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Sunday 15 April 2018

EVICTIONS: AMNESTY CALLS FOR SUPPORT

Amnesty International has sent out an urgent call to people across the world to protest against the forced evictions from their homes of families in Swaziland.

Dozens of people, including 33 children, were left homeless after their homes at Embetseni in Malkerns town were demolished using bulldozers in the presence of 20 armed police. 

Amnesty said the evictions were in violation of international human rights standards. It called on people to contact Barnabas Dlamini, the Swaziland Prime Minister, to protest.

In a statement it said four homesteads with 61 people, including 33 children, were forcibly evicted from a farming area. It said, ‘Representatives of a private farming company that owns the land together with the Sheriff of the High Court of Mbabane and armed local police officers were present during the demolition of the homesteads. They arrived in the morning and told the families to remove their belongings from their homes if they did not want them destroyed during the demolition. Afterwards, bulldozers demolished the four homesteads.’

The Swazi High Court had in July 2017 ordered their eviction.

Amnesty added, ‘In violation of international human rights standards, residents of the homesteads were not given adequate advance notice of the eviction and were not provided with alternative housing thus rendering them homeless, and at risk of other human rights violations.’

Amnesty asked supporters to write calling on the authorities to ensure that the forcibly evicted families are given adequate alternative housing as a matter of urgency in respect of their right to adequate housing; urging them to end forced evictions and ensure that evictions are carried out in strict compliance with international and regional human rights standards.   

See also

AMNESTY'S CALL FOR ACTION IN FULL
BULLDOZERS MOVE IN TO EVICT FAMILIES
COURT ORDERS HOMES DESTROYED
HOMES DESTROYED FOR KING’S VANITY PROJECT
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/09/homes-destroyed-for-kings-vanity.html

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