Download the file - United Nations Rule of Law

Vulnerability, risk and resilience: Towards a conceptual framework37in jail for common crimes, or the rights of people withdisabilities to access public space, or the right not to bediscriminated against on the basis of race, ethnic identity orgender.The presence and weight of human rights is directlyapplicable to the problem of insecurity of tenure and forcedevictions. Because freedom from forced evictions is nowincluded in international human rights law, as mentionedearlier and explained in greater detail in Chapters 5 and 6,citizens fearing such evictions can invoke this legal frameworkin order to avoid such evictions or to claimcompensation. While these processes are tedious and oftendo not provide compensation in a timely manner, the right toinvoke legal protection has had a dramatic effect on manypeople and institutions planning new projects on alreadyoccupied land in cities, and for which new projects wouldrequire resettlement of existing occupants. It has led toformulation and wide publication of new guidelines forofficial practice in city agencies, as well as international institutionssuch as the World Bank, 53 whose policies then mustbe aligned with those of the cities and countries receivinginternational assistance, thereby multiplying the impact ofsuch guidelines.An important dimension of these new guidelines isthe requirement for public consultation. While such requirementshave been in force in many developed countries formany years, this step in approving planning and constructionprojects represents a major new departure in developingcountries, opening up further possibilities for politicalempowerment. 54The existence of human rights for secure tenure andagainst forced eviction is also related to the importantsubjects of inheritance and property rights. In manycountries, women are denied such rights even though theyare the effective managers of household resources. Ifwomen have a right not to be evicted, this fact immediatelyhas implications for who is entitled to security of tenure.This does not apply only to the case of evictions, but iscommon, for example, in cases of who is entitled to receiverecovery or reconstruction assistance or compensationfollowing disasters. In most cases, these forms of assistanceare allocated to ‘property owners’, frequently recognizedonly as the male ‘head of household’, ignoring the fact thatin most cities there is a significant proportion of femaleheadedhouseholds. But if this bias did not in the pastreflect the role of women in rebuilding communities afterdisasters, now such bias is increasingly a legal issue, as well,for those women able to present such cases to judicialauthorities.Human rights, in this sense, is a powerful pathway forhelping women and other disadvantaged groups to obtaintheir lawful status and rights, but also to be effective participantsin the reconstruction of infrastructure, shelter andcommunity services. This implies a much broader view ofthe process of change where women’s groups actually establishprecedents and protocols for community recovery. Thishas two important dimensions: women’s participation and,hence, their recognition as legitimate community actors, andthe likelihood of community outcomes being different –indeed, being more sustainable – if they are involved.Several examples of women’s mobilization emphasizethis point. The most effective campaigns against drivingunder the influence of alcohol and juvenile delinquency inthe US have been organized by women such as Mothersagainst Drunk Driving (MADD), whose right to protect theirchildren could not be opposed by anyone. Similarly, inKingston, Jamaica, women’s groups analysed the nature ofneighbourhood violence and organized different approachesto managing it. 55 In Gujarat State in India, the Self-EmployedWomen’s Association (SEWA) has built a major organizationover 35 years that has significantly enhanced their participationin development and is now active in providingcommunity finance as well. Women’s groups in Latin Americahave also been proactive and have changed the politicallandscape in these areas (see Chapter 8). All of these casessuggest that recognition of the right to participate in ensuringsafety is a major asset in helping to build social resilience atthe community and, eventually, the urban level.Civil society and cultureThe third pathway to resilience is through civil society andculture. While the previous examples highlight the role andmobilization of women in addressing problems of urbansafety and security, these efforts need to be placed withinthe wider context of civil society as a whole. Clearly, one ofthe legacies of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of theCold War has been the legitimacy given to civil society. Ifcivic participation had been caught in the ideological battlesof the Cold War, it is now understood as a desirable and,indeed, necessary component of societal decision-makingand problem-solving, regardless of what definition or form ofdemocracy is adopted. The diversity and capacity of civilsociety organizations at both the global and national levelshave expanded many fold. 56The three threats to urban safety and securitydiscussed in Chapter 1 represent increasingly serioushazards to society. Crime and violence, forced evictions anddisasters destroy existing forms of social capital, as well asinjure individuals and households. This social capital, in theform of formal and informal institutions, social knowledgeand problem-solving capacity, is a critical ingredient inprotecting individuals and groups from threats to urbansecurity.The role of social capital, as distinct from individualcapacity, is very important. Experience in confronting thesehazards has demonstrated that individuals cannot withstandsuch risks by themselves. Rather, there is strength innumbers. It is, therefore, critical to determine what are thecapacities and rights needed to strengthen civil societies inthe face of such threats. These capacities depend, first, upona set of rights, including the right to anticipate the future, 57the right to information about such threats, the right toorganize, and the right to participate in decisions affectingprevention, mitigation, relief, recovery and redevelopment.Building capacities to exercise those rights is much morecomplicated and will be discussed in some detail in subsequentchapters of this report.The presence andweight of humanrights is directlyapplicable to theproblem ofinsecurity oftenure and forcedevictionsSocial capital … is acritical ingredientin protectingindividuals andgroups from threatsto urban security