AMNSTIA INTERNACIONAL LANÇA CAMPANHA DE SOLIDARIEDADE PARA COM AS VÍTIMAS DAS DEMOLIÇÕES E DESALOJAMENTOS DO CACUACO

URGENT ACTION

FAMILIES FORCIBLY EVICTED, MANY MORE AT RISK

Since Friday 1 February, thousands of families have been forcibly evicted by the authorities in the Cacuaco municipality of Luanda city, Angola. The families have been left destitute. Hundreds more who remained in the area are also likely to be evicted.

At about 5am on Friday 1 February, members of the military, Rapid Intervention Police and private security started demolishing houses and forcibly evicting thousands of families from the Maiombe neighbourhood of Cacuaco municipality in the Angolan capital of Luanda. The families had reportedly not received any prior warning or notification of the evictions.  The demolitions were carried out with helicopters circling over the neighbourhood and included the beating of some individuals. At least six people, including two women, who attempted to resist the demolitions were arrested.

The evicted families have been moved to the Kaope-Funda neighbourhood in the same municipality where they have been left destitute, without shelter, drinking water or sanitation. Among the destitute are a woman and her less-than-week-old baby.

The authorities continue to demolish homes and forcibly evict residents. Hundreds of other families who remained in the ruins of their homes after the demolitions are at risk of being forcibly evicted.

Please write immediately in Portuguese, English or your own language:

n  Express concern that thousands of families were forcibly evicted from their homes in Maiombe neighbourhood of Cacuaco municipality in Luanda on 1, 2, 4 and 5 February without being provided with alternative accommodation and ask the authorities to ensure that they are provided with adequate alternative accommodation and access to effective remedies where applicable;

n  Call on the authorities to halt all further forced evictions in Maiombe;

n  Urge them to adopt a moratorium on all evictions until all necessary safeguards are put in place, to ensure that

evictions are carried out in accordance with international and regional human rights standards, including the development of a resettlement plan to provide adequate alternative housing to residents.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 20 MARCH 2013 TO:

Minister of Urban Development and Construction

Fernando Fonseca

Ministro de Urbanismo e Construção Ministério de Urbanismo e Construção Avenida 4 de Fevereiro

Luanda

República de Angola

Fax: +244 222 310517

(Say “queria mandar um fax” if someone answers)

Email: geral@minua.gov.ao

Salutation: Sua Excelência/ Excellency

Luanda Provincial Governor

Bento Sebastião Bento

Governador Provincial       

Gabinete do Governador Provincial

Luanda

Luanda

República de Angola

Fax: +244 222 333 902/ +244 222 334 051

(Say “queria mandar um fax” if someone answers)

Email: gepegpl@hotmail.com

Salutation : Sua Excelência/ Excellency

Cacuaco Municipal Administrator

Rosa João Janota Dias dos Santos

Administradora Municipal do Cacuaco

Luanda

Luanda

República de Angola

  

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please insert local diplomatic addresses below:

Name Address 1 Address 2 Address 3 Fax Fax number Email Email address Salutation Salutation       

Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

URGENT ACTION

FAMILIES FORCIBLY EVICTED, MANY MORE AT RISK

ADditional Information

Forced evictions are those carried out without adequate notice and consultation with those affected, without legal

safeguards and without assurances of adequate alternative accommodation.

International law, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter), to which Angola is a State Party, prohibits Angola from carrying out forced evictions, and obliges it to protect people from forced evictions. Evictions may only be carried out as a last resort, once all other feasible alternatives to eviction have been explored in genuine consultation with affected communities. The authorities must ensure that they are not carried out in particularly bad weather, during the night or in the absence of the home occupant without their prior consent, and that no one is made homeless as a result of the evictions. Adequate alternative housing and compensation for all losses must be made available to those affected prior to eviction. These requirements apply to all settlements, regardless of their tenure status, including informal settlements. Even when people do not have legal tenure, government authorities may not forcibly evict people from their homes.

In their preparation for the demolition of the Maiombe neighbourhood in Luanda, the Angolan authorities have failed to put in place legal protections and other safeguards from forced eviction, such as genuine consultation with communities to identify alternatives to evictions and resettlement options; adequate and reasonable prior notice and full information on the proposed evictions; access to effective legal remedies. They have failed to provide adequate alternative accommodation and compensation, all of which is required under international law. The authorities are planning to carry out the evictions during the rainy season, in violation of international standards.

The authorities have relocated Maiombe residents to another neighbourhood in the same municipality, but have not provided them with shelter, title to this land or any form of security.  Furthermore, the distribution of plots of land by itself is not sufficient to render an eviction lawful. Evictions must not render individuals or communities homeless. As such, all resettlement measures such as construction of home, provision of water and allocation of land and sites must be consistent with internationally recognized human rights principles, and completed before communities are moved from their homes.

UA: 18/13 Index: AFR 12/002/2013 Issued on 6 February 2013