2.
Limitations of Review
To benefit from the human rights-based approach adopted by this review, it is
necessary to concentrate on matters relevant to the enjoyment of human rights during
evictions and resettlement. Although broader concerns relating to the socioeconomic
context of housing sector failures, sustainable urban development and local
governance are indeed relevant and important policy considerations in many respects,
the review has been limited to ensure its efficacy as an instrument of human rights
analysis and advocacy.
The scope of the review is confined accordingly:
(a)
It only considers the application of international human rights standards in the
National Capital Region, or ‘Metro Manila’. That is, analysis concentrates on
law, policy and programmes within that region. It is noted, however, that this
includes programmes which resettle individuals or communities from sites
within Metro Manila to provincial locations.
(b)
As the benchmarks for the review are international human rights standards
during evictions and resettlement, broader considerations of governance and
fiscal policy in the housing sector generally fall outside the ambit of analysis.
However, where such considerations are directly relevant to the enjoyment of
human rights in this specific context they will be considered.
3.
Details of Partnership between IPD and the CHR
(a)
The Institute for Popular Dem ocracy
IPD is a political research and advocacy NGO, with a background in the promotion of
democracy, good governance and human rights. In the field of housing policy, IPD
focuses on a community-driven approach to eviction and resettlement and supports
government service delivery by empowering local community and people’s
organisations. IPD has provided assistance to numerous informal settler communities
in the NCR to organise themselves into cooperative associations and negotiate the
terms of their resettlement with government housing agencies. This initiative has
proved immensely successful in securing positive resettlement outcomes for the urban
poor.
The promotion of this community-driven resettlement strategy, as well as a
prioritisation of in-city resettlement, has featured prominently in IPD’s advocacy with
government agencies. Through the provision of its community housing programme,
IPD has first hand experience of the issues facing the urban poor during the
resettlement process.
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