Forced Evictions in Bangladesh. We didn't stand a chance. COHRE and ACHR Mission Report

THIS PUBLICATION PRESENTS the findings, conclusions and recommendations of a four-person joint fact-finding mission undertaken by COHRE and ACHR to Dhaka, Bangladesh in August 2000, to investigate reports of large-scale forced evictions.
COHRE is an international human rights NGO that undertakes a wide variety of activities supporting the full realization of housing rights for all. COHRE views forced evictions – as does the United Nations – as a gross violation of human rights, and campaigns against them. ACHR is a regional organization concerned with housing and human settlement issues, made up of a coalition of about 500 CBOs, NGOs, concerned individuals/ professionals and government officials from across Asia.

This report reflects the team’s discussions with many people in Dhaka, in particular affected community leaders, as well as documentation provided by various NGOs, government officials and individuals. It begins with a brief outline of the situation of the urban poor and their housing conditions in Dhaka City and continues with a description of the Bangladesh government’s various responses to the housing conditions of the urban poor and the scale of forced evictions. This is followed by a summary of the international and domestic laws violated by the forced evictions; the situation of the people after being evicted; and conclusions and recommendations.

The main finding of the mission was that homes in 44 settlements in Dhaka City were violently demolished in the year leading up to August 2000, making 19,432 families, or approximately 100,000 people, homeless and causing losses to the evicted slum dwellers of millions of Takas; all this under the directive of the Home Minister of the government of Bangladesh. Many more families potentially face forced evictions in future in Dhaka. The report highlights how these violent forced evictions have violated the constitution of Bangladesh, its stated domestic policies and its obligations under international law, of which the government is a signatory. It concludes with a series of recommendations designed to ameliorate the present situation and living conditions in the slum settlements in and around Dhaka, and refers to innovative ways of dealing with issues around squatter settlements, drawing upon other Asian experiences.