"They Pushed Down the Houses"

Forced Evictions and Insecure Land Tenure for Luanda's Urban Poor

Summary

Key Recommendations

To the Government of Angola..

Methodology

Background

Context of Forced Evictions in Luanda

The Right to Adequate Housing

International law relating to forced eviction..

Angolan law on housing and property rights

Forced eviction and demolition in Luanda

Intimidation and violence..

Excessive use of force..

Arbitrary detention and abuse while in police custody

Destruction and loss of personal property

Harassment of civil society organizations

Failure to apply minimum procedural safeguards

Lack of information and consultation..

Insufficient notice..

Inadequate compensation..

Compensation through relocation or resettlement

Failure to ascertain residents' rights

Repeated evictions from the same areas

Consequences of evictions

Inadequate shelter immediately following evictions

Impact on access to employment, health care and education..

Protection against Forced Evictions: Security of Tenure..

Inadequate land legislation and lack of public information about land rights and urban management policies

Ineffective land registration mechanisms

False perceptions of security of tenure by residents of informal areas

National and International Responses to Forced Evictions in Luanda

International Community

Angolan government

Other state institutions

Recommendations

To the Government of Angola..

To the United Nations

To the donor community

To the European Union..

Acknowledgements

Annex I

Annex II