Raising Interest

All over the globe thousands of the world’s poorest people live in constant fear of being forced from their homes. In 2009 more than 1.5 million people were forcibly evicted from their homes.

Most victims live in poverty or on the margins of society. They face discrimination and are unable to access justice. In most cases these evictions are conducted without any due process, consultation, adequate notice or compensation. Officials carrying out the evictions often use excessive force against residents such as firearms, dogs or lit torches which are used to set fire to homes. The effects of forced evictions are catastrophic and often result in people losing their personal possessions, social networks and livelihoods, as well as services such as schools and health care.

Mass forced evictions are on the increase as slums are demolished to make way for urban development or city ”beautification”’ projects. Forced evictions are cruel, humiliating and represent a breach of international law and yet they occur in every region of the world - including Cambodia, China, Bangladesh, Chad, Kenya and Georgia to name a few.

The panel will discuss this major human rights abuse and look at possible solutions to prevent forced evictions. Amnesty International will showcase their work on forced evictions and also present their campaign "Demand Dignity". The organization wants to provide attending journalists with some background information and ideas about how to work with this topic.

Moderation:
Monika Hoegen
Journalist and trainer

Panelists:
Joe Hall
Campaign Manager for Amnesty International’s global Demand Dignity campaign, UK

Justus Nyang'aya
Director of the Kenyan office of Amnesty International