March 31, 2023
Press Release
It is necessary to follow the legal process for the action of demolishing illegal construction and considering the social crisis that the action may cause, it is necessary to facilitate alternative solutions.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission in the Oromia region around Addis Ababa city, in the recently reorganized Sheger city administration, among the areas where demolition and forced eviction are taking place are Burayu, Sebeta, Legetafo Legedadi, Menabchu and surrounding areas. Following the petitions submitted by individuals and groups to the commission from February, 2023. EHRC has been monitoring and investigating since then. Accordingly, contacting the people who have complained to the commission, the relevant city administration and security agencies; EHRC collected information and evidence by moving around the different areas of the city and observing the conditions of the process of demolishing houses and forcibly re-opening them, as well as field observations of previously demolished houses.
The people who complained to EHRC explained to the commission that they were living by buying land or houses from previous/existing owners in each area, that they were beneficiaries of water and electricity services from social service institutions in each area, and that they had been paying fees for various development projects in the area like any other community. They state that they were unlawfully terminated with adequate prior warning.
The Sheger city officials that EHRC talked to said that the city administration is in the process of demolishing buildings that “do not have legal ownership certificates” following the establishment of a new one. Also, those who do not have a legal certificate of ownership, including an aerial map, who are outside the existing farmer’s possession, and especially since 2012. That houses that were built later were demolished according to the rules, and regarding the process of demolishing the houses, discussions were held with the owners of the houses at the sub-city, district and kebele level to create sufficient awareness and after the houses to be demolished were first marked, they were given time to demolish the construction themselves. The officials of the city administration further explained to the commission that if there are people, they will demolish the constructions with the demolition task force, and the demolished construction materials will be taken to the city administration for a decision.
EHRC has toured the areas of Legtafo Le Gedadi, Furi and Bu Teklehimin in Sebeta and Burayu Gefersa Nono areas and observed the areas that were demolished earlier and where the demolition work was being done. The commission was able to visit Gedadi sub-district in Getafo and see the houses that were being demolished. During the observation, he observed that the house demolition and forced evacuation was being done by a task force and that there were other civilians armed with sticks in addition to the police, special forces and militia members.
Although the monitoring and investigation work has not been fully completed, according to the information and evidence found so far, Isemeco states the following regarding the gaps in the house demolition and forced removal measures in terms of human rights and the corrective measures that should be taken.
According to the principles of international law and human rights, forced eviction refers to the temporary or permanent removal of a person or family or community from their home or place of residence without their consent, without providing them with alternative solutions or legal protection.
That the action was not done properly
It is said that the demolition of the house and the forced removal refers to the constructions made on the properties that violate the master plan of the city and were obtained by invading the government property and illegal land transactions with the farmers. In the monitoring and investigation conducted by EHRC, he realized that the houses that are being demolished are classified into different types of rooms.
The first part is from 2012. Regarding the houses that were built before, as stipulated in the Decree No. 721/2011 on leasing urban land in the country, Article 6(4) and (5) stipulates that the houses that were built informally before the issuance of the decree will be converted to the regular version when they meet the urban plan and Shinshano standard. However, the commission’s investigation revealed that these houses were demolished without carrying out the relocation work by ensuring that they met the requirements that would allow them to be moved to the regular version as per the law.
The second part is houses acquired by purchase; If it is said that among these houses, those houses that have a standard map, an aerial map and a green book, and have a court order to prevent demolition, do not go with the city plan; According to the law, they should have been given an alternative place of work and appropriate compensation. Even if the houses were built on rural land, according to Oromia Rural Land Management and Use Proclamation No. 130/1999 Article 6(8), they should be given enough time to remove their property and should not be demolished suddenly.
The third and fourth parts are houses built on the land acquired through illegal land sales with farmers and from 2005. Later they are houses built on government properties without legal permission.
Therefore, since the houses that were demolished are based on different versions, appropriate identification and verification should be done according to the situation. Even if it is a legal action to demolish an illegal construction and take back a place owned by the government; International human rights law stipulates that house demolitions and forced resettlement should not be done in a way that renders citizens homeless and that the mere fact that it is permitted by law and done for the purpose of acceptance cannot be a sufficient reason. According to Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which Ethiopia ratified, citizens have the right to housing. In order to prevent homelessness, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights said that in order to prevent homelessness, they should be given a legal tenure guarantee or an alternative solution. He puts it at No. 7 in his general opinion on lifting.
The fact that the action was carried out without sufficient prior warning (obligation to notify in advance).
Although the type of land holding where the house is wanted to be demolished varies the amount of advance warning period that should be given by law; However, in any type of possession and all types of houses (houses built on land owned by formal or informal means) without prior warning, a residential house cannot be demolished. This is clearly stipulated in Article 8(8) of the Decree No. 1161/2011 and Article 26(4) of the Decree No. 721/2004 on Leasing of Urban Areas for the purpose of public interest.
Before demolishing the houses, the city administration stated that adequate advance warning was given and a discussion was held with the residents so that there are people who have already removed their properties according to the instructions, but it was found that this basic condition has not been implemented in some areas. EHRC talked to many people whose houses were destroyed.
They said that they were informed and that the subversive task force suddenly came and demolished them. For example, the commission spoke to families whose houses were destroyed without collecting their wealth after they went to work in a place commonly known as Lebu Tekle Religion. At the same time, people whose houses were demolished in the area known as Keis Sefer in Legetafo Le Gedadi sub-district said that the destructive task force suddenly came and started removing tins in their houses.
About the existence of discriminatory action
It is one of the principles of human rights recognized by international human rights documents and national laws that any actions taken by the government should be free from discrimination. It was possible to observe that discriminatory actions are being taken in some places where EHRC has monitored and investigated. For example, in the area known as Kees Sefer in Getafo Le Gedadi sub-city, two houses were left out of the houses that were built and other houses were demolished. The people whose houses were demolished expressed their belief that the discrimination was based on ethnicity, but the government officials explained that this was not the case.
Arrest, physical and psychological harm and abuse
In some places, the process of demolition and forced resettlement has resulted in violence, abuse, physical and psychological harm, and imprisonment. Considering that people are expected to be emotional when their hard-earned property is destroyed, the response of the government’s security forces should be restrained and based on patience. However, EHRC has learned that in some areas, those who protested against the demolition of their houses, blocked the road, and raised noise, were beaten with disproportionate force by the security forces, a certain amount of physical damage was caused, psychological damage was caused to families and children, and some people were imprisoned for different amounts of time.
The city administration, on the other hand, said that there are people who organized in groups to disrupt the work in the areas commonly known as Lebu Tekleheman and Menabchu and tried to harm the security forces. However, EHRC has received information that a human life has been lost in a domestic horse attack in a place called Philidoro, and he is monitoring this matter. The city administration stated that there were people who were temporarily arrested and explained that all of them were released after investigation was done in a short period of time.
According to the information and evidence collected by EHRC from the complainants and relevant government bodies, the demolition and forced removal action has led many families to severe economic and social crisis; Students were forced to drop out of school. Many families are unable to carry out their daily activities; Many families were displaced and forced to move to other places; Some of them fell on the road or were forced to gather at various local shelters and wait for government assistance.
The regional government and the city administration should have ensured that human rights are respected and protected by facilitating alternative solutions, taking into account the fact that the houses have been provided with electricity and water and other social services for many years and have been helping the residents to establish a social life.
Provided that appropriate preventive measures have been taken in advance to prevent similar illegal possessions from spreading in the future; Demolition and forced resettlement should only be used as a last resort and should be carried out in a manner that respects human rights and a legal system where complaints can be investigated.
Therefore, people who have been affected by this demolition and forced removal should be provided with a way to legally get a home and to be compensated for the damage to their property as soon as possible.
Dr. Brightman Gebremichael, director of the social and economic rights work department of EHRC, said, “Although it is the government’s responsibility to protect informal properties, demolition and forced removal measures should not cause people’s lives to be disrupted and families to be separated; Instead, it should be ensured that social and economic rights are respected.”
