Post-Tsunami Relief and Rehabilitation
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ISBN 81-902569-0-4 Fact- finding Habitat International Coalition (HIC) is an independent, international, non-profit movement of over Mission 450 members specialized in various aspects of human settlements. Members include NGOs, social Report movements, academic and research institutions, professional associations and like-minded individuals from 80 countries in both the North and South, all dedicated to the realization of the human right to adequate housing for all. 8 Many of HIC’s programmatic activities are managed through Thematic Structures: n Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN) n Habitat and Environment Committee (HEC) n Women and Shelter Network (HIC-WAS) n Working Group on Housing Finance and Resource Mobilization n Social Production Working Group What are HLRN’s Objectives? HLRN shares with general HIC, a set of objectives that bind and shape HLRN’s commitment to communities struggling to secure housing and improve their habitat conditions. HLRN seeks to advocate the recognition, defence and full implementation of every human’s right everywhere to a secure place to live in peace and dignity by: n Promoting public awareness about human-settlement problems and needs globally n Cooperating with UN human rights bodies to develop and monitor standards of the human right to adequate housing, as well as clarify states’ obligations to respect, protect, promote and fulfill the right n Defending the human rights of the homeless, poor and inadequately housed n Upholding legal protection of the human right to housing as a first step to support communities pursuing housing solutions, including social production n Providing a common platform for them to formulate strategies through social movements and progressive NGOs in the field of human settlements, and n Advocating on their behalf in international forums To attain these objectives, HLRN member services include: n Building local, regional and international member cooperation to form effective housing rights campaigns n Human resource development, human rights education and training n Enhancing self-representation skills and opportunities n Action research and publication n Exchanging and disseminating member experiences, best practices and strategies n Advocacy and lobbying on behalf of victims n Developing tools and techniques for professional monitoring of housing rights n Urgent action against forced eviction and other violations To become a member of HIC-HLRN log on to www.hlrn.org South Asia Regional Programme Post-tsunami Relief and Rehabilitation: Housing and Land Rights Network HABITAT INTERNATIONAL COALITION A Violation of Human Rights B-28 Nizamuddin East, New Delhi 110013, India Tel./Fax: + 91 (0)11 2435-8492 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.hic-sarp.org Housing and Land Rights Network HABITAT INTERNATIONAL COALITION Post-tsunami Relief and Rehabilitation: A Violation of Human Rights Report of a Fact-finding Mission to Tsunami-affected Areas of Tamil Nadu, India and Sri Lanka South Asia Regional Programme Housing and Land Rights Network HABITAT INTERNATIONAL COALITION August 2005 RECOMMENDATIONS 1 Acknowledgements The Housing and Land Rights Network South Asia Regional Programme conducted this fact-finding mission in close coordination with partners in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka, who facilitated our meetings and travel. We are grateful to them for their time and invaluable assistance. Tamil Nadu In Chennai, we would like to thank Aruna, Beulah Azariah and Neelavalli at Initiatives: Women in Development (IWID); in Cuddalore, V. Nadansabapathy and the team at Centre for Rural Education and Economic Development (CREED); in Nagapattinam, Jesu Rathinam and Gandhimathy of Social Needs Education and Human Awareness (SNEHA); in Nagercoil, M. Valarmathi and Alex Tuscano and the team at Praxis, and A. Maria James and the team at Rural Uplift Centre. Peter Das, TSS Mani, and other members of Fisher Movements’ Coordination of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry (FIMCOTNP) provided useful information and insights. We are also grateful to our driver Vijay Kumar. Sri Lanka INFORM Centre for Human Rights and Documentation helped organise the fact-finding mission in Sri Lanka. We are very grateful to Sunila Abeysekerra for her advice and help in coordinating the visit, and to Udaya Kalupathirana for his insights on the issue, his time, company and his translation assistance. In Galle, we would like to thank Keerti Hewage from Citizens Committee for Human Rights; in Batticalao, the Suriya Women’s Development Centre and Women’s Coalition for Disaster Management, and Sitralega Maunaguru, member of the Regional Advisory Council of the National Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka; and, in Akkaraipattu, Senthu Raja and his team from Sri Lankan Organisations Networking for Development (SOND). Special thanks to our driver Karunasena for his patience and skill, and to our Tamil interpreters Vishwalingam and Renuka Rani (in Batticalao). 2 HABITAT INTERNATIONAL COALITION - Housing and Land Rights Network New Zealand AID (NZAID) provided the funding for the fact-finding mission and publication of this report. We would like to especially acknowledge Suzanne Loughlin for her help in coordinating this grant. Most of all we owe this report to the people of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka who opened their lives to us and shared their pain, their stories, and their dreams. This report is dedicated to them. To their strength, their resilience, their endurance, their spirit, their patience, and most of all their hope. May their rights be recognised and upheld, and may their hope see light. RECOMMENDATIONS 3 List of Abbreviations AWF Affected Women’s Forum CCZ Coastal Conservation Zone CEDAW Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women CERD International Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child CRZ Coastal Regulation Zone DFID UK Department for International Development GO Government Order HIC Habitat International Coalition HLRN Housing and Land Rights Network HRAH human right to adequate housing ICESCR International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights ILO International Labour Organisation INGO international non-government organisation INR Indian rupee IOM International Organisation for Migration km kilometre LKR Sri Lankan rupee LTTE Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam m metre MoU memorandum of understanding NGO non-government organisation Rs. rupees TAFOR Task Force for Relief TAFREN Task Force for Rebuilding the Nation TRO Tamil’s Rehabilitation Organisation UDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights UN United Nations UNICEF United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund USD United States dollar 4 HABITAT INTERNATIONAL COALITION - Housing and Land Rights Network Table of Contents Executive Summary .................................................................................... vi Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 General Overview ..................................................................................... 4 Violation of Human Rights..................................................................... 5 Lack of Information, Consultation and Community Participation......... 6 Lack of Accountability, Transparency and Coordination....................... 7 Women’s Concerns ............................................................................ 12 Children’s Concerns ............................................................................ 14 Human Right to Adequate Housing ...................................................... 16 Overview ..................................................................................................... 18 1. Security of Tenure ....................................................................... 22 2. Access to public goods and services ........................................ 25 3. Access to natural resources ....................................................... 34 4. Habitability .................................................................................... 37 5. Accessibility.................................................................................. 43 6. Location ........................................................................................ 45 7. Cultural appropriateness.............................................................. 49 8. Information and Participation ....................................................... 51 9. Physical Security ......................................................................... 53 Impact of Tsunami on Livelihoods ........................................................ 57 Recommendations .................................................................................... 65 Annexes: Annex I: Tamil Nadu Government Order 172 .......................................... 74 Annex II: Tamil Nadu Government Memorandum of Understanding ....... 79 Annex III: Sri Lankan Government Temporary Housing Guidelines ......... 86 Annex IV: Notes on Buffer Zone in Sri Lanka ........................................... 90 RECOMMENDATIONS 5 Executive Summary After receiving reports on the inadequacy of relief and rehabilitation measures for tsunami-survivors in both India and Sri Lanka, especially in terms of housing, the Housing and Land Rights Network (South Asia Regional Programme) decided to undertake a visit to the areas to investigate the conditions. The fact-finding mission to Tamil Nadu, India and Sri