Nearly One Quarter of Those Still Homeless in Haiti Threatened with Eviction
The threat of imminent eviction looms over some 166,000 displaced
persons living in camps in Haiti, according to the findings of a
comprehensive report published by the IOM.
According to the report, nearly one in four of Haiti's 680,000
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) have been told by landowners
they must now leave the land they occupy since the 12 January 2010
earthquake or face eviction.
"The rapid pace of evictions is an important driver in the
decline of camp numbers, which IOM's Displacement Tracking Matrix
records as falling from 1.5 million people last year to 680,000
currently," says IOM Haiti's Chief of Mission Luca Dall'Oglio. "It
is apparent that many people are leaving the camps under duress,
and that evictions are playing an increasingly important role in
the population trends in camps."
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in Haiti
According to the report, the rising rate of evictions across
earthquake-affected areas is outpacing the capacity of the Haitian
government and the humanitarian community to deliver housing
solutions.
It finds that new threats of eviction have been identified in 68
camps since January 2011, compared with a total of 179 cases
reported between June and December in 2010.
Since June 2010, when evictions started in earnest, a total of
247 sites in ten communes have come under threat, affecting some
234,000 individuals thus far.
According to the report, 67 per cent of the displaced population
currently threatened with eviction lives on private land and 8 per
cent on public land. Land ownership for the remaining 25 per cent
of the displaced population remains unclear.
The commune most affected by evictions is Delmas in
Port-au-Prince where there have been verified threats of eviction
in 69 sites, affecting close to 135,000. Of those, some 27,000 have
already been forced to leave 10 settlements. The communes of
Petionville, Carrefour and Cité Soleil are also affected by
threats of evictions or actual evictions.
"This report confirms the need to put in place activities
focusing on return and housing solutions for displaced families,
focusing on the most vulnerable who have been evicted or face
imminent eviction," says Dall'Oglio.
IOM is currently working with the Haitian government and
humanitarian partners to provide shelter assistance to some 450
displaced families facing eviction from the capital's Silvio Cator
football stadium. Some 50 families have already been given
transitional shelters on a safe site. However, 400 families remain
at grave risk of being left homeless unless action is taken quickly
to secure more land for shelter.
As part of its Camp Coordination, Camp Management (CCCM)
leadership role, IOM has compiled the eviction information using
its camp management operations teams. These teams have been
supporting the IDP population in the mediation processes with the
landowners and helping residents to negotiate time extensions in
most cases. The aim is to provide sufficient time to allow for a
return strategy to provide the IDPs with durable and sustainable
solutions.
The report is available at the Camp Coordination and Camp
Management Cluster in Haiti website,
"paragraph-link-no-underline" href="http://www.cccmhaiti.info/"
target="_blank">http://www.cccmhaiti.info/
For more information please contact:
Leonard Doyle
IOM Haiti
Tel: + 509 3702 5066
E-mail:
"mailto:ldoyle@iom.int">ldoyle@iom.int