International Campaigns "Zero Evictions"

Zero Evictions Campaign

"Every moment we fail to act is another unit demolished, another grandmother evicted, or another child who finds him or herself doing homework in a homeless shelter.”

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At this very moment, a billion people all over the world are either threatened with homelessness or living in bad housing conditions, due to large-scale investments of financial and real estate capital, social, economic and racial discrimination, wars and natural disasters. Instead of this figure diminishing by 100 million by 2015 as laid down by Objective No. 7 of the Millennium Development Goals, it is destined to rise by another 700 million by 2020. The main cause is the subjection of the urban question to the neo-liberal dictates of the IMF and the World Bank which impose privatisations in the public service sector and cuts in social policies.
To tackle this dramatic situation, the International Alliance of Inhabitants launched the Zero Evictions Campaign at the 4th World Social Forum (Mumbai, January 2004), to mobilize international solidarity, starting from the inhabitants directly concerned, in order to give them back some hope of achieving dignity and security in housing.

Click to read the Portuguese version, the Russian version, the Polish version, the Rumanian version

In this section you can download some documents related to housing conditions in several countries:

• Italy, by Cesare Ottolini
• Dominican Republic, by Pedro Franco
• Housing in Nairobi, Kenia

You can also download the entire COHRE document, Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions:
mediakit.pdf

And you can download the COHRE document on forced evictions: Eviction Monitor, COHRE, August 2005.pdf

Click on the map to see the campaigns:

This is a Joint Position Paper prepared by members of the Campaign Against Forced Evictions in the Informal Settlements in Nairobi on March 17th 2004.

Members of this Campaign include:

(i) African Network for the Prevention and Protection of
Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN)
(ii) Basic Rights Campaign
(iii) Carolina for Kibera
(iv) Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG)
(v) Kenya Human Rights Commission
(vi) Kituo Cha Sheria
(vii) Kutoka Network of Parishes in the Informal Settlements

(vi) Kituo Cha Sheria
(vii) Kutoka Network of Parishes in the Informal Settlements

Christ the King, Line Saba Sacred Heart, Dagoretti
Christ the King, Embakasi St. John’s, Korogocho
Consolata Shrine, Westlands St. Joseph, Kahawa West
Holy Cross, Dandora St. Joseph and Mary, Shauri Moyo
Holy Mary Mother of God, Githurai St. Joseph the Worker, Kangemi
Holy Trinity, Kariobangi St. Mary’s, Mukuru kwa Njenga
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Adams Arcade St. Theresa’s, Eastleigh/Mathare Valley

(viii) Maji na Ufanisi
(ix) Pamoja Trust
(x) Shelter Forum

1. Introduction

In the last few weeks, Nairobi informal settlements residents have experienced great threat to their short and long term stability, resultant from threats of demolition and eviction. Currently, there are notices from several government ministries to undertake large-scale demolition of structures that purportedly present a risk to the occupants of railway line operational corridors and households living near or under electric power lines and wayleaves or are in the way of planned bypass roads.
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