Volume 3 Issue 3 The Human Rights Magazine September - October 2004
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Setting
the Habitat Agenda
The focus of the housing campaign is to bring the
'housing for the poor' agenda into the overall city development framework
and implementation strategies. These challenges can be met through concerted
efforts by consolidating and networking for long-term sustainable housing
security.
Linking
Urban Poverty and Housing
Urban poverty manifests itself in many forms. Households
experience multiple vulnerabilities - ill health, insecure and limited
income resources, and unsanitary and precarious living conditions.
Rights
to Shelter - a Fundamental Right
Not only has the state failed to meet the housing
deficit, it has carried out demolitions and rendered people homeless,
mostly without providing them with alternative accommodation. Is it that
the guarantees enshrined under the Constitution do not extend to the poor
of India?
Public
Purpose Sans Public
The laws on housing in India are a leap in the dark
with conflicting judicial pronouncements and ad hoc government policies.
Imaginary
Cities
There are several questions about the nature of "planning"
itself. Who makes these plans? Who are they made for? Do the planners
take into account actual data from the study of how cities grow?
Tackling
Evictions
A combination of strategies can be effective to promote
adequate housing for the urban poor in India. Only grass root mobilization
of people and civil disobedience with political ideology is the answer
against forced evictions.
Town
Planning in India
The Town Plans are the most important documents that
directly affect the life of the people in the city. Master Plans prepared
since the late 90s have been influenced by business interest groups. The
government has virtually handed over the task of urban development throughout
the country to the real estate lobby.
Natinal
Slum Policy
A critical analysis of the Draft National Slum Policy
explains that while the draft pretends to be pro-poor, in practice it
is not designed to provide land at an affordable rate to the urban working
class.
Housing
Rights Initiative in India
The National Forum for Housing Rights, a network of
28 independent organisations in India, has evolved with the consensus
to consolidate solidarity against forced evictions and implement pro poor
urban habitat policies and programmes.
Working on the Issue of Homelessness
The Aashray Adhikar Abhiyan working with the homeless in Delhi and advocates the campaign approach towards mainstreaming the issue.
Voting Rights for the Homeless
For the first time in Andhra Pradesh homeless persons are being included in the electoral roll and their residence number is the nearest electric pole number and other landmarks such as shops, theatre halls and temples.
Hyderabad Master Plan Intervention
Many planners underestimate the contribution made by the urban-poor communities to the economic growth and development of the city. In 2003, NGOs in Hyderabad suggested changes in the Master Plan 2020 to advocate for adequate housing provisions for the poor.
Other
issues:
Does our Law help the Injured to Die?
Too
many have already died due to the negligence of doctors, law enforcement
authorities and government. In India, the legal aspects of emergency medical
care represent a grossly neglected area of law.International Law
Protecting Civil Liberties
In its recent judgement in Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain, the US Supreme Court rebuffs the attempt by the Bush administration to limit the use of the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) and cut off access to U.S. courts for foreign victims of human rights abuses.
Israel and Palestine : Another Brick in 'The Wall'
The rule of law must prevent a battle over land to spill into an essentially religious crusade. The World Court's ruling should not be confined to a moral accomplishment.
State Repression
A
Father's Search for Justice
Mohinder Singh continues his search for his son who
'disappeared' in Punjab in 1995.
Manipur
- The Naked Protest
A report by the United Nations Association, Manipur
on the recent protests and the demand for the immediate removal of the
Armed Forces Special Powers Act.
Women
Hunting
Witches or Hunting Women?
Witch hunting continues in several parts of India.
A patriarchal system perpetuates this brutal crime against women.
Scheme
for Victims of Rape
Widows in Manipur face several social and legal obstacles. The political leadership of the state has failed to address the grievances of the four lakh widows in Manipur as they do not form a vote-bank.
Death Penalty
Can
Society Escape The Noose? Judgments
Malnutrition Deaths in Maharashtra
Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act
Compensation for Bhopal Victims
Redefining Rape
Adivasis
A Tryst With Justice
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