Citizens for Justice and Peace
AIUFWP announces second National Conference to discuss land and forest rights Three-day conference will also discuss the challenges faced by the Farmers' Movement
29-Nov-2021
The All India Union of Forest Working People (AIUFWP) has announced its second national conference from December 1, 2021 to December 3, 2021 in New Delhi. It will discuss land, legal and constitutional rights of Adivasis, forest dwellers and other minorities in India at this conference. AIUFWP leaders Jarjum Ete, Ashok Chaudhary, Sokalo Gond, Roma…
Rights protect, policy evicts? Laws, procedures and international statutes pertaining to Housing and Eviction
05-Oct-2021
While the law and jurisprudence have created obstructions, there are instances where the Courts have stepped in to protect and emphasise the right to live without forced evictions and the right to housing. In wake of the forced evictions and killings in Assam, perhaps it is time to take a closer look at these rights.…
Forest village burns again in Lakhimpur Khiri CJP and AIUFWP appeal for Pucca houses and financial aid
20-Mar-2018
Dilawar Nagar, a small forest village in Lakhimpur-Khiri district of Uttar Pradesh, went up in flames for the third time on the morning of March 18. An electric bulb burst inside one of the houses at about 9am and the fire quickly spread and engulfed the entire village as all the houses were made of…
Women Sexually threatened in Mumbai’s Slums Sudden demolitions and lack of basic amenities make women vulnerable
09-Mar-2018
This International Working Women’s day, March 8, 2018 saw over 100 women from slums across Mumbai come together at a temporary shed in Jai Ambe Nagar in Govandi, to share experiences and challenges faced by them. The public meeting was organised by Ghar Bachao Ghar Bano (GBGB) Andolan, a group engaged in advocacy for the…
Due Process flouted in most Evictions in 2017: HLRN report Homes demolished without adequate notice, people thrown out on the street
01-Mar-2018
As the year 2017 came to an end and night temperatures dropped below 10 degrees in cities like Delhi, a large section of India’s poor found themselves without a roof above their heads. An extremely vulnerable state to be in, if one does not have the protection of a shelter, a home. Right to adequate housing…
1 in 10 young people in America suffer some form of homelessness
02-Jan-2018
The Guardian reported that a study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, found that, in the United States, one out of ten young adults aged 18-25 have slept shelters, in the streets, run away, or been thrown out of their homes, or have couch-surfed in the past year. The study, conducted by researchers at Chapin Hall…
US homelessness increases for the first time since recession
06-Dec-2017
A federal study has found that the number of homeless people in the United States has increased this year for the first time since the Great Recession, The Guardian reported. On a single night this year, 553,742 people were homeless, 0.7% more than last year. African Americans comprise more than one-third of the homeless population.…
Canada’s recognition of Right to Housing ‘historic’: UN
28-Nov-2017
The United Nations has hailed Canada’s decision to recognise housing as a fundamental right after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled the new housing strategy; it involves establishing up to 100,000 affordable housing units, the Hindustan Times reported. Leilani Farha, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to housing, said this step, and Canada’s “intention to…
Ramblings about the Maximum City Guest Blog by special invitation
20-Nov-2017
Changing physical spaces has an undeniable impact on the socio-cultural fabric of neighbourhoods. In this piece senior journalist, communications professional and author Ketan Vaidya, shares his experiences of growing up in Dadar and watching it change during the 90s. Dadar- The syncretic neighborhood that I grew up in, taught me many life lessons that…
India’s Housing Crisis: How the Poor Always Get a Raw Deal
08-Nov-2017
For activists and human rights defenders, engaging with issues of settlements, housing and eviction, has always posed a challenge. While there may be an understandable revulsion to the increasing brutality and violence with which most local authorities have been carrying out demolitions or evacuations, the sense of entitlement in the middle and professional classes fails…
Destruction in the Name of Development
04-Nov-2017
On October 28, 2017 in a spectacular, display of force and violence, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) started a brutal and questionably legal, demolition drive destroying buildings standing for 40 years now. Activists and students defending them were brutally hurt. We spoke to Annie Raja, leading political activist and general secretary of the NFIW (National Federation…