forced eviction and removal, claiming that they should be given a guarantee a right of
business after the renewal project is completed. There were a pile of inflammable
materials, including the containers of thinner and petroleum, at the site of demonstration,
and the use of police force resulted in a big fire, leaving 5 tenants and 1 policeman dead.
The Government has not taken any official measure so far to deal with this tragic
accident, although some citizens were killed while the police force was in use. As of
September 14, 2009, the bereft families have not held a funeral rite for the 5 dead
people as yet and continued to demand apology and proper compensation from the
Government. In the meantime, as the Government keeps refusing to publish the 2,400page records of investigation, the court proceedings have not been in normal progress.
67. In order to ensure that human rights violation is minimized in the course of urban
renewal, the relevant laws and regulations should provide for stricter requirements of
advance actions for forced removal so that forced removal is used only as a last resort.
For this purpose, it should be prescribed in law that no project of urban renewal is
allowed unless advance actions, such as sufficient prior notification and temporary
housing, are implemented in good faith. In addition, it is necessary to improve the
related laws and regulations to prohibit forced removal in cases there are still residents
living in the houses concerned or at an inappropriate time, such as wintertime or
nighttime. Furthermore, with a view to protect the human rights of the residents in the
course of urban renewal, the Government should ensure that public officials are sent to
the site of forced eviction or forced removal to have a strict control over what happens
there and that the police take proactive intervening actions to prevent the employees of
private security service providers from violating the related law provisions by giving
threats and exercising violence to the residents in the process of forced eviction or
removal.
68. NHRCK, in a bid to prevent human rights violation of the residents subject to forced
removal, made a recommendation to the Government in February 2009 on the
fundamental principles that should be complied with when a forced eviction is
conducted for an avoidable reason, and on how the principles could be incorporated in
the laws and institutions. However, the Government has not implemented this
recommendation as yet.
20