Reconciling Human Rights And Evictions For Public Purposes In Ethiopia Appraisal Of The Laws And Practices With Focus On Some Selected Sites In Addis Ababa City

The objective of this research is to investigate whether evictions for public purposes inrnEthiopia has been reconciled with human rights laws or not. Ethiopia’s eviction laws andrnpractice, focusing on three eviction sites in Addis Ababa has been analyzed. The researcherrnused qualitative in approach and combination of doctrinal and socio-legal research in type.rnDesk reviews of primary documentary and secondary sources, interviews, personalrnobservation and FGDs with government officials, victim evictees were employed to collectrndata from participants. Comparative and thematic analyses were used to diagnose thernEthiopian eviction legal regime and practices against the standards set forth underrninternational human rights laws.rnThe research has revealed that although FDRE Constitution and other legislationsrnguaranteed the right not to be evicted, the laws and practice are inconsistent with thernstandards set forth by international human rights instruments. First, only the governmentrnauthorities determine public purposes which lead to evictions using top-down approachesrnwithout any consultation with the victims. Against the eviction order and administrativerntribunal decisions, victims have no right to recourse remedy from regular courts which isrndare to fair trial right. Second, since laws do not recognize the right not to be evicted asrnrights of everyone, private tenants and informal settles are subjected to arbitrary evictionsrnand public tenants have been deprived alternative accommodations. Evictees able to provernownership right to home or land use rights are entitled compensations without guarantee ofrnsustainable right to livelihood. Third, the laws and practice do not consider competing humanrnrights while designing and enforcing evictions for public purposes. This leads the processesrnand outcomes of evictions unfriendly to human rights which in turn have placed the life ofrnevictees’ to deplorable conditions. The rights to livelihood, food, life, adequate housing,rnfreedom of choices of residence, right to privacy and security of person have been adverselyrnaffected. Fourth, both practice and the eviction legal regimes have not been acquainted withrnthe disproportionate impacts of eviction on vulnerable group of the societies including agedrnpersons, women, and children.rnTo reconcile human rights and eviction for public purposes, the research recommends therngovernment to amend or repeal all the laws inconsistent with human rights and to adoptrnhuman rights friendly eviction laws. The study urges policy makers and concerned authoritiesrnto envisage competing human rights using legality, legitimate aim and proportionality tests,rnto follow human rights based-approaches, to conduct human rights impact assessment before,rnduring and after evictions, to rehabilitate the livelihood of evictees and to make available thernfair trial guarantees.

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