Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions

COHRE's Online Newsletter No. 9 (June 2003)East Timor. Last December the East Timorese government passed a law
empowering it to charge people for informal occupation of land. The Juridical Regime of Real Estate also enables the government to evict people without the adequate safeguards enshrined in international law. This law
seems to be inconsistent with East Timor's constitution and international human rights obligations. Last year, the Government actually marked human rights day (10 Dec.) by ratifying the seven core international human rights
treaties, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Under the East Timorese constitution, these treaties, once ratified and published in the official gazette, are directly applicable in the country's internal legal system, and rules contrary to these conventions are deemed invalid. Along with the constitutional guarantee of the right to adequate housing, this leaves the East Timorese with strong legal guarantees of their human rights, including that to adequate housing.

In late April 2003, NGOs including Kadalak Sulimutuk Institute, Yayasan HAK and Sahe Institute for Liberation held a national seminar on land-and-housing-rights issues, and COHRE took part. It is hoped that by working together, East Timorese civil society groups can use the strong legal guarantees of rights mentioned above to ensure that all legislation in East Timor conforms with the nation's international human rights obligations and that the right to adequate housing be progressively realised in East Timor.

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