land rights.

The team in Sri Lanka has continued their excellent work over the year and have successfully adjusted their activities in response to the changing context in Sri Lanka. The team is currently undergoing a period of growth, with the addition of three new members in April. This new capacity will increase our ability to respond to housing rights needs in Sri Lanka.

Finally, you will see that the Sri Lanka Programme has also recently moved into a new office that will provide much-needed space for the growth of the team and programme.

I wish the team every success for the coming year and I am confident COHRE will be able to contribute greatly to the continued progress towards the protection of housing, land and property rights in Sri Lanka. Yours in the struggle for housing rights, Salih Booker - Executive Director COHRE

Moving Announcement

The telephone number for this new location is (011) 2699559

CRESCENT

MUSEUM

CAMBRIDGE PLACE

LIONEL WENDT THEATER

RAJAKEEYA MAWATHA

As of Wednesday, March 03, 2010, Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions Sri Lanka office now located at: No. 9/12, Centre on Housing Rights & Evictions No. 9/12, Cambridge Place, Colombo 07 ALBERT

DR. PREMASIRI KEMADASA MW.

We have moved, But we haven’t travelled far Here’s a note so you will know where we are

UNIVERSITY OF COLOMBO

NAVARANGAHALA CUMARATUNGA MUNIDASA MAWATHA QUEEN’S ROAD

We may have moved to somewhere new, But we would love to stay in touch with you. Feel free to drop into the office any time.

Housing Rights for Everyone, Everywhere...

COHRE Statement on International Women’s Day Forced evictions throw millions of women into poverty and isolation but research shows that they are also exposed to increased levels of violence within their own homes and communities once a forced eviction takes place,” The warning came as the world celebrates said Mayra Gómez, COHRE’s International Women’s Day. Senior Expert on Women and “Forced evictions have been Housing Rights. recognised by the international Massive urban forced evictions affect community as a gross violation millions of women and men each year, and these mass forced evictions that have, of human rights. Yet, what itin isrecent years, gained the attention of the is less recognised is that international community. forced evictions are not a But COHRE explained that for women, forced genderneutral phenomenon.” evictions also can take place on a much Geneva, 8 March 2010 - The Geneva based Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) today warned that millions of women throughout the world are being forcibly, and many times violently, evicted from their homes and communities.

smaller scale with devastating consequences.

“There are unique ways in which forced evictions combine with gender inequality and genderbased violence to produce specific crises for women in all parts of the world,” said Salih Booker, COHRE’s Executive Director.

COHRE’s extensive research on the impact of forced evictions on women began in 2002.

The research has shown that forced evictions leave women poorer, more isolated and more vulnerable to violence than before.

“Sadly, we have learned that exposure to genderbased violence is a common occurrence within the context of forced eviction. Not only are women more likely to suffer violence during forced eviction,

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“The forced eviction of individual women from their homes and lands – one woman at a time, relentless, and often invisible – receives far too little attention,” said MayraGómez.

For example, thousands of women are forcibly evicted from their marital homes every year upon the death of their spouse.

These women experience property grabbing by in-laws in a practice commonly referred to as ‘disinheritance.’ COHRE believes that these and other instances of forced and arbitrary removal of women from their homes should be considered to be within the scope of a State’s obligations to protect people from forced eviction.

COHRE is currently appealing to the United Nations to develop gender sensitive guidelines that would address the situation of women in cases of forced eviction. Such guidelines could clarify what governments are legally obliged to do under international human rights standards to protect women from forced

EDITORIAL

In this Thirteenth edition of the COHRE News, the front page brings a New Year message from COHRE’s Executive’s Director Salih Booker. This is followed by a write up on COHRE Sri Lanka new office location. This write up is followed by the COHRE statement on International Women’s Day. Next there is a write up on a Training of Trainers (TOT) programme, which COHRE organized for the Praja Abilasha grassroots network members. This is followed by a Report of fact finding mission conducted in Valikakandy– Pillumalai, in Batticaloa

by Francis Raajan, Praja Abhilasha’s Local Coordinator. Finally there is a write up on COHRE-Sri Lanka comprehensive Resource Centre on housing, land and property rights.

We hope you find this Newsletter 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 9/12, Cambridge Place, Colombo 7. Sri Lanka.

Telephone/Fax +94.11.4852105 or e-mail cohresrilanka@cohre.org.

Editor: Nilanka Nanayakkara eviction, and what they should do to ensure that evictions – where otherwise justifi able – do not have a negative impact on women.

COHRE has already begun to consult affected women and women’s rights groups around the world as to the possible future content of such guidelines.

“While there exist important international human rights standards prohibiting forced eviction, the development of gender-sensitive guidelines addressing the situation of women in cases of forced eviction is a necessary step forward,” said Salih Booker.

Praja Abhilash Trainers Ready to Go! The Centre on Housing Rights and Eviction (COHRE) is currently running a training programme supporting local community based representatives from the Praja Abhilasha group. The participants are being trained on housing land and property rights and laws. It is hoped that once trained the Praja Abhilasha representatives will be able to train and support others in their local areas. COHRE, with funding from the European Union, will be supporting the trainers to undertake trainings with communities from their own areas with the first training due to take place in May. This final Training of Trainers (TOT) workshop was the latest in a series of three workshops aimed at further developing the skills of the trainers.

The workshop started on the 28th of March 2010 and lasted for 3 days. The workshop had 3 main objectives: •

To further develop the presentation skills of the trainers.

•

To provide further insights on key areas necessary for the planned trainings.

•

Develop plans and a schedule for trainings to be held in 2010.

The group received training on presentation skills from an external facilitator from KPMG Ford Rhodes where participants were given opportunities to make presentations and receive feedback. The presentations weree recorded on video and replayed back to thee participants and discussed with the group..

The latter presentations clearly showed ann improvement over earlier ones demonstratingg he that the participants had taken on board the guidance. Overall the session was seen to be

very valuable and will help the participants when they conduct their own trainings.

Mr Bret Thiele, the Senior Expert of the Litigation and Legal Advocacy Programme for COHRE delivered a series of lectures on the international framework for housing rights. Mr Thiele has worked with and supported other similar national organisations in many different countries including Indonesia and the Philippines and he was therefore able to provide many relevant examples applicable to the context in Sri Lanka.

The participants responded enthusiastically to this experience and showed great energy and creativeness in proposing solutions to some of the case studies presented.

Finally, there were several presentations from government officials on the various aspects of their duties and programmes they are undertaking including, •

An overview of the government programme of land titling and its administration and processes by the Assistant Commissioner, Land Settlement Department.

•

An overview of state land and the laws governing it by the Deputy Land Commissioner.

•

An overview of issues affecting IDPs by the National Project Coordinator for IDPs from the Human Rights Commission.

•

An overview of the law relating to temple lands

The training concluded with the presentation of the training plans developed by the trainers.

Budgets and agendas were prepared and there was a discussion on the practicalities of undertaking such trainings.

It was agreed that the first trainings will take place in May 2010 and others will be held monthly in six locations throughout the country.

The exact format of the trainings will need to be adjusted to take account of logistical issues, the availability of target groups and their ability to absorb information.

Overall the training was very successful and the participants showed great enthusiasm and commitment.

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Report of fact finding mission conducted in Valikakandy – Pillumalai Francis Raajan - Praja Abhilasha’s Local Coordinator

Praja Abhilasha (“People’s Aspirations”) is a network member of the Presbyterian Church’s (USA) international program, Joining Hands. Nine networks in various countries around the world were formed to study grassroot issues of hunger and poverty in their respective countries, gather interested community based groups around these issues, and form a people’s based campaign to work for sustainable change in the country.

In order to examine and understand the issues of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) living in Welikakandiya, Praja Abhilasha conducted a fact finding mission in Welikakandiya in the month of February 2010.

become IDPs. The end of the military conflict compeled some of them to move to their original lands and houses. As such firstly, they moved to the school in Welikakandiya and started to rebuild their houses through their own efforts.

It is revealed that, this vulnerable community live with great difficulties and needs the following basic requirements inter alia in order to rebuild their lives: • Houses including sanitation facilities and water • Infrastructures • Solution from Elephant threats • Livelihoods • Education for their children • Free area from land mines

In 2007 about 600 families in Welikakandiya fled their houses due to military conflict and they have

It is noted by COHRE that, the end of the military conflict does not spell the end of displacement, and if handled incorrectly land disputes can quickly lead to renewed conflicts. The political and socio-economic complexities associated with displacement require a well defined policy and programme to effectively address the problems

RESOURCE

CENTRE

The Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions – Sri Lanka (COHRESri Lanka) houses a computerized comprehensive Resource Centre including domestic and international legal publications on housing, land and property (HLP) rights. These publications are categorized under the following headings in order to easily access them.

• Women’s Children’s HLP issues • Return and Restitution • Right to Water • Sri Lankan Legal System • Special Laws in Sri Lanka • COHRE publications • Administrative Law • Civil Law • Conveyancing

• Human Rights Law • Circulars on HLP issues • Law in General • Evidence • Law Reports in Sri Lanka • Law Dictionaries • International Law • Law of Property

New publications are added regularly.

The Resource Centre can be used by any interested person free of charge. The Resource Centre is open to the public Monday-Friday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

COHRE Sri Lanka office is located at No. 9/12, Cambridge Place, Colombo 07

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Telephone/Fax : +94-11-2699559 E-mail – srilanka@cohre.org

associated with displacement and ensure that vulnerable groups’ human rights are respected and protected.

COHRE appreciates the Government of Sri Lanka’s commitment regarding the positive measures taken in relation to IDPs. However, there is still much that needs to be done by the Government together with local and international agencies to ensure 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 restitution of those displaced are carried out in a safe and dignified manner.

Without the protection of Housing, Land and Property (HLP) rights, IDPs can become more vulnerable to other forms of human rights abuses, including gender based violence, discrimination, inadequate housing, restrictions on freedom of movement, and inadequate water and sanitation, among others.

In line with Sri Lanka’s international human rights obligations, the Government of Sri Lanka and international/local aid agencies should prioritize to ensure and protect the housing rights of IDPs during and after they return to their homes and lands.

The Government is obligated, with the assistance and the expertise of I/NGOs and international agencies, to ensure that return and restitution programmes address key humanrights concerns. The Government of Sri Lanka faces an enormous task of finding durable housing solutions for its displaced population.