Slum Clearance

Forced evictions affect millions of people around the world each year. Though the problem affects both developed and developing countries, it is most widespread in the developing world. Forced evictions result from a number of different causes, all of which are attributable to either direct or indirect state action. These causes range from redevelopment pressures being felt in many urban areas to episodes of ethnic cleansing or anti-insurgency efforts on the part of insecure states. Problems of mass evictions are greater in countries with autocratic rule that lack legal protections for tenants, and they are most common where there are large concentrations of poor living in informal settlements. Forced evictions exacerbate the psychological, social, and material deprivations of people living in poverty, disrupting social networks, survival strategies, and access to medical care, food, water, and sanitation. Several international groups have been formed to advocate for international legal sanctions against states engaging in forced evictions.