General Staff Mostafa Al-Sayed
Governor of Aswan
Abtal Al-Tarir street
Aswan
ÄGYPTEN
Fax:   0020 - 97 - 231 3333



Dear Governor of Aswan,


Reportedly, the Governorate of Aswan is planning and preparing to demolish the homes of

      1,500 affected families at Al-Sahaby.

They have not been consulted about this decision by the authorities and the alternative housing available to them is insufficient for their needs and located far from schools and healthcare facilities.

This is why I urge you to suspend the eviction of the residents of Al-Sahaby area and ensure that no eviction is carried out before all safeguards against forced eviction are in place, including official notice to the residents of the eviction order in writing.

Furthermore I ask you to provide information on which buildings endanger the lives in Al-Sahaby area. Please give orders to your authorities to carry out genuine consultations with the residents of Al-Sahaby area to explore all alternatives to eviction as well as development plans for the area.

Finally I want to emphasize that the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights defines a forced eviction as "the permanent or temporary removal against their will of individuals, families and/or communities from the homes and/or land which they occupy, without the provision of and access to, appropriate forms of legal or other protection." International human rights standards require that evictions may be carried out only as a last resort, once all other feasible alternatives have been explored and only after appropriate procedural and legal safeguards are in place. These include genuine consultation with the affected people, prior adequate and reasonable notice, adequate alternative housing and compensation for all losses, safeguards on how evictions are carried out, and access to legal remedies and procedures, including access to legal aid where necessary. Egypt is obliged under international law, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, to refrain from and prevent forced evictions.

Dear Governor, in the name of justice and humanity I appeal to you to prevent anyone from being rendered homeless or vulnerable to other human rights violations as a consequence of an eviction.


Respectfully,