BRASILIA, BRAZIL (BDCi) – An independent United Nations human rights expert urged Brazilian authorities to suspend evictions from the Pinheirinho settlement in Sao Paulo and find durable solutions with residents.
Raquel Rolnik, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, called on the authorities to find a “peaceful and appropriate solution,” including housing alternatives for those evicted this week from the settlement located in the capital’s Sao Jose dos Campos city.
About 6,000 residents have been affected by the eviction order dictated by a judge in late December last year, according to a news release issued by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Rolnik cited information she has received suggesting that the military police of Sao Paulo used tear gas and rubber bullets against the residents, including children and the elderly. Twenty residents were reportedly injured, one severely and 30 arrested.
Rolnik who reports in an independent and unpaid capacity to the UN Human Rights Council, appealed to the authorities of the State of Sao Paulo to suspend the eviction order and the police action in Pinheirinho, stating that this which would allow the authorities to resume negotiations with residents to find a peaceful solution.
By: Natania Levine
Courtesy: newkerala.com
Photo: un.org
30 January 2012
10:33 a.m P.S.T