Viet Nam land grabbing case needs to be urgently addressed – UN human rights experts -- DisplayNews

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 Viet Nam land grabbing case needs to be urgently addressed – UN human rights experts

 

GENEVA
(26 March 2014) – A group of United Nations independent human rights
experts on Wednesday called on the Vietnamese Government to intervene
urgently in a case of forced eviction of the last remaining residents of
Con Dau, a small village located on the outskirts of Da Nang city in
central Viet Nam.


“This appears to be a clear case of land grabbing for the benefit of
private entrepreneurs and at the expense of local communities,” the UN
Special Rapporteur on the right to housing, Raquel Rolnik, said. 


In 2007, the local government of Da Nang city decided to expropriate
the land of Con Dau village, used for housing and agriculture. Residents
were opposed to the project and were offered inadequate compensation
and housing alternatives in a distant location. The land was leased to
the private company Sun Land to build an eco-resort.


In 2013, hundreds of residents moved out after facing pressure and
threats, with some even seeing their homes demolished. Land use rights
are reportedly now being sold by lots to private individuals.  On 7
March 2014, the local Da Nang government gave the remaining hundred or
so households a deadline of 15 April 2014 to give up their land and move
out. Meanwhile however, the compulsory demolition of homes is
continuing, and it is feared that even before the deadline elapse, all
houses will have been destroyed.


“Since about one hundred families are still struggling to keep their
homes, we are making this urgent call to the Central Government of Viet
Nam to step in firmly,” Ms. Rolnik added.


UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights Farida Shaheed,
who recently visited Viet Nam, noted that the village was home to a
small Catholic community.


“Con Dau was built by the work of many generations of residents, who
shaped their culture through cultivating rice and church activities,”
she said.  “The parish cemetery, a national culture heritage site, has
been demolished and removed to a remote area. Such acts are seriously
disrupting the cultural and religious life of the community, and should
immediately be ceased.”


UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief Heiner
Bielefeldt and UN Independent Expert on minority issues Rita Izsák have
joined an urgent appeal that was sent to the Viet Nam Government earlier
last week. 


The United Nations human rights experts are part of what it is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special
Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human
Rights, is the general name of the independent fact-finding and
monitoring mechanisms of the Human Rights Council that address either
specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the
world.