Tsunami Response, a Human Rights Assessment

TSUNAMI RESPONSE A HUMAN RIGHTS ASSESSMENT PDHRE, People’s Movement for Human Rights Learning Habitat International Coalition – Housing and Land Rights Network CONTENTS “All people and all human beings, without Foreword 03 distinction as to race, colour, sex, language, Reflections 07 religion, nationality, ethnic origin, family or social Executive summary 09 status, or political or other conviction, shall have Introduction 13 the right to live in dignity and freedom and to Land 15 enjoy the fruits of social progress and should, Housing 23 on their part, contribute to it.” Livelihoods 33 United Nations Declaration on Social Progress and Women 41 Development, 1969 General Assembly resolution 2542. Discrimination 49 General recommendations 54 Appendices 57 Appendix one: methodology 57 Appendix two: list of locations 58 surveyed Appendix three: joint statement 60 by Miloon Kothari and Walter Kälin January 2006 03 FOREWORD The December 2004 tsunami A lack of access to education, a rapidly to natural disasters and unleashed loss and destruction of lack of security of tenure for land mitigate their impact”.2 horrific magnitude in 12 countries1 and housing, domestic violence in Asia and Africa. One year after and other forms of gender Inadequate response and a lack the tragedy, despite the discrimination conspire to hamper of consideration for the human tremendous efforts of local, recovery. The presence of military rights of victims creates a human- national and international forces in camps where tsunami induced tragedy that exacerbates agencies, the rehabilitation and survivors are living and the lack of the plight of those already reconstruction process is fraught privacy in temporary shelters suffering the effects of a disaster with difficulties. have caused serious concern for brought on by natural causes. women’s physical safety. This is Therefore, individual states, Even though all the affected compounded by an absence of international agencies including countries have ratified adequate health services. the UN and its programmes, civil international human rights society and the private sector, instruments, they are failing to Greater efforts must also be must redouble efforts towards the meet these standards in post- made to uphold the rights of realisation of human rights tsunami relief and rehabilitation children. Special guarantees are worldwide, including rights to work. Allegations of human yet to be put in place to enable disaster-preparedness and rights violations in tsunami- orphaned children to receive disaster-response. Indeed this is affected areas are rampant. entitlements to land and essential if we are to reduce the These include discrimination in compensation. Instead these loss of life, human suffering and aid distribution, forced relocation, assets are being absorbed into homelessness resulting from arbitrary arrests and sexual and the existing family units of disasters in the future. It is only gender-based violence. One year temporary guardians. through national and international on, tsunami reconstruction efforts cooperation based on human are plagued with serious delays Under international human rights rights standards3 that people and have not been given the law, individual states bear the uprooted and at risk as a result of priority they warrant. primary responsibility for devastating natural disasters can protecting the rights of their be effectively protected. While international attention is populations, including the rights to fading, post-tsunami challenges food, water, health, education and This report is a significant continue to have an enormous adequate housing. This contribution. It assesses the impact on the family structures responsibility extends to natural status of post-tsunami and social relations of affected disasters. As recently as reconstruction and clearly communities. This impact has September 2005, during the 60th highlights multiple human rights been particularly severe on session of the General Assembly violations in Indonesia, Thailand, women and other vulnerable of the United Nations, heads of Sri Lanka, India and the Maldives. groups, including children. state specifically expressed their It makes the demand for human commitment to “support the rights standards in resettlement Women continue to be efforts of countries... to strengthen and reconstruction all the more marginalised in the rehabilitation their capacities at all levels in urgent.4 Non-discriminatory and reconstruction process. order to prepare for and respond access to relief and rehabilitation, 04 05 mechanisms to ensure livelihoods and homes of those transparency and accountability, affected, it is vital that immediate and provision for the active humanitarian needs be participation of survivors are complemented with long-term fundamental, while all efforts must rehabilitation and reconstruction take into account the special programmes based on needs and concerns of women. international human rights standards, which uphold The report findings represent an survivors’ rights to dignity, opportunity to put things right. equality, livelihood and We know that there has been adequate conditions of living. some excellent work by governments and non- governmental organisations Miloon Kothari (NGOs) in the wake of the Special Rapporteur tsunami – the speed and scale of on Adequate Housing the response meant that lives United Nations Commission were saved and many predicted on Human Rights outbreaks of epidemics were contained – but it is not enough. New Delhi, January 2006 We can see that where people have organised, they have pushed governments and NGOs 1. Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Maldives, Somalia and on lesser scale in six to be responsive, and we should other countries of Asia and Africa build on these efforts. 2. See 2005 World Summit Outcome Document at http://www.un.org/summit2005/documents All actors involved in relief and .html rehabilitation work must 3. Human rights standards including the undertake efforts to make sure International Covenant on Economic, Social that the grave mistakes made in and Cultural Rights, and the Guiding post-disaster experiences of the Principles on Internal Displacement past are not repeated. Failure to 4. A compilation entitled International Human Rights Standards on Post-Disaster immediately comply with human Resettlement and Rehabilitation prepared by rights standards will deepen the Habitat International Coalition – Housing and human-induced tragedy already Land Rights Network and People’s Movement for Human Rights Learning, in afflicted on the survivors of the collaboration with the UN Special Rapporteur tsunami. The resolve shown by on adequate housing, documents some of these existing standards: www.pdhre.org/HIC- states and the international PDHRE.pdf community in the immediate aftermath of the tsunami must not be allowed to dissipate. In the process of rebuilding the lives, 06 07 REFLECTIONS No event in living memory has produced a response on the scale of the December 2004 tsunami. Much of the public and international reaction was due to the chilling images broadcast around the world of lives, homes and livelihoods being lost, swept away in the torrents of water that engulfed the coastline. The responsibility is on us all – community groups, international NGOs and governments – to use the money donated to make a lasting difference to the millions of families affected by the tsunami. Though communities and NGOs are undoubtedly important actors, it is governments who control the lion’s share of relief and rehabilitation funds and who are ultimately responsible for protecting human rights. They should not be allowed to abdicate their responsibilities. People have a right to demand adequate rehabilitation. This report looks specifically at how governments have dealt with human rights through the distribution of emergency relief, compensation and longer-term reconstruction. Whilst much of what governments have done in exceptionally difficult circumstances has been good, this report highlights a culture of failure to deliver to some of the most needy, some of the poorest and some of the people already on the margins of society due to their gender, their race or their ethnicity. From its inception, ActionAid has believed that to bring about a fairer, more just and more equal society, we must challenge the age-old prejudices that leave millions of people without a voice in the democratic process and without the power to bring about meaningful changes in their lives. Communities who live on the margins of society are at the centre of ActionAid’s work. We campaign with them for their right to live a life free from fear, free from poverty and free from prejudice in the only way we know how – by making governments accountable for their actions and the effect they have on their people. Ramesh Singh Chief Executive, ActionAid International 09 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. This report 3. Findings Generally, living conditions in temporary shelters and relief This report is about human rights 3.1 Land camps were found to be far in countries hit by the December The disaster has provided an below minimum standards set by 2004 tsunami. It focuses on the opportunity for governments to the UN.5 More specifically: accountability of governments and introduce new Statutes and/or their role in responding to the reinforce old ones that threaten — Overcrowding and inadequate tsunami. It also examines how new to take away people’s right to lighting has left women and legislation, policies

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