Global Report on Human Settlements 2007 - PoA-ISS

Enhancing tenure security and ending forced evictions
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Box 11.12 The Fukuoka Declaration
The Fukuoka Declaration was adopted in 2001 at a seminar on
securing land for the urban poor. The declaration asserted that:
1 Secure tenure is a major contribution to the alleviation
of poverty, to advancing sustainable
livelihoods, to improving choices and opportunities
for men and women; for accessing services; and for
the recognition of the citizenship of the urban poor
and the rights that go with such citizenship.
2 The fundamental principle of secure tenure
endorsed by all Governments at the City Summit is
a culture of governance and a legal and administrative
system that prevents forced and arbitrary
evictions from land and homes; provides effective
redress for those who are so evicted whether by
public agencies or private interests; and a fair
hearing before, and alternative accommodation in
the event of, any eviction or relocation that is
adjudged to be necessary in the public interest.
3 Governments must adopt policies and where
necessary reform legal and administrative systems
to enable women to have access to land and credit
through market processes; to inherit land; and to
achieve secure tenure of land in ways which are no
less favourable than those which apply to men.
Policies must address historical imbalances which
have disadvantaged women in relation to their
access to land.
4 Secure tenure embraces a range of relationships
between humankind and land. Governments must
adopt policies and adapt administrative and legal
systems to give recognition and endorsement to
relationships based on customary tenure; practices
and tenurial relationships developed by the urban
poor themselves; communal forms of tenure; intermediate,
flexible and innovative forms of tenure
which are less than freehold tenure.
5 The participation of the urban poor is central to
any proposed solutions to the challenges of developing
policies and programmes to ensure secure
tenure; governance systems must be adapted to
facilitate and actively assist the urban poor to
contribute to the development and the implementation
of policies and programmes to that end.
Source: UN-Habitat and ESCAP, 2002
rights is one such way of unifying the various approaches to
providing security of tenure.
Clearly, much more needs to be accomplished in the
quest for secure tenure for all. And, as discussed above,
there are, in fact, hundreds of measures that can be instigated
today to strengthen ongoing processes in support of
security of tenure and against forced eviction. With
hundreds of millions of people still living without security of
tenure, clearly renewed action is required. The following
sub-sections thus outline some areas for priority action for
what will obviously be a long and arduous journey
Housing, land and property (HLP) rightsbased
housing and urban policies
For a start, there is a need for housing policies that are more
consciously pro-poor and pro-human rights. Such a policy
can be developed in its generic dimensions at the international
level and subsequently applied within nations
everywhere. A framework for such policies is outlined in
Table 11.1. This comprehensive framework includes relevant
elements from international law, including prohibition of any
forms of discrimination, with provisions recommended by
human settlements practitioners, all of which have direct
implications for enhancing security of tenure or ending
forced evictions. It should be noted that the steps indicated
may not be applicable in all locations.
Support the awareness-raising work of local
institutions and organizations
Experience from all over the world highlights the importance
of local institutions and actors when it comes to protecting
the housing rights of the poor. NGOs and CBOs in particular
play essential roles in awareness-raising about HLP rights at
national and local levels. Without their efforts, the number
of people evicted during the last decades would have been
considerably higher. In many instances such organizations
are the only support mechanism available to slum dwellers
when they are threatened by forced eviction. Even if there
are laws protecting the housing rights of slum dwellers, this
is not much help to people who are unaware of their rights,
or unable to make use of appeals mechanisms where such do
exist. International cooperation activities should thus
increasingly encourage the formation of, enhance the capacities
of and/or support the activities of such local
organizations or institutions.
Promoting residential justice
Every year, millions of people end up as refugees, IDPs and
evictees, whether due to development projects, city beautification
schemes, armed conflict, natural and human-made
disasters, or other factors. Virtually all of these individuals
are entirely innocent victims of circumstances beyond their
control, and for many their wish to return to their original
homes is never achieved. And, yet, every legal system on
Earth – especially international law – clearly gives all human
rights victims the right to an effective remedy – a means of
Even if there are
laws protecting the
housing rights of
slum dwellers, this
is not much help to
people who are
unaware of their
rights, or unable to
make use of appeals
mechanisms where
such do exist