Amnesty International Condemns Lagos-World Bank Compensation For Evicted Persons
The World Bank endorsed the Lagos state government’s inadequate compensation package for thousands of people forcibly evicted from an informal settlement, Amnesty International said in a report published today.
The body in a report published yesterday, said, “The World Bank wrongly endorsed a compensation process that was not consistent with international human rights standards or the bank’s own policy.
“It is an outrage that a community, left destitute by the actions of the Lagos state government, has been denied an effective remedy by the same government and that the World Bank has been complicit in this matter,” said Audrey Gaughran, director of Global Issues at Amnesty International.
“The bulldozing of hundreds of houses and businesses destroyed livelihoods and rendered thousands homeless. The subsequent failure to provide an effective remedy has only compounded victims’ misery pushing them deeper into poverty.”
The informal settlement of Badia East in Lagos state was chosen to benefit from a World Bank-funded project which aimed to increase access to basic services such as drainage, through investment in infrastructure. However, the demolition of at least 266 structures that served as homes and businesses took place without genuine consultation or adequate and reasonable notice and with no remedy for the loss suffered.
After mounting pressure the Lagos state government, in collaboration with the World Bank, agreed to develop and implement a retrospective Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) for the Badia East residents in line with the World Bank’s Policy on Involuntary Resettlement. However, both the content of the RAP and the process by which it was prepared contravened international human rights standards and World Bank policy.
The RAP failed to provide options for adequate alternative housing or relocation to other sites; ensure that affected people were offered the support needed to restore their livelihoods and standard of living; give adequate attention to addressing the needs of all disadvantaged groups; ensure adequate compensation was given to those affected. Instead “financial assistance” which contained amounts unilaterally determined by the government and considered inadequate by affected people was offered. In addition, the Lagos state government reneged on an agreement reached between a committee it had established and community representatives on compensation.
Despite these blatant failings the RAP was approved by the World Bank. The World Bank committed a further breach of its policy by failing to disclose a draft of the RAP before approval, exacerbating the challenges that affected people faced in engaging with the process.
Although some affected people asked for a full inspection of the case by the World Bank’s Inspection Panel – a body that is supposed to be independent of the Bank’s management – this was refused and the Panel also endorsed the RAP.
“The RAP – and the process by which it was developed – failed to adhere to human rights standards and has not addressed the terrible impact of the forced evictions suffered by the already vulnerable community of Badia East,” said Audrey Gaughran.
“It is imperative that the government of Lagos state act immediately to ensure all those forcibly evicted from Badia East are fully compensated for their losses and those who cannot provide homes for themselves have access to adequate alternative housing.”
“The World Bank must re-engage with the Lagos state government on this case in order to fulfil its duty of care to those affected by its failure to ensure compliance with human rights standards and its own policies.”
“In addition the Nigerian government must impose a moratorium on mass evictions until it has adopted legislation to protect people from forced evictions, which are illegal under international law.”
“It is an outrage that a community, left destitute by the actions of the Lagos state government, has been denied an effective remedy by the same government and that the World Bank has been complicit in this matter,” said Audrey Gaughran, director of Global Issues at Amnesty International.
“The bulldozing of hundreds of houses and businesses destroyed livelihoods and rendered thousands homeless. The subsequent failure to provide an effective remedy has only compounded victims’ misery pushing them deeper into poverty.”
The informal settlement of Badia East in Lagos state was chosen to benefit from a World Bank-funded project which aimed to increase access to basic services such as drainage, through investment in infrastructure. However, the demolition of at least 266 structures that served as homes and businesses took place without genuine consultation or adequate and reasonable notice and with no remedy for the loss suffered.
After mounting pressure the Lagos state government, in collaboration with the World Bank, agreed to develop and implement a retrospective Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) for the Badia East residents in line with the World Bank’s Policy on Involuntary Resettlement. However, both the content of the RAP and the process by which it was prepared contravened international human rights standards and World Bank policy.
The RAP failed to provide options for adequate alternative housing or relocation to other sites; ensure that affected people were offered the support needed to restore their livelihoods and standard of living; give adequate attention to addressing the needs of all disadvantaged groups; ensure adequate compensation was given to those affected. Instead “financial assistance” which contained amounts unilaterally determined by the government and considered inadequate by affected people was offered. In addition, the Lagos state government reneged on an agreement reached between a committee it had established and community representatives on compensation.
Despite these blatant failings the RAP was approved by the World Bank. The World Bank committed a further breach of its policy by failing to disclose a draft of the RAP before approval, exacerbating the challenges that affected people faced in engaging with the process.
Although some affected people asked for a full inspection of the case by the World Bank’s Inspection Panel – a body that is supposed to be independent of the Bank’s management – this was refused and the Panel also endorsed the RAP.
“The RAP – and the process by which it was developed – failed to adhere to human rights standards and has not addressed the terrible impact of the forced evictions suffered by the already vulnerable community of Badia East,” said Audrey Gaughran.
“It is imperative that the government of Lagos state act immediately to ensure all those forcibly evicted from Badia East are fully compensated for their losses and those who cannot provide homes for themselves have access to adequate alternative housing.”
“The World Bank must re-engage with the Lagos state government on this case in order to fulfil its duty of care to those affected by its failure to ensure compliance with human rights standards and its own policies.”
“In addition the Nigerian government must impose a moratorium on mass evictions until it has adopted legislation to protect people from forced evictions, which are illegal under international law.”
No comments:
Post a Comment