MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on forced evictions in Zimbabwe
19.10.2010
pursuant to Rule 122 of the Rules of Procedure
Judith Sargentini, Raül Romeva i Rueda, Malika Benarab-Attou on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B7-0583/2010
B7‑0584/2010
European Parliament resolution on forced evictions in Zimbabwe
The European Parliament,
- having regard to Rule 122(5) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. Whereas up to 20,000 people living in an informal settlement known as Hatcliffe Extension on the outskirts of Harare have been threatened with forced eviction for failure to pay prohibitively high lease renewal fees charged by the authorities;
B. Whereas residents of Hatcliffe residents were allocated plots of land for new homes after their forced eviction in 2005 by the authorities,
C. Whereas the government of Zimbabwe is demanding lease renewal fees of up to140 USD;
D. Whereas following the discovery of diamonds in the Chiadwa area of Marange district in June 2006, the government destroyed thousands of informal miners home,
E. Recalling that shortage of housing for low income people lead to building of backyard extension houses without complying with the building regulation,
F. Whereas the residents of Hatcliffe Extension are some of the poorest people in Zimbabwe, a country with a less than 100 USD per capita income and chronic unemployment of around 90%;
G. Whereas residents were not consulted on the fees or the renewal process which sets a restrictively short time frame to renew lease agreements or face forced eviction;
H. Whereas most of the residents were allocated the plots of land after they were forcibly evicted by the authorities under the country's 2005 mass forced evictions programme 'Operation Murambatsvina in which around 700,000 people lost their homes and livelihoods;
I. Whereas five years after the mass forced evictions, residents at such settlements are surviving in deplorable conditions without access to basic essential services;
J. Whereas the appalling humanitarian, political, and economic situation in Zimbabwe continues to deteriorate, with millions of Zimbabweans continually at risk of starvation and surviving on food aid;
1 Demands an immediate end to the threat of mass forced evictions in Zimbabwe and insists that unrestricted access be granted to relief and humanitarian agencies to assist those under threat and other internally displaced people;
2 Calls on the government of Zimbabwe to immediately scrap the arbitrarily imposed lease renewal fees which residents simply have no means of paying;
3 Considers that the government of Zimbabwe has the duty , under international conventions, to provide adequate housing for all those low income people, evicted by force out of their homes, including the rights to life, security and food,
4 Calls on the Zimbabwe authorities to respect their promise of relocation of the people living on or near the diamond fields in Marange and consult the local communities before taking any decision,
5 Deeply regrets that Zimbabwe's attempts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, which are already severely off track will be only placed in further peril from such mass evictions.,
6 Recalls that the fight against HIV-AIDS and maternal mortality is being undermined by the government's abusive practices such as its eviction programme, which has disrupted access to basic healthcare and education,
7 Calls on South Africa and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC to take active steps to encourage a return to full democracy in Zimbabwe and respect for the rule of law and the human rights;
8 Emphasises the importance of dialogue between the European Union and Zimbabwe and welcomes the progress that has been made in this direction,
9 Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Governments of Zimbabwe, the Co-Presidents of the EU-ACP Joint Parliamentary Assembly, the African Union the UN Secretary-General, the Secretary General.