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UN officials urge govt to halt demolition plans

Fri, May 7th 2021, 09:36 PM
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UNITED Nations human rights experts on Friday urged the government to halt plans to demolish 600 homes in two shanty towns in Abaco known as The Farm and Farm Road.

In a joint sting operation last month, residents of the unregulated communities received notices from the government advising that action was to be taken in instances where people inhabited structures in violation of the Building Regulations Act. At the time, occupants residing in shanty town structures in the area were told demolition was imminent.
#Later in April, the Ministry of Works spearheaded the demolition of 45 “incomplete and unoccupied structures” in The Farm shanty town in Abaco.
#In a statement, UN officials asserted the forced evictions constituted a “serious violation of the human right to adequate housing and would result in arbitrary internal displacement”.
#“A community of Haitian descendants and migrants numbering up to 2,000 people, including many women and children, are at serious risk of becoming homeless as a result of the clearance expected to take place on May 7,” the statement read.
#“...To make things worse, this is scheduled to occur during the COVID-19 pandemic, threatening to expose an already vulnerable minority to all kinds of risks for their health and safety.”
#The experts noted the majority of the people occupying the unregulated communities in Abaco had “nowhere else to go” which meant they were at “serious risk” of falling into homelessness and extreme poverty if their homes were destroyed.
#They said while it was “important to move away from informal settlements” that lacked safety and infrastructure, “vulnerable minorities should not be left behind in the government’s efforts to rebuild more resilient communities”.
#“In early September 2019, Hurricane Dorian ravaged several parts of the Bahamas islands, completely destroying several informal settlements on Abaco, where many Haitian migrants and Bahamians of Haitian origin used to live. After several months of living in evacuation shelters, many of the survivors had to completely rebuild their homes – it is these that the authorities intend to destroy,” the UN experts continued.
#“In addition to the risk of becoming homeless, some migrants among the residents of the two informal settlements fear that they may be detained and deported. In recent years, there have been reports of undocumented migrants experiencing ill-treatment in detention, before being deported. Families have also been separated as a result. We urge the government of the Bahamas to immediately cease further evictions and housing demolitions. Furthermore we call on the government to review its migration policy, which includes the widespread use of detention and expulsion of migrants.”

In a joint sting operation last month, residents of the unregulated communities received notices from the government advising that action was to be taken in instances where people inhabited structures in violation of the Building Regulations Act. At the time, occupants residing in shanty town structures in the area were told demolition was imminent.

Later in April, the Ministry of Works spearheaded the demolition of 45 “incomplete and unoccupied structures” in The Farm shanty town in Abaco.

In a statement, UN officials asserted the forced evictions constituted a “serious violation of the human right to adequate housing and would result in arbitrary internal displacement”.

“A community of Haitian descendants and migrants numbering up to 2,000 people, including many women and children, are at serious risk of becoming homeless as a result of the clearance expected to take place on May 7,” the statement read.

“...To make things worse, this is scheduled to occur during the COVID-19 pandemic, threatening to expose an already vulnerable minority to all kinds of risks for their health and safety.”

The experts noted the majority of the people occupying the unregulated communities in Abaco had “nowhere else to go” which meant they were at “serious risk” of falling into homelessness and extreme poverty if their homes were destroyed.

They said while it was “important to move away from informal settlements” that lacked safety and infrastructure, “vulnerable minorities should not be left behind in the government’s efforts to rebuild more resilient communities”.

“In early September 2019, Hurricane Dorian ravaged several parts of the Bahamas islands, completely destroying several informal settlements on Abaco, where many Haitian migrants and Bahamians of Haitian origin used to live. After several months of living in evacuation shelters, many of the survivors had to completely rebuild their homes – it is these that the authorities intend to destroy,” the UN experts continued.

“In addition to the risk of becoming homeless, some migrants among the residents of the two informal settlements fear that they may be detained and deported. In recent years, there have been reports of undocumented migrants experiencing ill-treatment in detention, before being deported. Families have also been separated as a result. We urge the government of the Bahamas to immediately cease further evictions and housing demolitions. Furthermore we call on the government to review its migration policy, which includes the widespread use of detention and expulsion of migrants.”

 

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