Mainstreaming Human Rights in Urban Land Administration: Lessons from the town of Debre Markos
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Date
2017-12
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
This research is conducted to investigate the urban land administration in Debre Markos (DM)
city in line with the human rights protection. Specifically, this study is carried out to assess the
practice of expropriation or development-based eviction in DM city based on the international
human rights standards adopted in related to forced eviction. The study focused on assessing the
features of mainstreaming human rights of adequate housing and land of evicted peoples in time
of expropriation or development-based eviction. This is because currently in many cities of
Ethiopia, in particular in DM city homelessness and landlessness are increasing due to
expropriation or development-based eviction. In this study both inner-urban evictees and
expropriated farmers are included. The issue is studied through the use of qualitative research
methods to uncover the characteristics of development-based evictions with the consideration of
the right to adequate housing and land rights of evicted communities in the city administration.
The data is collected from both the city administration and expropriated peoples through the use
of key informant interview, focus group discussion and observation. The study found that the use
of expropriation power in DM city has been associated with the displacement of hundreds of
people every year from the land that was considered to be ‘theirs’, with the lack of recognition of
property rights and the limited access to judicial remedies as a result of several problems such
as non-participatory land administration; human rights ignorance of workers; lack of strong
civil society; eviction related corruption; absence of human rights impact assessment; lack of
administrative and judiciary review in the city. To overcome all these problems and to promote
human rights mainstreaming in the development-based evictions in the study area the study
suggested the following as solution such as amendment on the expropriation laws; re-structure
the city administration people- centered, accountable and democratic; build commitment of city
administration to raise human rights awareness; reframe the urban concerns as human rights
issues; and fostering participatory urban land administration in the city
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Keywords
Mainstreaming, Human Rights, Expropriation (development-based eviction)