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居住權與反迫遷中心三月樂生會議聲明

Page history last edited by happylosheng@gmail.com 15 years, 1 month ago

居住權與反迫遷中心三月樂生會議聲明

居住權與反迫遷中心表達與樂生療養院居民在保護住所與拯救療養院的奮鬥中團結一致之立場。我們中心追求一個人人能充分享受居住權的願景世界,並推動以實際可行的法律及其它辦法解決無家可歸、不良住房與強制驅離問題。

為了讓位給臺北捷運系統,臺灣最古老的樂生療養院正在拆除。本中心深切關注坐落於臺北新莊市的樂生療養院在2003年前容納了310個漢生病人,而在臺北縣政府幾次驅離動作後,現在只剩下80個居民。

許多漢生病友被迫生活在孤立中,他們的家庭與社區聯系被切斷,他們的發展機會被剝奪,包括教育、參與及就業機會。然而長年來,與樂生同樣的隔離地方為漢生病友提供了非常必要的社區感、認同感與歸屬感這些將居所變成家的基本特性。本中心強烈促請臺北縣政府終止驅離現有居民的所有計畫,另覓發展之途。

依據國際人權法令,強制驅離是對適當居住權的侵犯。如果樂生居民被強制驅離,北縣府就犯了侵犯社會中一些最邊緣化族群的人權之罪。我們也要指出,北縣府將樂生居民遷移到新建廻龍醫院第五、第九樓的計畫對漢生病友並不適當,因為這些計畫並未提供世界衛生組織(WHO)建議的開放空間社區與以家為基礎的生活模式。

從世界人權宣言第25條開始,享有適當居所的權利已經被無數國際人權文書一再確認。具體言之,經濟、社會和文化權利國際約第11條第1項要求國家尊重、保護與落實享有適當住房的人權,因而提供免於強制搬遷的保護。依據必須監測公約之遵行的聯合國經濟、社會和文化權利委員會(CESCR)第7概括意見,“國家本身必須避免強制搬遷,並確保法律在與執行強制搬遷的國家機構或第三者對立時得以落實”。第7概括意見雖然保護所有人都免於強制搬遷,它特別考慮弱勢群體,包括婦女、兒童、老人以及屬於族裔或其他少數群體者,而且,要求國家尋求所有可行的非搬遷途徑,並提供受影響者關於擬議中之搬遷計畫、有意義協商的機會以及取得法律解決途徑的訊息。

臺灣政府必須與樂生療養院居民作深入的磋商,並且充分探討文建會(CCA)經由與樂生院民協商而提出的替代案。文建會案可保留百分之九十的療養院文化資產建物,同時允許居民繼續生活其中,而又讓捷運系統得以興建。

由於許多樂生居民是年長者,本中心請大家注意CESCR關注老年人經濟、社會與文化權利的第6概括意見。該號概括意見強調維也納老化問題國際行動計畫的建議,特別是第19號建議。該建議認為老年人的住房具有除了實質意義以外,還有特別的心理與社會意義,這些意義都應被考慮,而國家的政策也應經由家屋的復原與改善幫助老年人儘可能繼續居住在他們自己家裡。將樂生居民強制搬遷到廻龍醫院的計畫與6及第7概括意見相左。

既然臺灣作了遵行人權原則的承諾,而我們也歡迎新的漢生病患人權保障與補償條例,本中心敦促臺灣政府停止驅離計畫,直到受影響者同意適當的替選方案之日。

 

Draft COHRE Statement for Lo-Sheng Meeting in March

The Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) expresses solidarity with the residents of Lo-Sheng Sanatorium in their struggle to retain their residence and save the sanatorium from demolition. COHRE pursues the vision of a world in which everyone fully enjoys housing rights, and promotes practical legal and other solutions to problems of homelessness, inadequate housing and forced evictions.

 

The Lo-Sheng sanatorium, the oldest in Taiwan is being demolished to make way for the Taipei Mass Rapid Transit System. COHRE notes with deep concern that the Lo Sheng Sanatorium in Sinjhuang City, Taipei, which housed 310 persons affected by leprosy before 2003, is now home to only 80 residents due to several eviction attempts by the Taipei County government (TCG).

 

Many of those affected by leprosy have been made to live in isolation, cut off from all family and community ties and denied opportunities for development including education, participation and employment. Over the years, however, segregated spaces like Lo-Sheng have provided persons affected by leprosy with the much-needed sense of community, identity and belonging – all the essential characteristics that make a place of dwelling a home. COHRE strongly urges the Taipei County government (TCG) to halt all plans to evict the remaining residents of Lo-Sheng and explore alternative development plans.

 

As per international human rights law, forced evictions are a violation of the right to adequate housing. If Lo-Sheng residents are forcibly evicted, the TCG will be guilty of violating the human rights of some of the most marginalised sections of society. COHRE also points our that the TCG’s plans to relocate Lo-Sheng residents to the 5th and 9th floors of the newly-built Hui-Long Hospital, is unsuitable for persons affected by leprosy as it does not provide an open space community and home-based model, as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

 

Beginning with article 25 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the right to adequate housing has been reaffirmed in numerous international human rights instruments. Specifically, Article 11 (1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, obliges State parties to respect, protect and fulfil the human right to adequate housing and thus provides protection from forced evictions.  According to General Comment 7 of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) mandated to monitor compliance with the Covenant, "the State itself must refrain from forced evictions and ensure that the law is enforced against its agents or third parties who carry out forced evictions".   General Comment 7, while extending protection against forced evictions to all, gives special consideration to vulnerable groups including women, children, older persons and persons belonging to ethnic and other minorities. Additionally, it requires State parties to explore, all feasible alternatives to the eviction and provide affected persons with accurate information on the proposed eviction, opportunities for meaningful consultation and access to legal remedies. 

 

It is essential for the government of Taiwant to carry out in-depth consultations with the residents of Lo Sheng Sanatorium and to fully explore the alternative plan submitted by the Council for Cultural Affairs (CCA), which was carried out in consultation with the residents of Lo Sheng Sanatorium. The CCA plan would retain as much as 90 percent of the sanatorium’s heritage-buildings allowing for the residents to continue living in them, while making way for the construction of the Mass Rapid Transit System.

Recognising that many of Lo-Sheng’s residents are older persons, COHRE draws attention to General Comment 6 of CESCR, which addresses concerns, related to the economic, social and cultural rights of older persons. General Comment 6 emphasises recommendations of the Vienna International Plan of Action on Aging particularly recommendation 19 that recognises that housing for the elderly, apart from physical, has particular psychological and social significance which should be taken into account and that national policies should help elderly persons to continue to live in their own homes as long as possible, through the restoration, development and improvement of homes. Plans to forcibly relocate Lo-Sheng residents to Hui-Long Hospital run contrary to General Comments 6 and 7. 

Given Taiwan’s stated commitment to uphold human rights principles, and welcoming the new Hansen’s disease Patients Human Rights Protection and Compensation Act, COHRE urges the Taiwanese government to suspend implementation of the planned eviction until such time as appropriate alternatives have been agreed on by the affected parties.

 

 

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