One would want to ask whether the act of the Defendant is an administrative
preventive measure or whether it is a punitive measure. If it is punitive, suffice to
say that it must fulfil the domestic and international conditions proving that such an
act was sanctioned by a judicial authority after fulfilling the requirement of fair trial
and that it should be considered as a legitimate measure and not a cruel and inhuman
act. This is not the position in the instant case as this position is clearly akin to a
forced eviction.
Forced eviction is the removal of individuals, families or communities from their
homes, land or neighborhood, against their will, directly or indirectly attributable to
the State.
The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights considers
forced evictions to be the “permanent or temporary removal against the will of
individuals, families and/or communities from the homes and/or land which they
occupy, without the provision of, and access to, appropriate forms of legal or other
protection.” Evictions and expropriations may be lawful when they are conducted in
exceptional circumstances, and in full accordance with relevant provisions of
international human rights and humanitarian law. Forced evictions are prohibited
under international law.
The Respondent has not proved that the demolition was done in accordance with the
law, neither has it been proven to have been done in the overall interest of the public.
Most importantly, the Respondent has failed to lead any evidence to prove any causal
link that the property in question was used to harbor kidnap victims.
The Respondent states that the Applicants’ are not entitled to recovery of any
property or compensation and that they have not held the Applicants’ vicariously
guilty neither were they punished for any purported offence. What better meaning
could be given to the acts of the Respondent in the circumstance?
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has placed considerable
emphasis on forced evictions and has asserted, in its General Comment No. 4 (1991)
on the right to adequate housing that “instances of forced eviction are prima facie
incompatible with the requirements of the [International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights] and can only be justified in the most exceptional
circumstances, and in accordance with the relevant principles of international law”
In Centre for Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) v. Sudan
Communication 296/2005 (29th July 2010) ACHR, the African Commission found
violations of the right to property (Article14) of the African Charter on Human and
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