Right to Adequate Housing

There are more than 200,000 communities in the world that can be defined as a slum.

UN-Habitat describes slums as:

“A multi-dimensional concept involving aspects of poor housing, over-crowding, lack of services and insecure tenure...”

But what this definition doesn’t tell you is that slums (or other informal settlements) are also communities of people and families, of schools and businesses, and of commerce and creativity.

Slums are communities where multiple human rights abuses occur.

People living in slums face obvious deprivation of resources and assets, but they also face insecurity from the constant threat of violence from police and criminal gangs, and of being forcibly evicted with little to no warning.

They are excluded from basic services such as safe water, sanitation, health, and education. They are denied access to justice because of discrimination. In the processes and decisions that impact their lives, people living in slums are also often denied a voice. They are not consulted or allowed to participate in upgrading measures or the provision of alternative housing when a forced eviction takes place.

We are calling for

An end to forced evictions,
Equal access to public services for people living in slums,
Active participation of people living in slums in all plans for housing projects which affect their lives directly or indirectly.

Amnesty is campaigning for the right to adequate housing in:

Take action: Forced evictions in Cambodia