Somalia: Forced Evictions of Displaced People | WPN World People News

Somali state security forces forcibly evicted about 21,000 displaced people in the capital, Mogadishu, in early March 2015. The authorities beat some of those evicted on March 4 and 5, destroyed their shelters, and left them without water, food, or other assistance. Many of those affected had fled their homes during the 2011 famine and fighting, and have been repeatedly displaced since then.

Somali authorities should cease forcibly evicting displaced people in Mogadishu, and adequately protect and assist them, Human Rights Watch said.

“The Somali government has done next to nothing over the last three years to address the miserable and unsafe living conditions for Mogadishu’s thousands of displaced people,” said Leslie Lefkow, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Now, instead of providing safe alternative options and much-needed water and sanitation, security forces are violently uprooting them, leaving them homeless and destitute.”

Human Rights Watch spoke with 17 camp residents and 6 other witnesses to the March evictions and analyzed satellite imagery of the area recorded between February 27 and April 9. From March 4 to 7, Somalia’s national police, national intelligence agency forces, and city council police forcibly evicted the thousands of internally displaced people from informal camps in the Kahda (formerly Dharkenley) district in Mogadishu. During the operation, security forces beat those resisting orders to vacate, destroyed shelters and shops with their hands and a bulldozer, and threatened displaced people.

Authorities failed to provide adequate notification and compensation to the communities facing eviction, and did not provide viable relocation or local integration options required by international law, Human Rights Watch said.

Aid organizations estimate that 1.1 million people throughout Somalia are displaced, including an estimated 370,000 in Mogadishu. Precise data is not available because the government has not officially registered displaced people. Since 2011, women, men, and children living in informal camps for the displaced have been subjected to serious abuses including rape, physical attacks, restrictions on access to humanitarian assistance, and clan-based discrimination at the hands of government forces and affiliated militia, as well as private parties.

According to the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, at least 25,700 people were forcibly evicted in the two months prior to the Kahda operation. However, the Kahda eviction was particularly brutal, Human Rights Watch said.

Human Rights Watch obtained a copy of a February 25, 2015 notice from the Benadir Regional Administration signed by the mayor of Mogadishu. It stated that people living in a specific 600-by-650-meter section of “government land” should vacate within a week and ordered the local district commissioner to inform affected communities.

Residents told Human Rights Watch that many did not receive the notice or any notification from the commissioner. Several first learned of the impending operation about three days before it began, when security forces arrived in the camps and painted the word “demolish” (dumis in Somali language) on some shops bordering the main road. No one interviewed had seen the official written order, and most had been unaware of the planned evictions.

Several camp residents said security forces beat them when they refused to vacate or dismantle their shelters on March 4.

Governments may lawfully evict people under exceptional circumstances, such as for the public interest. However, to be lawful, evictions must be carried out in accordance with both domestic and international human rights law, including with proper notification and other due process protections. Displaced people who are moved from where they are living must be given alternative housing and access to food, education, health care, employment, and other livelihood opportunities.

The Somali government has adopted a policy on displacement that spells out clear procedures aimed at protecting affected communities during evictions and ensuring that evictions are lawful, but has failed to observe them, Human Rights Watch said.

“At every turn of these operations, the authorities violated their own policies on evictions,” Lefkow said. “If the Somali authorities need to move displaced people, the local and federal authorities in Mogadishu should first put in place a plan that ensures people’s security and access to basic assistance.”

Those evicted told Human Rights Watch that they had relocated further north into an area known as the “Afgooye corridor,” a stretch of road between Mogadishu and the town of Afgooye. They said, though, that they lack access to clean water and sanitary facilities, raised health and security concerns, and said they would probably move again.

Security is a serious concern along the Afgooye corridor, with ongoing attacks by the armed Islamist group Al-Shabaab against government and African Union forces. One UN official told Human Rights Watch that the agency’s staff is reluctant to visit and monitor some of the more distant areas where the evictees are living due to insecurity.

“Forcibly evicting the displaced to insecure areas without protection and with limited assistance puts them at tremendous risk,” Lefkow said. “All concerned, including the government, donors, and aid agencies, should make sure any evictions fully respect the rights of displaced people before, during, and after any operations.”

Source: Human Rights Watch