Communication to Pakistan concerning the ongoing forced evictions and home demolitions along Karachi’s waterways (nullahs) - Other

Filing Year For Action

On December 22, 2022, five UN Special Rapporteurs on the right to adequate housing, the right to health, rights of internally displaced persons, extreme poverty, discrimination against women and girls, issued a communication to Pakistan concerning the ongoing forced evictions and home demolitions along Karachi’s waterways (nullahs), against the backdrop of the severely negative impacts and destitution caused by the unusually heavy monsoon rains, and devastating seasonal floods of 2020 and 2022. 
The evictions allegedly take place in the context of Pakistan’s climate change adaptation strategy, including implementation of a Supreme Court order that instructed the National Disaster Management Authority to remove all (informal) encroachments in and around the nullahs, due to their increased risk of flooding. Despite the Court’s ruling that people affected by the removal were to be rehabilitated, the evictions and home demolitions are allegedly carried out without consultation with the affected people and in the absence of a rehabilitation plan, and with disparate and inadequate compensation. The communication describes situations of homelessness, displacement, serious destitution, and inadequate living situations dangerous to health (e.g. overcrowding, lack of walls, rats, mosquitos and pest infestations, vector-borne and water-borne disease). It also describes how evictions and demolitions lead to loss of livelihoods for many, including especially women, as small businesses are run from their homes (e.g. tailoring).
Whilst understanding the 'enormity' of the challenges facing Pakistan in the wake of catastrophic floodings, and that Pakistan has been only modestly responsible for causing climate change, the communication recalls UN human rights bodies’ previous guidance on rights-based climate adaptation, supporting that priority should be given to adaptation measures that preserve existing communities, even for those living on or near waterways and shorelines. States must consult with residents to identify the measures needed for their protection, including the possibility to remain ‘in situ’; ‘resettlement and relocation should only be considered when strictly necessitated by the unsustainability of maintaining human settlements in at-risk zones’.
The situation described in the communication violate international human rights law, including the right to an adequate standard of living, including adequate food, housing, water and sanitation, as well as adequate access to health care services. Relevant legal provisions - set out in an Annex to the communication – that govern the situation, include: Articles 6 and 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), pertaining to the right to life (with dignity) and right to non-interference with privacy, family and the home; Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), on the right to adequate housing, including as interpreted in CESCR General Comment No. 4 on the right to housing, and CESCR General Comment No 7 on forced evictions; and Article 12 ICESCR on the right to physical and mental health. Especially the right to housing includes a ‘right to live somewhere in security, peace and dignity', with 'security of tenure, availability of services, materials, facilities and infrastructure, affordability, habitability, accessibility, location and cultural adequacy'. An adequate house 'must protect inhabitants from cold, damp, heat, rain, wind or other threats to health, structural hazards, and disease vectors'. Other international legal guidance documents relevant to understanding the legal content of the right to housing, as related to evictions in a context of climate adaptation, include the UN Guiding Principles on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, and the UN Basic Principles and Guidelines on Development-based Evictions and Displacement. The latter spells out criteria for urban or rural planning and development planning, including in terms of ensuring rights-based information, consultation and participation. It stresses that displacement must be minimized, and that ‘eviction impact assessment’ should include exploring alternatives and strategies for minimizing harm to people and communities. In this sense, it is ‘essential that the full scope of all the environmental risks faced by informal settlements be assessed, drawing on the knowledge of inhabitants or experts hired on their behalf, since they are more familiar with the environment in which they live and have often adopted risk management practices'. Any 'immediate and effective disaster risk management measures' taken in at-risk areas, should be tailored to suit the specific needs of the community. The communication further acknowledges the specific rights of and obligations towards women in this respect, as clarified, inter alia, In CEDAW General Comment No. 37 on gender-related dimensions of disaster risk reduction in a changing climate.

Communication to Pakistan concerning the ongoing forced evictions and home demolitions along Karachi’s waterways (nullahs)

The Climate Litigation Database

Find climate change litigation data and indicators for {text}.

{text} litigation

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law provides Climate Litigation Database, a comprehensive database of US and Global climate change caselaw

Quickly and easily search through the complete text of thousands of climate change law and policy documents from every country.

Search the Climate Litigation Database

An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

Terrestrial means "of the earth" and relates to the risks to ecological system that includes all living organisms and their interactions within land-based environments, such as forests, grasslands, and deserts.

Households employing domestic workers, for activities like cooking, cleaning and subsistence farming, for their own use.

This sector includes firms and individuals offering specialised expertise in fields such as law, accounting, consulting, science and engineering.

Activities involving the catching, processing, and selling of fish for food, recreation, and industry.

This sector provides medical services, manufactures medical equipment, and develops pharmaceuticals to maintain and improve health.

Actions to adapt human health, healthcare systems and well-being to climate change.

The activities of industries that transforms raw materials into finished goods through industrial processes.

Work that is productive and delivers a fair income, security in the workplace and social protection for all, better prospects for personal development and social integration, freedom for people to express their concerns, organize and participate in the decisions that affect their lives and equality of opportunity.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater systems to climate change.

This sector involves managing waste treatment, sanitation, pollution control and environmental cleanup.

People who are less able to respond to the effects of climate change due to having limited financial or physical assets

Slow onset events evolve gradually from incremental changes over many years or from increased frequency or intensity of recurring events. As defined in the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010), slow onset events include risks and impacts from rising temperatures, desertification, biodiversity loss, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and salinization.

People who have left their homes, whether through force, voluntarily, or a mixture of both

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Social protection systems consist of policies that help people manage social risks in order to prevent poverty and maintain decent incomes and living standards

Activities that involve planning, designing and building infrastructure, residential, and commercial structures.

This sector involves the distribution, treatment, and conservation of water resources.

Climate change impacts our society by disrupting the natural, economic and social systems we depend on. Physical hazards and underlying vulnerabilities can lead to increased resource competition for food and water, which can heighten the risk of conflict.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater, coastal and marine systems to climate change.

woman and genders outside of the gender binary

People whose health, both mental and physical, makes them more vulnerable to the effects of climate change

Activities of government agencies and institutions that provide public services, enforce laws and manage public resources.

Extreme weather refers to events where a weather variable exceeds (or falls below) a threshold. Meaning it is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern.

This sector involves activities that impart knowledge and skills to individuals, including formal schooling, vocational training and educational support.

The cryosphere is the frozen part of the Earth—it includes sea ice, glaciers, snow, and ice sheets. It helps regulate the climate and weather by reflecting sunlight. Rising temperatures are causing melting, leading to sea ice loss, glacier collapse, and glacier landslides and avalanches. This threatens the livelihoods of around 700 million people who rely on the cryosphere for food, water security, and cultural practices.

Social inclusion is the process of improving the terms on which individuals and groups take part in society—improving the ability, opportunity, and dignity of those disadvantaged on the basis of their identity.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

Communication to Pakistan concerning the ongoing forced evictions and home demolitions along Karachi’s waterways (nullahs) - Other

Risk

Impacted group

Just transition

Fossil fuel

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance