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News (174)
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USA: New Rule to Make Residents Homeless |
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By :Carey L. Biron, City |
| 13 August 2019 |
`We will become homeless`: U.S. residents fear housing rule change could force them out of homes. The rule change could make an entire household ineligible for social housing if a single member is undocumented, say experts.
WASHINGTON - Fears are mounting across the United States over a proposal by President Donald
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Most South Africa Municipalities Don’t Deliver |
| 02 July 2019 |
Most South African municipalities not delivering for citizens
If the South African public were ever in doubt at the reasons for service delivery protests in townships and municipalities, a closer look should be taken at the municipal audit report released by Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu who expressed concern at the financial mismanagement
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USA: 36,000 Homeless in Los Angeles |
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By :Sam Levin, The Guardian |
| 04 June 2019 |
Los Angeles homeless population hits 36,000 in dramatic rise
More than 59,000 people are homeless across county as housing crisis plagues California
Los Angeles has experienced a 16% increase in the homeless population over the last year, the latest sign of severe income inequality and a worsening housing crisis plaguing California.
There
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A New UN Habitat Stakeholder Compact |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 30 May 2019 |
A group of stakeholder organizations in cooperation with UN Habitat have issued a vision statement for what they are calling a “new stakeholder compact” for implementing the New Urban Agenda (2016) in line with the global Sustainable Development Goals. On 30 May 2019, the stakeholders issued their declaration in a
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USA: HUD Discriminates against Transgender Homeless |
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By :Katy O`Donnell, Politico |
| 22 May 2019 |
HUD moves to allow discrimination against homeless transgender people. The proposal, included in the department’s spring rule list out Wednesday, contradicts a pledge that HUD Secretary Ben Carson made to lawmakers just yesterday.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is moving to roll back protections for homeless transgender people by
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Al-Haq International Law Summer School 2019! |
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By :Al-Haq |
| 30 April 2019 |
24 June–8 July 2019
Al-Haq Center for Applied International Law is pleased to announce its Fifth International Law Summer School for post-graduate law students, legal researchers and professionals in the fields of international law and human rights. The training will take place over two weeks in Ramallah, occupied Palestinian territory
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Women’s Land and Home--Uganda |
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By :HIC-HLRN and SSA:UHSNET |
| 15 April 2019 |
How—and how much—housing and land rights violations affect women
Dispossession, forced eviction and other land and housing rights violations can have a more-significant and differentiated impact on women, given that women are often more social and economically vulnerable than men. This is particularly true, as women often start out from a
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India’s Unrelenting Forced-eviction Crisis |
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By :HLRN-India |
| 09 April 2019 |
New report highlights the unrelenting crisis of forced evictions, finds over 200,000 persons evicted in India in 2018. Over 114 houses demolished every day, 23 people evicted every hour.
On the eve of India’s General Elections, Housing and Land Rights Network India (HLRN) held a press conference in New Delhi today
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Adjudicating HRAH in India |
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By :HLRN-India |
| 09 April 2019 |
On the eve of India’s General Elections, Housing and Land Rights Network India (HLRN) held a press conference in New Delhi today to release a new publication: Adjudicating the Human Right to Adequate Housing: Analysis of Important Judgments from Indian High Courts.
As documented by HLRN, India’s courts often have ordered
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India: Over11 million Face Eviction, Displacement |
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By :Rina Chandran, Reuters Foundation |
| 09 April 2019 |
BANGKOK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - At least 11 million people in India risk being uprooted from their homes and land as authorities build highways and airports and cordon off forests, activists said on Tuesday, undermining a government push to provide housing for all citizens by 2022.
The estimate includes about 1.9
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Human Right to Adequate Housing v. Blackstone L.P. |
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By :HLRN |
| 26 March 2019 |
Today, UN Special Rapporteur on to Adequate Housing Leilani Farha held a press conference in Copenhagen to speak about letters that she and Surya Deva, Chair-Rapporteur of the UN Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises jointly released to governments and corporations
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India: By Court, Forced Evictions Illegal |
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By :Rina Chandran, thisisplace.org |
| 20 March 2019 |
In a major victory for land rights campaigners, Delhi High Court ruled that forced evictions of slum dwellers without consultation or resettlement plans are illegal.
The Delhi High Court has ruled that forced and unannounced evictions of slum dwellers without consultations or resettlement plans are illegal, striking a major victory for
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USA: Court Challenge to Israel’s Colonies |
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By :Mairav Zonszein, The Nation |
| 18 March 2019 |
In a First, Palestinians Challenge Israel’s Settlement Enterprise—in a US Court
The challenge comes in response to a case filed by Israeli settlers against Airbnb.
Randa Wahbe is a United States citizen with West Bank residency who is studying for a PhD in anthropology at Harvard University. Over the years, the 31-year-old
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USA: Household Net Worth Plummets |
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By :Christopher Ingraham, Associate Press |
| 10 March 2019 |
Household net worth falls by largest amount since the Great Recession, new Fed data shows
In this Tuesday, 6 March 2018, photo homes stack up in a neighborhood in San Jose, Calif. NerdWallet calculated affordability for 173 metropolitan areas by comparing the median annual household income and the monthly principal-and-interest
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Sahel: Displacement Crisis |
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By :UN News |
| 05 March 2019 |
Drastic deterioration in security across Burkina Faso as 70,000 flee their homes in past two months, UN warns
The landlocked West African country of Burkina Faso is facing “unprecedented” displacement, triggered by armed groups and intercommunal clashes, and exacerbated by long-term food insecurity, UN aid officials said on Tuesday.
According to the
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Indian Court Orders Eviction of 1 Million Tribals |
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By :Rahul Bedi, The Telegraph |
| 22 February 2019 |
Indian Supreme Court orders eviction of 1 million tribal forest dwellers
NEW DELHI—India’s Supreme Court has ordered the eviction of over 1.1 million tribal and other traditional forest dwellers, after it recently rejected their ancient ownership claims on jungle land.
Experts estimate that the 20 February legal fiat could result in
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USA: Providing Homes Cheaper than Homelessness |
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By :Matthew Iglesias, Vox |
| 20 February 2019 |
The most cost-effective way to help the homeless is to give them homes. Addressing housing directly is cheaper than relying on cops and emergency rooms.
Even as the national economy continues its slow-but-steady pace of improvement, data released by the Department of Housing and Urban Development in December revealed a small
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Palestine/Israel: Fake Justices |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 13 February 2019 |
In early September 2018, after years of legal proceedings, the justices of Israel’s High Court determined there was no legal obstacle to demolishing the structures in the community of al-Khan al-Ahmar, located about two kilometers south of the Jerusalem-choking Kfar Adumim settler colony. The Court delivered that conclusion as the
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Zim: CSOs Pose Resolving Govt Displacements |
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By :Tatenda Chitagu, newsday |
| 13 February 2019 |
The Zimbabwe People’s Land Rights Movement (ZPLRM), a member of the Habitat International Coalition (HIC), has slammed government over planned displacements of thousands of villagers across the country and urged President Emmerson Mnangagwa to walk his talk over the irreversibility of the land reform programme.
HIC is an independent international coalition
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AU Summit on Displacement Crisis |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 09 February 2019 |
Already 55 years ago, the Organization of African States was born with the purpose of peace and unity in what is now the African Union (AU), the largest regional organization on earth. This year, the 32nd regular annual AU summit at Addis Ababa (10–11 February 2019) focuses on another distinguishing
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South Africa: Militarizing Repression in Durban |
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By :Abahlali baseMjondolo |
| 03 February 2019 |
Statement of Abahlali baseMjondolo
Last week, the news was full of reports on the arrival of three of the four Casspirs (mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles) that have been ordered by the eThekwini Municipality. We first heard about the order of the Casspirs in 2017, when it was reported that the
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USA: Most Citizens in 3rd World Conditions |
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By :Yossarian Johnson, The Intellectualist |
| 30 January 2019 |
A study by an MIT economist shows that the United States of America has regressed materially to a third-world nation for most of its citizens.
America divided: This concept increasingly graces political discourse in the U.S., pitting left against right, conservative thought against the liberal agenda. But for decades, [U.S.] Americans
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USA: Homelessness Rising, Even in Utah |
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By :Gregory Scruggs, Place |
| 10 January 2019 |
Once a national model, Utah struggles with homelessness. Homelessness is on the rise in the United States for the second year in a row, the increase has been particularly noticeable in Utah
SALT LAKE CITY—Once lauded as a leader among U.S. cities struggling to relieve homelessness, the number of people sleeping
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USA: Gov`t. Shutdown Could Evict Millions |
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By :Jeff Andrews, Curbed |
| 07 January 2019 |
Funding for HUD’s rental assistance programs would lapse if shutdown drags on
Entering its third week, and with no end in sight, the partial federal government shutdown is putting millions of low-income tenants who depend on funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) at risk.
On January 4, HUD
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We`re Celebrating 70th Human Rights Day |
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By :HLRN |
| 10 December 2018 |
Declaration on Human Rights Day and the Right to the City
We, social movements, civil society and local governments’ organizations are committed to social justice through the promotion, defense and fulfillment of all human rights related to habitat, including the Human Right to Adequate Housing, Land and the Right to the
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Israel Court OKs Evicting 700 Jlem Palestinians |
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By :Middle East Monitor |
| 22 November 2018 |
The Israeli Supreme Court yesterday rejected a petition submitted by 104 Palestinians against claims by a right-wing Israeli organisation paving the way for 700 Palestinians to be forced from their homes, Haaretz reported.
The 700 Palestinians, who make up 70 families, have been going through a legal battle to protect their
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USA: More HUD Tenants Now Living in Squalor |
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By :Suzy Khimm, Laura Strickler, Hannah Rappleye and Stephanie Gosk. NBC News |
| 15 November 2018 |
Under Ben Carson, more families live in HUD housing that fails health and safety inspections
While HUD Secretary Ben Carson pledged to fix low-income housing, the number of properties cited for health and safety violations has been on the rise.
HARTFORD CT—The mold started in the basement. But it soon spread to
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40-yr Struggle: Rights to Housing, Land and City |
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By :Álvaro Puertas Robina, Thomas Reuters Foundation |
| 12 November 2018 |
Are our global property rights still guaranteed? 40 years of global struggle for rights to housing, land and the city
Gentrification, forced evictions, lack of access to housing - these are all concepts familiar to us. They pose serious and real threats in all corners of the world and can violate
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Lebanon: Evicting Syrian Refugees |
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By :Nora Stel and Anke van der Meijden, Lebanese Center for Policy Studies |
| 24 October 2018 |
This article is based on a forthcoming policy paper examining the causes, characteristics, and consequences of the eviction of Syrian migrants and refugees from Riyak, Lebanon in 2017, in light of recent developments encouraging Syrian refugees to return to their home country.
Lebanon’s Eviction of Syrian Refugees and the Threat of
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Statement of the ICC on Palestine |
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By :ICC |
| 17 October 2018 |
Statement of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, regarding the Situation in Palestine
I have been following with concern the planned eviction of the Bedouin community of Khan al-Ahmar, in the West Bank. Evacuation by force now appears imminent, and with it the prospects for further escalation and
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Canada: Mass Eviction in Ottawa! |
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By :Jillian Kestler-D`Amours, AlJazeera |
| 21 September 2018 |
Heron Gate mass eviction: `We never expected this in Canada`
About 150 homes in one of Ottawa`s most diverse and affordable communities are expected to be torn down in coming months
OTTAWA—Binto Mohamed hasn`t had a good night`s sleep since May. That`s when she received a letter telling her that her family
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USA: From Sanctuary Cities to “Freedom Cities.” |
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By :Adam Edelman, NBC News |
| 15 September 2018 |
The crackdown on sanctuary cities gives birth to “freedom cities.” Advocates for undocumented immigrants believe they`ve found a new — and legal — way to skirt deportation efforts.
If Attorney General Jeff Sessions is waging war to dismantle sanctuary cities, imagine how he feels about "freedom cities."
Austin, Texas, became the
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USA: Laws Criminalizing Homelessness Over-ruled |
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By :Mihir Zaveri, The New York Times |
| 05 September 2018 |
Prosecuting homeless people for sleeping on the streets when there is no shelter available is a form of cruel and unusual punishment that violates the Constitution, a federal appeals court said this week.
The case stems from two ordinances in Boise, Idaho, that make it a crime to sleep or camp
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Kenya: Inhabitants Seek Protection from Evictions |
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By :Jillo Kadida, The Star |
| 01 August 2018 |
Residents of more than six Nairobi estates yesterday sought to stop their eviction by the government.
Houses are to be demolished today in Kaloleni, Makongeni, Mbotela, Mutindwa, Dandora and Kenyatta University villages, Lang’ata and Wilson-South C link road reserve.
Moses Nyakiongora served residents with the notice on July 19. He is the
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Kenya: Kibera Demolitions Begin |
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By :Julius Otieno, Star; Josphat Thiong`o, Standard Digital |
| 24 July 2018 |
Anguish as houses demolished to pave way for Kibera link road
23 July 2018
Julius Otieno, Star
Human rights activists have accused Kenya Urban Roads Authority of violating the agreement that would have seen victim of Kibera evicted in a humane way.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights has in this regard called
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Palestine: Israel’s Demolishing Khan al-Ahmar |
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By :Akram Al-Wa`ra, Mondoweiss |
| 05 July 2018 |
Despite international condemnations, Israel prepares to demolish Khan al-Ahmar
KHAN AL-AHMAR, occupied West Bank, Palestine—Scenes of destruction and despair spread over the Palestinian Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar on Wednesday, as armed Israeli forces arrived at the village’s entrance with bulldozers.
The nightmare that the village’s 200 residents had feared for over
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Puerto Rico: Parasites in Paradise |
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By :Democracy Now |
| 06 June 2018 |
Puerto Rico continues to recover from Hurricane Maria as it commemorates 120 years of US occupation (since 1898). In the ongoing post-disaster phase, the island Is becoming a “playground for the privileged,” where disaster-capitalist investors move in as homes foreclose and schools close.
While healthcare, the public school system and infrastructure
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India: Smart Cities and Forced Eviction |
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By :Ankit Jha and Anand Lakhan, thewire.in |
| 28 May 2018 |
The demolitions in Bhuri Tekri, without prior warning, took place just a week after the announcement of ‘Swachhta Sarvekshan 2018’, with the city retaining the number one rank in the list.
To make cities beautiful, forced eviction of slum dwellers amid promises of resettlement have led to massive displacement of working
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Tibet: New Report “Access Denied” |
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By :International Campaign for Tibet |
| 26 May 2018 |
ICT has published its latest report, "Access Denied." It’s a troubling yet necessary account of the full extent of China`s efforts to prevent news of human rights abuses in Tibet from getting out.
China’s government doesn’t want anyone to know that international journalists are being detained by police, as two New
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Another Mozambique Land Grab |
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By :Timothy A. Wise, Tufts University, Global Development and Environment Institute |
| 23 May 2018 |
Growing Resistance: The Rise and Fall of Another Mozambique Land Grab
The rice fields of Xai-Xai, three hours up the coast from Maputo, are vast, coming into view as we descended onto the alluvial plain from the villages that dot the hills above. They stretch across the plains toward the Indian Ocean
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S. Korea: UNSR on Housing Calls for `Shift` |
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By :OHCHR |
| 23 May 2018 |
SEOUL/GENEVA (23 May 2018) – United Nations expert, Leilani Farha, urged national and local governments of South Korea to shift their approach to housing and homelessness to meet current human rights standards.
Leilani Farha, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, noted that South Korea now has the
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Philippine: Tension Grips Eviction of 200 Families |
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By :Rey Galupo, The Philippine Star |
| 23 May 2018 |
MANILA, Philippines — An operation to demolish the houses of around 200 informal settlers in Intramuros, Manila nearly turned violent as the residents opposed the demolition yesterday morning.
Armed with an eviction order issued by the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 7, a demolition team along with members of the Manila
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USA: 30K Older, Infirm Louisianans Face Eviction |
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By :Tina Burnside and Darran Simon, CNN |
| 10 May 2018 |
Tens of thousands of Louisiana residents could face eviction from nursing and group homes
More than 30,000 Medicaid recipients in Louisiana, many in nursing or group homes, could lose their benefits due to proposed state cuts -- a situation that could force thousands to move.
Louisiana Department of Health Deputy Secretary
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HICtionary Newly Updated |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 06 May 2018 |
HIC-HLRN has just updated the HICtionary: Key Habitat Terms from A to Z. This reference work is the result of deliberation and debate across multiple specializations, regions and cultures within the membership of Habitat International Coalition (HIC). The purpose of that debate—and this reference work—have been to consolidate and harmonize
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CA: World’s 5th Economy, Homeless No. 1 USA |
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By :Sal Rodriguez, Orange County Register |
| 04 May 2018 |
California has the 5th largest economy in the world yet leads the USA in poverty and homelessness.
California’s gross domestic product surpassed $2.7 trillion in 2017, reports the Associated Press, an output with places California’s economy ahead of the United Kingdom’s.
California now has the distinction of having the world’s fifth largest economy,
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Unearthing Truths: Israel, Nakba and JNF |
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By :The Editors of Moving Forward |
| 01 May 2018 |
The monthly Moving Forward is published with support from Jews Say No! That organization engages in community education, street theatre, and organizing to make their members’ voices heard in Jewish communities and as partners in the broader movement for justice in Palestine/Israel. The following article is the editorial to Moving
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30 Cities Join Global Sur and Hasankeyf Action Day |
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By :Platform No to the Destruction of Sur, Istanbul Sur Solidarity, Mesopotamia Ecology Movement, and Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive |
| 30 April 2018 |
DIYARBAKIR / AMED—As part of the Global Sur and Hasankeyf Action Day in almost 30 cities, actions have been organized on 28 April 2018. Activists and civil organization raised awareness on the ongoing destruction of the two antique cities Sur and Hasankeyf at the Tigris River in North (Turkish) Kurdistan.
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USA: Forgotten Hurricane Harvey Devastation |
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By :Daniel J. McGraw, Next City |
| 30 April 2018 |
Houston got the press (and most of the funds), but the Category 4 storm made first, devastating landfall in coastal Port Aransas and Rockport. How rebuilding has forced these beach towns to confront a housing crisis.
The smallish, three-bedroom, blue-green house in the middle of Port Aransas is rather ordinary. Built
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HIConcern over SDG Land Indicators |
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By :Joseph Schechla, HIC-HLRN |
| 27 April 2018 |
Habitat International Coalition’s Housing and Land Rights Network welcomes the SDGs and their performance indicators as a complement to development efforts that uphold the integrity of the UN Charter and the UN System built on three purposeful pillars: (1) peace and security, (2) progressive development and (3) human rights. We
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India: Land Rights for 1947 Partition Displaced |
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By :Rina Chandran, place |
| 27 April 2018 |
The Indian State of Maharashtra grants land ownership rights to refugees who fled Pakistan 70 years ago. Refugees in Maharashtra were housed in about 30 government-owned "camps" or colonies across the state, with limited rights to sell or redevelop their homes
BANGKOK - Refugees in India`s western state of Maharashtra
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Right to the City in Greater Beirut |
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By :HIC-HLRN and Amel Association |
| 14 April 2018 |
HLRN has just released its new publication Right to the City in Greater Beirut: Context Assessment in Light of the Refugee and Displacement Crisis. This assessment offers critical insight into municipal governance in Greater Beirut, a city largely formed and characterized by human migration through its history, while more recently
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Myanmar: Rohingyas’ 13 Demands for Return |
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By :The Star (Petaling Jaya)/AP |
| 13 April 2018 |
Rohingya give Myanmar official list of demands for repatriation
DHAKA—A Myanmar Cabinet minister visited a sprawling refugee camp in Bangladesh for Rohingya Muslims, who described the violence that forced them to flee Myanmar and presented a list of demands for their repatriation.
Social Welfare Minister Win Myat Aye on Wednesday met
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USA: Time for Change - Race & Homelessness |
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By :Jeffrey Olivet and Marc Dones, SPARC and National Alliance to End Homelessness |
| 11 April 2018 |
In recent years, an increasingly urgent dialogue has emerged around race and equity in [the United States of] America. But that dialogue has generally overlooked one of the most visible manifestations of racial inequity: homelessness.
Homelessness is not colorblind. People of color are dramatically more likely than their White counterparts to
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China Mining Co. Destroys Mozambique Village |
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By :Ghana News |
| 01 April 2018 |
Mozambique’s coastal village on the brink of extinction from irresponsible Chinese mining company. Mining giant Haiyu denies responsibility for flood that left 290 people homeless, while Mozambican authorities fail to regulate mining industry to ensure people’s safety, denying village residents reparation for their losses.
An irresponsible Chinese mining operation in Mozambique
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1st Arab Conference on Land Governance |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 28 February 2018 |
Dubai Land Department announces the conclusion of the first Arab land governance conference
The conference, organized in partnership with the World Bank, the Global Land Tool Network, UN-HABITAT, the League of Arab States and the Arab Surveying Association, was attended by more than 300 participants, representing several regional and international bodies.
Dubai
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DRC Violence Displaces Thousands of Children |
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By :VoA |
| 24 February 2018 |
Thousands of Children Displaced by Ethnic Violence in DRC’s Ituri Province. GENEVA—The U.N. children’s fund reports at least 90,000 children have been forced to flee their homes in the face of escalating inter-communal violence in Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ituri Province. Ituri’s Djugu territory in northeastern D.R.C. has been the
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Peru: Shipibo-Konibo Forced from Forest to Slum |
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By :Jack Guy, Editing by Anastasia Moloney and Ellen Wulfhorst, Thomson Reuters Foundation |
| 20 February 2018 |
Forced from rainforest, Peruvian tribe faces new woes in Lima slum
LIMA—Wedged between the rubbish-choked Rimac River and lanes of traffic belching fumes, the Cantagallo slum in downtown Lima is a far cry from the Amazon rainforest land that the Shipibo-Konibo people were forced to flee two decades ago.
Hundreds of
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Homeless and Hungry in Paris |
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By :Sevenbilliontoday |
| 17 February 2018 |
Of Emmanuel Macron`s many bold promises since sweeping to power last year, his pledge to completely banish homelessness from the streets of France was perhaps the boldest.
The president gave himself until the close of 2017 to end rough-sleeping once and for all - but a midnight stroll through Paris shows
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Zimbabwe: Probe into State Land Sales Begins |
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By :Felex Share, The Herald (Harare) |
| 15 February 2018 |
The Commission of Inquiry into the sale of state land in and around urban areas since 2005 begins work on Monday as government moves to investigate and ascertain actors in allocations, occupation and use of the land.
The Commission, chaired by Justice Tendai Uchena, will conduct the inquiry over the next
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USA: Tenants Say Trump Budget "Dead on arrival" |
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By :NAHT |
| 13 February 2018 |
HUD Tenant Leaders Demand Congress Declare Trump’s 2019 Budget “Dead on Arrival”
Elected leaders of the national US tenant union today demanded immediate rejection by Congress of President Donald Trump’s 2019 budget request, released on February 12.
“Trump’s budget will push millions of people from their homes; starve seniors, children and
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Not Just a Condition, but Cause of Poverty |
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By :A U.S. Catholic interview |
| 13 February 2018 |
Being evicted isn’t just a condition of poverty, it’s a cause, says Matthew Desmond, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book "Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City" (Crown Books).
While much research and conversation has been devoted to other poverty-related topics such as nutrition, education, and violence, the Princeton sociologist
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France: Equality Law Fails, Roma Evictions Increased |
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By :ERRC |
| 08 February 2018 |
Paris, Budapest 6 February 2018: In the last year 11,309 Romani people were evicted from their homes in France, the majority of which (8,161) were forcefully evicted by authorities. A further 2,055 left their homes before the arrival of authorities, under pressure of an imminent eviction.
Last year saw a 12% increase
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Pakistan: Lahore City Evicts Slum Dwellers |
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By :Zeena T. Hashmi, The Nation (Karachi) |
| 07 February 2018 |
LDA’s forced eviction of Model Town slum dwellers is shocking, but not surprising. No one with a shred of shame can imagine such a thing happening in any democracy; but this is how the Lahore Development Authority works.
For the dwellers at Sector M, Model Town Extension, there have been many
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Germany: Coalition Talks Focus on Housing Crisis |
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By :Michelle Martin, Andreas Rinke, Reuters |
| 04 February 2018 |
German coalition talks to continue on Monday and focus on health and labor
More than four months after a national election, Europe’s largest economy and pre-eminent power-broker is in political paralysis, causing concern among investors and partner countries that policymaking on issues such as Britain’s looming departure from the European Union
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Tanzania: Gov`t Seeks to Demolish 1,200 Homes |
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By :IPPMedia.com |
| 02 February 2018 |
Advice given by World Bank to government officials against demolishing over 1,200 houses between Ubungo and Kimara suburbs of Dar es Salaam to pave way for a six-lane highway has saved them from losing their houses.
The over 8,000 residents who had already been served with letters by Tanzania Roads Agency
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England: Locals` Concern over Home Demolition |
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By :Jo Taylor and Nic Rigby, BBC |
| 27 January 2018 |
Genesis Housing Association is considering the future of Alexandra Court in Southend, which could see it torn down and a new block built in its place with double the number of flats.
One woman spoke of her dismay after being told it was her "home for life."
Genesis has assured tenants they
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Czechia: Roma Forcibly Evicted in Brno |
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By :Michaela Pa , Brno Daily |
| 17 January 2018 |
About a year ago, one hundred families living in houses owned by a private company on Bratislavská, Vlhká and Francouzská streets were informed that their rent leases will not be renewed. In response, the desperate tenants and citizens’ initiative “Chceme bydlet!” organized a street demonstration.
After intense negotiations between the firm
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Belgium Supports UNRWA as USA Defunds |
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By :Haaretz |
| 17 January 2018 |
Belgium has stepped in to help out the UN Agency assisting Palestinian refugees with an immediate disbursement of $23 million Wednesday a day after the Trump administration suspended $65 million in aid for the international organization.
Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said Wednesday that "for a lot of
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South Africa: Another Abahlali Comrade Fallen |
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By :Abahlali baseMjondolo Movement SA |
| 12 January 2018 |
Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Statement
Another Comrade Has Fallen in the Struggle for Land
Our movement has been facing a lot of brutality in the last three months. On 19 November our chairperson in the Sisonke Village land occupation in Lamontville, Sibonelo Mpeku, was kidnapped and murdered. On 17 December 2017 Soyiso Nkqayini
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Somalia: > 5K IDP Homes Evicted, Destroyed |
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By :Xinhua and Somalia NGO Consortium |
| 11 January 2018 |
3,000 School Children Affected by Forced Evictions in Mogadishu
Somalia NGO Consortium Statement below
MOGADISHU—The UN Children`s Fund (UNICEF) and Save the Children said on Thursday that recent unannounced forced evictions of families and destruction of several informal settlements on the outskirts of Somali capital Mogadishu have impacted over 3,000 school
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Philippines: Demolition Looms for 200 Households |
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By :Antoinette O. Marquito, Philstar |
| 09 January 2018 |
CEBU, Philippines — About 200 families in Sitio Tangke, Barangay Mambaling will lose their homes after the court ordered the demolition of their houses because the owner will utilize the lot.
The demolition started yesterday and there was no resistance or commotion.
But Janny Anter, president of Panaghugpong-Kadamay, a homeowners’ association in
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Extreme Poverty Growing in USA |
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By :Premilla Nadasen, The Washington Post Perspective |
| 21 December 2017 |
The U.N. finds growing numbers of Americans are living in the most impoverished circumstances. How did we get here?
“Finish all your food,” my mother used to tell me. “There’s a child in Africa who would love to have that food on your plate.” It was an effective disciplinary approach, especially
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China: Beijing House Demolitions Spark Rare Street Protests |
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By :Emily Feng and Charles Clover, Financial Times |
| 12 December 2017 |
Aggressive Chinese eviction methods fuel anger among residents forced from rented homes
Fear and cold stalk the streets of Feijia, a north-eastern suburb of Beijing that is to be largely demolished on Friday, leaving hundreds of migrant families potentially homeless in winter.
Leaflets scattered across Feijia’s main street depict photos of masked
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Canada: New 10-year $40B Housing Strategy |
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By :Peter Zimonjic, CBC News |
| 22 November 2017 |
Liberals detail $40B for 10-year national housing strategy, introduce Canada Housing Benefit. New strategy aims to build 100,000 new units, repair 300,000 and cut homelessness by 50%.
The federal government has announced the details of its ten-year national housing strategy, which includes the introduction of a housing benefit for families that
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South Africa: Three Murders in Sisonke Village |
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By :Abahlali baseMjondolo Movement SA |
| 21 November 2017 |
Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Statement
Three people were murdered in Sisonke Village, in Lamontville, on Sunday, including our chairperson in the area Sibonela Mpeku.
Our members gave Sisonke Village its new name on 13 July 2014 and our branch was launched there on 9 November 2014. During that year we issued statements noting
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Nigeria: 30K Evicted, Defying Court |
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By :Amnesty International |
| 14 November 2017 |
Deadly mass forced evictions make life misery for waterfront communities
Over 30,000 forcibly evicted from settlements in Lagos state in defiance of court orders
11 people unlawfully killed and at least 17 missing after violent evictions by security forces and unidentified armed men
300,000 others are under threat of further forced evictions
Evicted residents
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Germany: Merkel`s Housing Crisis |
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By :Rebecca Pinnington, Express (London) |
| 14 November 2017 |
Germany is facing a shocking housing crisis with 1.2 million people expected to be living in homeless shelters by 2018.
The Federal Homeless Association estimates the current number of homeless people in the country totals around 860,000.
That figure is expected to rise another 40 per cent to 1.2 million by the
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Out of Africa: Human Rights Habitat Struggles |
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By :Marie Huchzermeyer, CUBES/Wits Univ. and Joseph Schechla, HLRN |
| 07 November 2017 |
From Africa to the World: Struggling for Human Rights to Housing, Land and the City
Mid-October 2017, Nairobi was host to an intense engagement on housing rights, social justice and the right to the city. This was amid political turmoil in Kenyan towns and cities, and unrelated to this but largely
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EU States Demand Israel Pay Demolition Costs |
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By :Barak Ravid, Haaretz |
| 19 October 2017 |
Eight European Union countries wrote an official protest letter to Israel, demanding over €30,000 ($35,400) in compensation for confiscating and demolishing structures and infrastructure which the countries had built in Area C of the West Bank, which is under full Israeli control.
A senior European diplomat told Haaretz that the letter,
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South Africa: Repression in Durban |
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By :Abahlali baseMjondolo Movement SA |
| 04 October 2017 |
Cato Manor residents say eThekwini Municipality carried out brutal and illegal evictions
Abahlali baseMjondolo Movement SA. Press Statement
The Movement of Abahlali baseMjondolo continues to face serious and unlawful repression by the ANC led municipality in Durban. Right now, the community in Cato Manor right now are trying to collect all the
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HIComment on UN-Habitat Review |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 05 September 2017 |
In advance of a high-level meeting of the General Assembly on 5 and 6 September 2017, HIC and HLRN have reviewed the High-level Independent Panel assessing the performance and capacity of UN-Habitat and posing recommendations for its future. The Panel’s report considers UN-Habitat performance and capacity from four angles, including
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Tanzania: Forced Evictions of Loliondo Maasai |
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By :Chris Lang, Conservation Watch |
| 30 August 2017 |
“Forced evictions of Maasai people in Loliondo, Tanzania”: Urgent Alert from the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs
The International Working Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) last week put out a short report about the violent evictions of Maasai pastoralists in Loliondo, Tanzania.
According to reliable information received by IWGIA, forced and
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Italy: Rome Police Evict, Beat Refugees |
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By :Human Rights Watch |
| 25 August 2017 |
ROME—Police used violence and water cannons to evict a group of squatters, predominantly refugees, in Rome on August 24, 2017, Human Rights Watch said today. The Italian authorities should conduct a serious and transparent investigation into the use of force by police. Hundreds of people who had been living in
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UN Reports on Rakhine Living Conditions |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 23 August 2017 |
After one year of consultations held across Rakhine State (Myanmar) and in other parts of the country and the region, the UN’s Advisory Commission on Rakhine State submitted its final report to national authorities on 23 August.
The Commission, chaired by Kofi Annan, has put forward recommendations to surmount the
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Nicaragua: Future Canal Threatens Mass Eviction |
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By :Amnesty International |
| 03 August 2017 |
Nicaragua: Country’s future for sale as canal threatens thousands with forced eviction
The Nicaraguan government must stop placing business before the future of the country and its people, Amnesty International said in a new report today looking at a secretive deal that will lead to the construction of a canal
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“Spotlight” on UN High-Level Forum, SDGs |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 10 July 2017 |
As the UN High-Level Forum opens in New York, a global civil society report spotlights the role of big business in hindering development and deepening economic and social disparity.
Unbridled privatization, corporate capture and mass-scale tax abuse are blocking progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals, argues a new report by a
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Nigeria: Forced Evictions in Badia-East (Lagos) |
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By :Spaces for Youth Development and Social Change |
| 15 June 2017 |
Spaces for Change NGO Staff Arrested, Released
LAGOS—A Task Force squad comprising demolition agents of the Lagos State Government and scores of heavily-armed security operatives invaded Badia-East this morning, Thursday, June 15, 2017. With the aid of bulldozers, sledge hammers, iron bars, and earth-moving equipment, they levelled all the structures in
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England: Race, Class and Grenfell Tower Fire |
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By :Skylar Baker-Jordan, HuffPost |
| 15 June 2017 |
The flames hadn’t even been extinguished from Grenfell Tower before people started screaming that no one should “politicise” this tragedy. As I type this, though, at least 12 people are dead, and authorities expect that number to drastically climb. Most of those who perished, or who lost everything in the
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NUA Reporting in 2018 Crucial |
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By :Gregory Scruggs, Citiscope |
| 11 May 2017 |
2018 reporting period will prove critical for New Urban Agenda, advocates say
Labels
NAIROBI—Although 2017 is not yet halfway over, advocates for the New Urban Agenda on sustainable cities already are looking to next year as critical for embedding the agreement aims among national governments.
That’s because the recent Habitat III conference set
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Women Have a Right to Land and Housing |
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By :Isabella Bwiire, NewVision.org |
| 08 March 2017 |
As we celebrate the International Women’s day today, emphasis should be put to the extent to which some of the obligations have been achieved with regard to women’s basic needs including shelter, access to land and land security etc. The state of shelter development in Uganda shows that, with the
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Cambodia: Land Grabs, Defender Jailed |
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By :Prak Chan Thul and Alisa Tang, The Japan Times |
| 25 February 2017 |
Amid land grabs and evictions, Cambodia jails leading activist
PHNOM PENH—Even before a Cambodian judge sentenced land rights activist Tep Vanny to prison, her fellow campaigners said her fate had already been sealed.
Vanny, who fought the evictions of thousands of residents from lakeside land in Phnom Penh to make way for
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South Africa: Vengeful Burning of Migrant Homes |
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By :Lynsey Chutel, QZ.com |
| 21 February 2017 |
African migrants in South Africa are in fear for their lives—again
Once again, there are signs of growing xenophobia in South Africa. Despite the lives lost in previous waves of violence, the country has still not learned this painful lesson.
It’s a familiar escalating narrative: vigilante groups accuse foreign migrants of local
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USA: Tenants Mobilize for 2018 People`s Budget |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 20 February 2017 |
In the United States, the 2016 Democratic Party Platform featured stronger-than-ever language that seemed to embrace most of the substantive recommendations that the National Alliance of HUD Tenants (NAHT) proposed that year: increased funding for vouchers, public housing repairs, fair housing, although without specific dollar recommendations. In preparing for the
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Indonesia: Crisis of Bukit Duri Residents |
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By :Edith Koesoemawiria, Mongabay |
| 13 February 2017 |
JAKARTA — Six weeks after the last of the Bukit Duri evictees moved into their new dwellings here in the Indonesian capital, the atmosphere was friendly but painful. Some tenants told jokes at the food stall in the parking lot. The cook, also a former Bukit Duri resident, had initially
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EU’s Biggest Pension Funds Invest Big in Colonies |
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By :Mikkel Bahl, Hanan Chemlali & Kristoffer Marslev, Danwatch |
| 31 January 2017 |
Europe’s largest pension funds heavily invested in illegal Israeli settler colonies.
Europe’s five largest pension funds have €7.5 billion invested in companies with business activities in and around illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. This is at odds with United Nations guidelines, clear warnings from 18 European countries, and undermines
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Kenya: Slum Violence & Housing Shortage |
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By :Katy Migiro, Reuters |
| 28 December 2016 |
ATHI RIVER, Kenya (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Recently married with a one-year-old child, Joan Moraa Mbogo dreams of escaping Kenya`s noisy, dirty, crime-ridden capital and buying a home close to her mother`s newly-built apartment overlooking the Lukenya Hills.
Machakos County, which starts 20 kms (12 miles) south-east of Nairobi, is popular
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UNSC Votes to End Israeli Settler Colonies |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 24 December 2016 |
It was the first time in eight years that the UN Security Council had passed a resolution condemning Israel’s illegal construction of settler colonies in occupied Palestine. The vote came on Friday, following an unprecedented intervention of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that had U.S. President-elect Donald Trump "advising" Egyptian
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India: Over 33K Homes Demolished in 2015–16 |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 22 December 2016 |
Over 33,000 homes demolished in urban India between 2015 and 2016
New Delhi—Data collected by Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN) reveals that public authorities in India, in both the central and state spheres of government, forcibly have evicted at least 33,257 families across urban centers between January 2015 and December
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Homelessness: Not Just a Christmas Crisis |
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By :The Guardian |
| 21 December 2016 |
The Guardian view on homelessness: not just a Christmas crisis. The following is an editorial
For a few days over Christmas, a massive effort by charities such as Crisis and the volunteers they recruit tries to offer something like festive cheer for thousands of people who might otherwise have been sleeping
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Myanmar: AI Reports “crimes against humanity” |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 19 December 2016 |
A new report by Amnesty International (AI) documents a campaign of violence by the Myanmar security forces against Rohingya since 9 October 2016. Soldiers and police have randomly fired on and killed civilians, raped women and girls, torched whole villages and arbitrarily arrested Rohingya men without any information about their
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European Tenants vs. Wall Street Landlords |
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By :Liz Alderman, The New York Times |
| 18 December 2016 |
Wall Street is Europe’s landlord, and tenants are fighting back.
DUBLIN—The Tobun family never missed a rental payment on their modest brick rowhouse in eight years. But in February, the couple, who have two young children, received a letter warning that they would have to leave their home when the lease
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USA: Albuquerque Helps Homeless & Saves Money |
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By :Colin Woodard, Politico |
| 18 December 2016 |
How Albuquerque figured out how to really help its homeless population. And save money in the process.
ALBUQUERQUE—Under a cloudless desert sky, David Kelhoyoma, a Marine veteran who help liberate Kuwait City during the first Gulf War, roamed the top of a city landfill, stuffing stray bits of plastic into a
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Portugal: Statement by the SRs on Water& Housing |
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By :UN news |
| 13 December 2016 |
As the United Nations Special Rapporteurs on the right to adequate housing and the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, we address you today at the conclusion of our joint official visit to Portugal, which we undertook at the invitation of the Government from 5 to 13 December
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Brazil: Social Rights under Siege |
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By :CESR, CONECTAS and INESC |
| 10 December 2016 |
Brazil is on the cusp of adopting a constitutional amendment that will undermine fundamental human rights for generations to come. The Proposed Constitutional Amendment 55 (or PEC 55 in its Portuguese acronym), which is currently being debated in the Senate, will freeze public spending in real terms for the next
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USA: Gullah Geechee Still Fighting for Their Land |
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By :Brian Wheeler, BBC News |
| 05 December 2016 |
The Gullah Geechee community, descendants of West African slaves in South Carolina are fighting to prevent their land from being confiscated and auctioned. Can they save a traditional way of life that has survived for the one and half centuries since emancipation?
The first Lillian Milton knew about it was when
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Most New Yorkers on Edge of Homelessness |
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By :Amy Zimmer, DNAinfo |
| 25 November 2016 |
Most New Yorkers are roughly 1 paycheck away from homelessness, according to a new study.
More than half of all New Yorkers are teetering on the brink of homelessness — without enough cash in the bank to cover them in the event of a disaster or lost job, a troubling new
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Resisting Reed: Atlanta’s Peoplestown v. Mayor |
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By :Atlanta Progressive News |
| 24 November 2016 |
This Thanksgiving Day, Mayor Kasim Reed is thankful for eminent domain. Meanwhile, Peoplestown residents fight back.
ATLANTA—On Monday, November 21, 2016, the Housing Justice League, along with twenty residents from Atlanta’s Peoplestown community, tried to hand deliver a petition with over 6,000 signatures to Mayor Kasim Reed, asking him to stop
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Vancouver Mayor’s “Intense” Housing Crisis |
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By :Ashifa Kassam, The Guardian |
| 21 November 2016 |
Vancouver mayor on housing crisis: “I never dreamed it would get this intense.”
Gregor Robertson’s platform in 2008 vowed affordable housing and an end to homelessness. Eight years and three terms later, the city’s housing market is in a perilous place – and has forced the mayor to get creative
His first
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Nigeria: UNSR Addresses “Brutal” Eviction of 30K |
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By :OHCHR |
| 17 November 2016 |
GENEVA—A United Nations human rights expert has asked the Government of Nigeria for an urgent explanation of the forced eviction of 30,000 people in Lagos State in the last week. Four people are reported to have died in the latest operation to clear irregular developments along the State’s
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USA: Oakland`s “Mega-evictor” |
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By :Sam Levin, The Guardian |
| 11 November 2016 |
The landlord who filed over 3,000 eviction notices. Pro-tenant group says a landlord who has a seat on Oakland’s housing cabinet is also the top evictor in the city, where a housing crunch has reached crisis levels
Leketha Williams was out of options. When the Oakland, California, mother was evicted and
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USA: Homeless Camps Offering Democracy Lesson |
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By :Patrick Strickland, Al Jazeera |
| 04 November 2016 |
Overlooked in the elections, Portland’s homeless are organising their own camps on their own terms, but fear evictions.
PORTLAND, Oregon—When Marge Pettitt`s seven-year-old daughter broke down in tears in a homeless shelter in 2009, she made one of the hardest decisions of her life: Sending the child to live with her
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Italy: Romani Emergency Shelter Closed |
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By :Jonathan Lee, Elena Risi, ERRC |
| 28 October 2016 |
A majority Roma shelter located at Via Amarilli in Rome will be officially closed by 31 October 2016. This comes after officials from Rome Municipality announced the closure and the subsequent eviction of the majority Roma shelter on the 5 October. Associazione 21 Luglio and the ERRC see this as
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Alternative Forums outside of Habitat III |
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By :Gregory Scruggs, Citiscope |
| 14 October 2016 |
Even as governments adopt the New Urban Agenda next week, multiple groups plan protests and contrary discussions.
A large crowd gathers at the Urban Social Forum in Rio de Janeiro, which took place as an alternative to the World Urban Forum in March 2010. More such events are expected at next
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UN: E. Aleppo `Totally Destroyed` by 2017 |
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By :Julia Zorthian, Time |
| 06 October 2016 |
Staffan de Mistura said Thursday that the thousands of civilians trapped could die
The United Nations envoy to Syria warned Thursday that rebel-held eastern Aleppo could undergo “total” destruction by the end of the year.
Staffan de Mistura, UN special envoy for Syria, told reporters that thousands of lives could be lost,
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Nigeria: When They Bulldozed, She Fought Back |
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By :Betty Abah and Elaine Zuckerman, Ms. magazine |
| 03 October 2016 |
Bimbo, 57 and a mother of four, grew up in Makoko, Lagos Nigeria’s largest slum, married, and established a thriving soft drink business in boisterous Badia East, another Lagos slum. Her life was upturned when the World Bank-financed Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance Project bulldozed Badia East in 2013 without notice.
The “urban
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England: Record Evictions by Private Landlords |
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By :Patrick Butler, The Guardian |
| 28 September 2016 |
End of an assured shorthold tenancy cited by nearly a third of newly homeless households, figures show
Record numbers of families are becoming homeless after being evicted by private landlords and finding themselves unable to afford a suitable alternative place to live, government figures show.
The end of an assured shorthold tenancy
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Calais/Dunkirk Refugee Eviction Risks |
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By :Harriet King, IPF |
| 15 September 2016 |
Calais and Dunkirk: Demolition and forced evictions from refugee camps will make things worse
“They seem to believe if they make the Calais jungle ‘disappear’ this will all go away. They do not have the means to compensate for the destruction of ten thousand homes—there isn’t nearly enough alternative accommodation.”
Breakthrough research,
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South African Court Halts Eviction |
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By :Public Interest Law Alliance (PILA) Bulletin |
| 14 September 2016 |
South African Constitutional Court orders “meaningful engagement” in urgent forced eviction
The South African Constitutional Court has extended the Olivia Road case to urgent forced evictions, requiring meaningful engagement between the local authority and tenants—or occupiers in this case—before eviction can be deemed constitutional under the right to housing.
The applicants, amounting
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Thailand: Karens to Appeal Eviction Verdict |
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By :Forest Peoples Programme |
| 13 September 2016 |
Karens to appeal court verdict legalizing their forced evictions; indigenous organizations call for effective redress
Karen representatives today vowed to appeal against the recent Thai court verdict that ruled the authorities did not break the law in burning their properties to forcefully evict them from Kaeng Krachan National Park. Indigenous rights
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Kenya: Courts Stops Kibera Nubian Eviction |
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By :KBC Reporters |
| 31 August 2016 |
The High Court has temporarily barred Kenya Urban Roads Authority from evicting members of the Nubian community from their homes in Kibra constituency in Nairobi in order to pave way for construction of the Southern Bypass.
The community who are complainants in the case say the respondents did not follow
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Boston USA: Campaigning to Save Public Housing |
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By :NAHT |
| 22 August 2016 |
Mass Alliance of HUD Tenants (MAHT) spearheads campaign for City Vouchers to save our homes!
In response to Boston’s growing housing and homelessness crisis, MAHT is spearheading a broad coalition of housing and community groups to propose a city-funded voucher program. The program would provide “Housing First” for people experiencing homelessness in
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Rio’s Indigenous Trapped in Social Housing |
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By :Alix Vadot, Rioonwatch.org |
| 15 August 2016 |
In Estácio, a centrally located neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro’s North Zone, Block 15 of the Zé Keti social housing complex, part of the Minha Casa Minha Vida (MCMV) program, has been the home of some of the city’s remainingindigenous families since June 2013. Its residents have described the complex, built on the grounds of the former
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USA`s Hidden Homeless: Life in the Starlight Motel |
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By :Carolyn Bick, Al Jazeera |
| 30 July 2016 |
Residents of a motel in Massachusetts share their stories to reveal the extent of the U.S. hidden homelessness problem.
Massachusetts, USA—It is the fourth time that Tiffany Drew has lived in the Starlight Motel, and the third time she has been pregnant here.
Today, like every time she is pregnant, she has
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HIC Addresses Habitat III PrepCom3 |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 27 July 2016 |
The “New Urban Agenda,” from its inception, is inconsistent with historic agreements, today’s global priorities and the “world we need.” Particular interests have narrowed the Habitat Agenda to urban priorities, subordinated rural areas and ignored issues of forced migration, presuming that urbanization is “inevitable” and beyond human will or policy
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Struggling to Chart Habitat II Implementation |
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By :Greg Scruggs, Citiscope |
| 26 July 2016 |
Note: HIC-HLRN republishes this article from Citiscope as a report from the ““Fulfilling Habitat Commitments: Assessing the Past - Constructing a Platform for Action,” Surabaya, 24 July 2016. However, this does not suggest that HIC or HLRN endorse the methodology or the findings of the HCI exercise, as the criteria
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How Eviction Feeds Poverty |
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By :Nailah Morgan |
| 11 July 2016 |
Sociologist and Harvard Professor Matthew Desmond spent a year living in Milwaukee’s inner-city neighborhoods studying the implications of poverty. Staying in rooming houses and trailer parks, he spent his days with tenants being evicted and the landlords leading the evictions. He conducted surveys and analyzed thousands of eviction records. The conclusion? Eviction
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India Mine Displaced 400 Adivasi Families |
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By :Elizabeth Puranam, Al Jazeera |
| 07 July 2016 |
The mine that displaced India`s indigenous people. About 400 Adivasi families once lived near the Chaal coal mine, but blasting and water contamination forced them to leave
The earth-shattering sound of dynamite welcomed us to the small village of Lath, which sits on the edge of an open-cast coal mine.
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UN Experts Insist on HR-based Habitat III |
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By :OHCHR |
| 29 June 2016 |
UN experts issue statement on Habitat III: new agenda must be based in human rights
NEW YORK/GENEVA—As independent human rights experts appointed by the Human Rights Council, we call for a New Urban Agenda that embraces the transformative potential of human rights as a necessary framework for inclusive, vibrant and sustainable cities.
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HIC Responds to Habitat III’s Revised Zero Draft |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 28 June 2016 |
The following are Habitat International Coalition`s comments on the revised zero draft of the Habitat III outcome documents, submitted to the Habitat III Secretariat on 28 June 2016:
Habitat International Coalition was born out of, and—for two generations now—has faithfully upheld the Habitat Agenda as a cornerstone of its global platform.
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India: 2 Cops, 5 Protesters Killed in Land Eviction |
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By :See and say.in |
| 25 June 2016 |
Mathura: Five protesters and two policemen, including an SP, were killed and over 40 people injured in clashes during a drive to evict illegal occupants of a land in Mathura district, a top official said.
The clashes broke out when the police were trying to evict illegal occupants of a land
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Demise of World Bank Accountability |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 22 June 2016 |
A forthcoming article in the American University International Law Review(AUILR) addressed “The Demise of Accountability at the World Bank?” The article by Natalie Bugalski, of Inclusive Development, examines recent trends in the accountability system at the World Bank, including the proposed Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) and developments at the
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Nigeria: Protests in Anambra Alleged land confiscation |
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By :Vincent Ujumadu, vanguardngr.com |
| 15 June 2016 |
Awka—THE people from Nawfia in Njikoka local government area of Anambra State have appealed to the state governor, Chief Willie Obiano to intervene on behalf of the community over alleged confiscation of their communal land by some officials in the ministry of lands and the state Housing Corporation, with the
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Zimbabwe Diamond-displaced Villagers Seek Help |
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By :Reuters |
| 13 June 2016 |
Zimbabwe Villagers Displaced by Diamond Mining Seek Government Help. More than 1,000 families were moved from their village in 2009.
MUTARE, Zimbabwe—Villagers relocated to a sprawling government-owned farm complex in eastern Zimbabwe to make way for the nation’s biggest diamond field are hoping that President Robert Mugabe’s move to take control
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Namibia: Evicted Family Squats on Roadside |
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By :Luqman Cloete, Namibian News |
| 09 May 2016 |
A FAMILY has become destitute after government bought a farm in the Maltahöhe district on which they had lived and worked for more than 24 years.
They have been living in a corrugated iron zinc shack on the roadside about 15 kilometres from Maltahöhe with their 148 small livestock, four horses,
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European Housing Rights Coalition Calls for Action |
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By :European Action Coalition for the Right to Housing and to the City |
| 07 May 2016 |
Defend the Right to Housing and to the City
Call for International Action
Amsterdam, 28–30 May
Join the international action and confront the meeting of the 23 EU housing ministers.
Don`t let them talk behind closed doors about the future of our cities!
On the last weekend of May, the housing ministers of all EU
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Kenya: Bldgs. Demolished, 100s Homeless |
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By :AP |
| 06 May 2016 |
Nairobi—As emergency workers retrieved four bodies from a building that collapsed a week ago, bringing the death toll to 41, hundreds of Nairobi residents were evicted on Friday from nearby buildings that are being torn down to prevent other deadly disasters.
The demolitions began even as the rescuers continued digging the
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Indonesia: Military Conducts Forced Evictions |
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By :Jakarta Globe |
| 03 May 2016 |
Jakarta. Public lawyers have issued Indonesian military chief Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo with a written reprimand for what they deem unlawful involvement of soldiers in the forced eviction of Jakarta`s urban poor.
As many as 113 forced evictions took place in the capital last year, with the Indonesian Military (TNI) assisting in
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UN Housing Expert Urges India to Apply Rights |
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By :OHCHR |
| 22 April 2016 |
UN expert on adequate housing says: "Right to housing vision needed to achieve equality for the poor in India."
NEW DELHI/GENEVA—The contrast between the vast numbers of pavement-dwellers and the rapid development of luxury real estate was brought into stark focus by the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to
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"Right to the City" Movement Goes Global |
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By :Francesca Perry, The Guardian |
| 19 April 2016 |
Right to the city: can this growing social movement win over city officials?
From the Taksim Square and Nuit Debout protests to bank takeovers in Barcelona and women’s workshops in Delhi, the pressure for more inclusive cities is mounting. As the UN gears up for Habitat III, will governments listen?
On
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Israeli Plunder of Palestinian Homes “Concerns” U.S. |
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By :David Alexander, Reuters |
| 02 April 2016 |
Crackdown on what Israel claims is illegal construction has already pitied Jerusalem against the EU, who funds some of the structures.
JERUSALEM—The United States is "concerned" about Israel`s demolition of Arab buildings in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, a State Department spokeswoman said on Friday, adding that it raised questions
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Iranians Buying up Land in War-torn Syria |
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By :Sirwan Kajjo and Mario Ritter, Voice of America |
| 27 March 2016 |
Iran’s government wants its builders to buy up property in Shi-ite majority neighborhoods of Syria’s capital, Damascus.
It is also asking construction workers to go to Syria.
This information comes from construction industry officials in Tehran and Iranian experts.
Iranian analyst Fariborz Saremi said owning real estate gives Iran more control over Syria
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USA: The Eviction Economy |
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By :Matthew Desmond, The New York Times |
| 05 March 2016 |
I first met Larraine when we both lived in a trailer park on the far South Side of Milwaukee. Fifty-four, with silvering brown hair, Larraine loved mystery novels, “So You Think You Can Dance” and doting on her grandson. Even though she lived in a mobile home park with so
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UN Report: Homelessness and Impunity Spreading |
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By :OHCHR |
| 03 March 2016 |
GENEVA (3 March 2016) – Homelessness is a fact of life in all countries of the world, regardless of the level of development of their economic or governance systems, and it has been spreading with impunity, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to housing, Leilani Farha, warned today
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Paris: Voice of the Suburbs |
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By :Widad, Al Jazeera English |
| 01 March 2016 |
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African New Habitat Agenda Priorities |
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By :Ahmed Mansour Ismail and Dr. Daniel W. Ambaye |
| 23 February 2016 |
HABITAT III Africa Regional Meeting
“African Priorities for the New Urban Agenda”
Land and African Sustainable Urbanization, side event organized by GLTN
Abuja, Nigeria, 23 February 2016
Summary prepared by Ahmed Mansour Ismail (HIC-HLRN) and Dr. Daniel W. Ambaye (Institute of Land Administration)
Mr Ernest Aubee, ECOWAS (as moderator) introduced the panelists and further emphasized
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Migration Meets Hamburg: Right to the City |
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By :Plenums des Hamburger Recht auf Stadt-Netzwerks |
| 09 February 2016 |
As in many others cities of Europe, refugees meet both welcome and opposition. One such opposition militates against providing humane and decent housing for refugees in Hamburg. Local reports tell how the anti-refugee trend is voiced louder and louder every week, even in the middle class. A new alliance of
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HLRN-India Launches Habitat III Status Report |
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By :HLRN-India |
| 05 February 2016 |
New Delhi—On Friday, Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN) launched its first Habitat III country report titled, Housing and Land Rights in India: Status Report for Habitat III. The United Nations (UN) Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III)—the third bidecennial international conference on habitat issues—will be held
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HIC-critics on Habitat III Policy Papers |
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By :HIC |
| 05 February 2016 |
Since the very early stages of the Habitat III preparations, Habitat International Coalition (HIC) has called for the integrity of the Habitat II (1996) commitments and modalities; this demand has three related aspects:
• Processes must uphold the Habitat II-established principle to be as inclusive as possible;
• Maintain the Habitat Agenda,
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Habitat III Sins of Omission |
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By :Habitat for People - Not for Profit! |
| 01 February 2016 |
Today, a movement of concerned partners engaged in the Habitat III preparations issued a public challenge to the organizers of the global process, calling on them to rethink the omissions and design flaws that narrow the Habitat III public debate and presuppose its outcomes. From the beginning of the deliberative and reporting
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UN Expert: Homeless Are Not Cockroaches or Vermin |
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By :Leilani Farha, Guardian Housing News Network |
| 21 December 2015 |
How is it that homelessness – one of the most egregious violations of human rights globally – can be so invisible?
The answer lies in the fact that we have done pretty much everything we can to erase homeless people from our sight and from our minds.
How governments, the media, and
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Nigeria: UNSR Urges Halt to Eviction Trend |
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By :OHCHR |
| 23 November 2015 |
GENEVA—The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, Leilani Farha, today urged the Nigerian Government to put an immediate end to the ongoing trend of evictions in the country. The human rights expert raised concerns with the government about the large-scale demolitions and evictions carried out
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The World`s Most-segregated Cities |
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By :Peter Geoghegan, The Guardian |
| 28 October 2015 |
“Reclaim your community,” declared the posters. “Hipsters beware.” Pinned around London’s East End last month, they announced Fuck Parade, an anti-gentrification demonstration that culminated in an attack on a café selling bowls of cereal. Long the first port of call for cash-strapped new arrivals in the city—Irish, Jews, Bangladeshis and
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Human Rights and the New Habitat Agenda |
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By :Leilani Farha, UN Special Rapporteur Newsletter |
| 22 October 2015 |
In her second report to the UN General Assembly, Leilani called on States to include a human rights framework in the development of the New [Habitati] Agenda, to be adopted at the UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (also known as Habitat III), October 2016 in Quito, Ecuador.
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UNSR Reminds Govts. about Rights in Habitat III |
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By :OHCHR |
| 22 October 2015 |
NEW YORK / GENEVA—The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to housing, Leilani Farha, today has challenged governments to go further and commit to bold action to end homelessness and improve housing conditions on a global scale. “I am convinced we can end the scourge of homelessness
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Confiscating Houses for the Greater Good |
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By :Vijeta Uniyal |
| 29 September 2015 |
Governments across Europe are complying with European Union directives to accommodate tens of thousands of migrants arriving each day. Germany, which became the driving force behind the recent influx of migrants after it suspended Dublin convention, refuses to put any cap to the number of migrants it can absorb.
The rules of
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Pope Francis: “Rights to housing, land and city” |
| 25 September 2015 |
In his public appearance in New York City this week, Pope Francis delivered a spiritual message, but also addressed a bundle of corresponding human rights. Not least of these were the “three Ls”: lodging, land and labor. He also contextualized these essential elements of human dignity and human rights with
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Out in the Cold: UK Social Housing Emergency |
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By :Simon Hooper, Al Jazeera |
| 24 September 2015 |
Forcible evictions fuel a housing crunch amid sharp welfare cuts and surging rent costs in London.
London, England—Housing activists mounted a last-ditch fight on Thursday to stop a disabled man from being forcibly evicted from his home and left with "nowhere to go" to make way for private properties to be
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Habitat III National Reporting Tool |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 21 September 2015 |
Habitat III National Reporting Guidelines (merged with State obligations)
This Excel file attempts to merge the national Habitat III report outline proffered by UN-Habitat with the already-standing commitments of states and UN bodies at Habitat II (1996). For those following UN-Habitat`s advice, the left column leads with the agency’s reduced six
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Human Rights & Local Government Report |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 18 September 2015 |
On 22 September 2015, the United Nations Human Rights Council (Geneva) will consider the final report of its Advisory Committee on the Role of local government in the promotion and protection of human rights. The report is the outcome of a two-year study on the subject by the Human Rights Council
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CESCR: Spain Violated Debtor’s Housing Rights |
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By :ESCR-Net |
| 17 September 2015 |
New York—Today, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) published its first recommendations in response to an individual complaint, regarding a violation of the right to housing, under the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (OP-ICESCR).
With its entry into force in
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Right to the City and Yerevan’s Construction “Doom” |
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By :Garin Boghossian, Armenia Weekly |
| 16 September 2015 |
The growth path of urbanization under capitalism is devouring the city of Yerevan. Luxurious high-rise hotels and residential towers, serving tourists and seasonal dwellers, are replacing Soviet social housing blocks that once lodged the ordinary Yerevantsis. The house where the president of the First Republic, Aram Manougian, lived and died—now
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UK: 141 Families Evicted to Make Way for Luxury Flats |
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By :Frances Ryan, the Guardian |
| 15 September 2015 |
The story of Mostafa Aliverdipour, a 50-year-old wheelchair user raising his family on an estate in north London, could tell politicians plenty about what has become of the principle of social housing in our capital.
Looking out on rows of boarded-up walls and metal grilles, Aliverdipour and his four children –
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The Refugees and Imaginative Urban Planning |
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By :Jane Paulick, Deutsche Welle |
| 05 September 2015 |
Not only politicians are looking for solutions to ease the refugee crisis. Architects are also devising ways to integrate new arrivals that avoid ghettos arising on city limits while also fostering urban regeneration.
One fixture in the pictures that went round the world in the recent week of violent clashes outside
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Habitat II Baby, Habitat III Bathwater |
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By :Joseph Schechla, Habitat International Coalition – Housing and Land Rights Network |
| 10 August 2015 |
The substantive debate toward the 2016 Habitat III Conference is warming up. The disappointment that states earlier expressed at PrepCom2 (Nairobi, April 2015) for slow progress in producing the draft material for the outcome document has subsided. The rich content of 22 Issue Papers, so far, has superseded some of
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German CSO Forum Addresses Habitat III |
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By :Forum on Environment & Development |
| 31 July 2015 |
The German Forum on Environment & Development was founded in 1992 after the UN conference in Rio on environment and development. Its purpose is to coordinate German NGOs in international political processes on sustainable development. It was strongly involved in the preparation and the civil society processes of the Habitat
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HIC Reviews Habitat III Issue Papers |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 31 July 2015 |
Habitat International Coalition has just issued its compilation of inputs from Members and officers following their review of the Habitat III Issue Papers. The 22 thematic contributions from technical experts selected by the UN-Habitat/Habitat III Secretariat have been drafted as a framework for the debate leading up to the Third
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USA: Supreme Court Opposes Housing Bias |
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By :Aljazeera America, the Associated Press |
| 25 June 2015 |
The Supreme Court handed a major victory to the Obama administration and civil rights groups on Thursday when it upheld a key tool used for more than four decades to fight housing discrimination.
The justices ruled 5-4 that federal housing laws prohibit seemingly neutral practices that harm minorities, even without proof of
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FIFA and Human Rights |
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By :Miloon Kothari, Middle East Online |
| 23 June 2015 |
Middle FIFA has become an institution that is not only a byword for corruption, but one that, through acts of omission and commission, has tolerated human rights violations around the world.
The past few weeks have revealed FIFA’s ills. The allegations and arrests of key officials have focused on massive
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UN-Habitat: Landmark Governing Council |
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By :Greg Scruggs, Citiscope |
| 28 May 2015 |
Landmark Governing Council session debates UN-Habitat’s role in the development agenda
NAIROBI—The 25th session of the UN-Habitat Governing Council concluded on 23 April, following a week of debate on the wide array of issues surrounding today’s global process of urbanization. Highlighting the pivotal year for a review of the agency’s budget
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Serbia’s Housing Crisis Demands Immediate Action |
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By :UN Human Rights |
| 26 May 2015 |
BELGRADE (26 May 2015) – Serbia has undergone enormous challenges in the last two decades and is currently facing structural adjustment, high unemployment and poverty. All of this has created a housing crisis that must be responded to immediately. “Serbia urgently needs a national law on housing that fosters non-discrimination
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Who Has the Right to Live in London? |
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By :Carlos Delclós and Rosie Walker, Open Democracy.net |
| 22 May 2015 |
Renters’ Rights London aims to provide the tools and knowledge renters need to defend themselves from unfair treatment and campaign for more rights. We speak with coordinator, Rosie Walker.
In a recent study, Brookings Institute economist Matthew Rognlie challenged Thomas Piketty’s now well-known assertion that inequality is being driven by the
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UN-Habitat: Critical Debate @ Governing Council |
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By :Greg Scruggs, Citiscope |
| 28 April 2015 |
Landmark Governing Council session debates UN-Habitat’s role in the development agenda
NAIROBI—The 25th session of the UN-Habitat Governing Council concluded on 23 April, following a week of debate on the wide array of issues surrounding today’s global process of urbanization. Highlighting the pivotal year for a review of the agency’s budget
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The Right to the City: Jerusalem |
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By :Joseph Schechla |
| 26 October 2014 |
HIC-HLRN has produced a new report from an ongoing study on the prospects of realizing the principles of the “right to the city” for specific cities in several regions.
This report finds that applying the "right to the city" in Jerusalem challenges the current governance grounded in discrimination against, and dispossession of
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Predatory Lender Wells Fargo Bank Forced to Pay |
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By :The Baltimore Sun, The New York Times |
| 15 June 2012 |
Wells Fargo Bank: A Predatory Lender Pays up
The Baltimore Sun
15 July 2012
Baltimore`s effort to recover millions of dollars in lost revenue stemming from the wave of home foreclosures that followed the collapse of the housing market in 2007 was vindicated Thursday when Wells Fargo Bank, the nation`s largest mortgage lender,
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