Grassroots Women Leading Urban Poor Communities Access to Justice Towards Secure

Urban Land Tenure/Shelter/Livelihood2009-2011 Mapping and Sharing Strategies / Solidarity Actions in Indonesia,

Philippines, Thailand,Cambodia and South Korea

Huairou Commission and Leaders and Organizers of Community Organizations in Asia (LOCOA) with support from Dutch MFA MDG Accountability Fund

Increasing Women’s Access to Justice in the Asia-Pacific: A Common Framework for Programming on

Women’s Access to Land and Property Regional Consultation Programme

June 9 – 10 2014, Bangkok, Thailand

Organised by UNDP

Women seek access to secure livelihood / urban land/shelter through rent or ownership but face disadvantages. Neo-liberal economies / globalization bear pressure on use of urban land /waterways . Evictions arise to develop public infrastructure including flood control, real estate , as mega events. Communities located in Asian-Pacific cities in the Rim Of Fire face displacement due to flooding/ and landslides.

Issues:Women facing evictions /forms of displacement suffer miscarriages / violence /psychological trauma ,harassment.When brought to distant relocations families

break up due to spouse returning to city and leaving only mother/childrenexposing them further to hunger/isolation/ deprivation from basic services/violence against women/girls.

Key stakeholders :local organised communities and allies like academe,proffesionals, high level officials,UN,media et al /networks and unions,state and city/metropolitan agencies/ police/local governments/politicians/

.

What peaceful remedies,solutions do grassroots womentheir neighborhood organizations mostly women led and with high participation of women seek to secure land/shelter/livelihood specially

when facing evictions>

Community organizing/networking and advocacy for alternative community solutions to secure tenure

From Indonesia,Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia , estimated 1,500 participants 80% women from urban poor organizations mostly women led with active women membership participated community fora to review their experiences in facing evictions and their organizing strategies to secure land tenure/shelter/livelihood in peaceful means within their rights as citizens .

At least 30-35 case briefs/studies documented with each country doing multi-media documentation.

From 2009 to 2011 results were shared in regional exchanges, including study visits

and workshops to support local efforts of women in efforts on land , tenure/shelter/livelihood. These were in Makassar,Indonesia/Phnom Penh,Cambodia

Bangkok,Thailand. Seoul based rental housing association and a rural based network in cambodia, the

Community Peace Network and Cambodia Housing rights Task force did not participate in the actual mapping but were invited during the 2009 regional sharing and exchanges.

Access to justice for secure tenure needs organised community action

1.Community organizing was main methodology in building grassroots organizations oriented to broad participation and decision making.

2.Various capacity building in participatory mapping and profiling/ networking and advocac y with friendly sectors including media/ politicians/ architects/ environmentalists/ union workers / et al.

3.Fund raising and local savings/

4.Peaceful marches and rallies/ cultural actions /were part of the organizing and advocacy can last between two to several decades . Some are still ongoing ,unresolved land tenure issues

5.Mediators from community allies like academe, high level officials can facilitate specially private landowners to open to negotiations.

6. Women serve as leaders, networkers, public speakers , organizers, consensus builder, among many critical roles to help sustain the neighborhood organizing /advocacy for secure tenure. Women need support /capacity building to provide their input s in decision making mechanisms.

7.While women led their communities and organizations had high participation of women , multiple burden issues/gender violence/ reproductive health issues were not always addressed .Thus, basic education for communities/ authorities/ family members on gender sensitivity ,women empowerment and gender equality remains BIG Challenge .

THAILANDSolutions/Remedies

1.After many years of organizing /advocacy by city/regional/national coalitions to allow a 40 year lease for portions off unused railway lands,STATE RAILWAYS OF THAILAND is implementing this and construction of new houses are ongoing or completed.

2..Tenure along public lands along river canals were also sought to be covered under a Bangkok Metropolitan Authority under a community proposed “Communal land title deeds”. The BMA Governor agreed in 2011 but till now it is not being implemented because it is not fully

formalised, or instituionalised .Canal neighborhoods still insecure.

3.Communities at backside of condominiiums after mediation by city authorities and negotiations, community is preparing for a relocation site of its choice.

Challenges1.How to strengthen legal and institutional aspect of the “communal land title deeds “ so it can be enforced .

Lessons LearnedIn the case of communities that have been sued by the land owner to obtain an eviction order and have lost, the residents must follow up to find out on what day the Legal Execution Department will come to enforce the court order. On this same day, the land owner will probably bring workers to demolish the homes of the residents. The residents must find out at the court on which day

the officials will come to enforce the court order so that they can assemble and resist, because the entire community will have to take time off from work to protect their own homes

Recommendations1.Access of women to the provisions of the rent /lease need to be undertaken with the organised women’s groups of the Four

Regions Slum Network and partner NGOs,COPA and Human Settlements Foundation.2.Women empowerment and gender sensitivity education for community leaders, family members /authorities.

3. Resettlement process specially in documentation/ requirements specially legal provisions must for women/ single parents/ single elderly /PWD

Tha

Philippines1.At least two court cases brought by neighborhood organizations succeeded in cancelling claimants illegal titles .(Albay and Zambales)2.Presidential proclamation was secured by a federation and titles were issued.(Gensan,Mindnao)3.Administrative charges filed against local sheriff for unlawful demolitions and Manila Metropolitan Devt. Authority for violation of

provisions of Urban Devt. And Housing Act.(Albay and Metro Manila)4.Resettlement was negotiated with local authorities and MMDA based on People’s Resettlement Action Plan covering

amortiization/payment schedules/ construction of basic services.(Metro Manila) 5. Land sharing with private land owners through Community Mortgage Plan .(Metro Manila)Challenges1.Titling and registration for Community Mortgage Program benfeiciaries are complicatd for urban poor families. 2.Capacity building for women to enabale them to provide in puts to policies and practices in land/housing acqusition .Lessons Learned

RecommendationsLocalization of laws into ordinances1.Need for champions for Fiscals/ Lawyers2.Educate government officials on the Right to Adequate Housing3.Emphasize facilitative function of the government instead of regulative 4.Massive Information/ Education campaign for law makers, government officials 5.Participation and involvement in Local Development Councils, Urban Development and Housing Boards and inother Monitoring Committees and Task Forces (ie. City Budget Monitoring Committee) Sustain CSO’s local participation

Indonesia• Solutions/Remedies• 1.Surabaya riverside communities assumed role of river guardians, greened

the community, organized participatory mapping/profiling to show members and authorities negative impact of displacement.After series of mass actions/ negotiations/ technical and environmental studies, tenure along the riverside was secured.

• 2.Makassar communities organised voters and selected candidate who committed to insitutionalise measures to strengthen community claim to the lands.

• Challenges• Lessons Learned• Integrated approach: community action/ networking / advocacy of

alternative concepts to secure land/tenure with help of allies /savings/environ/organizing voters to select candidate to help implement secure tenure ex:political contract

• Recommendations

Cambodia• Solutions /Remedies• 1.Neighborhoods in Phnom Penh applied for Land Regularization under Govt Program and World Bank support.

However, it was suspended because when WB supported civil society position that Boengkok Lakeside should be a priority site for regularization but instead real estate investment contracts were given to allies of PM and displacement for majority of residents resulted.

• 2. Distant relocation with a core unit of apartment without basic facilities for community or livelihood resulting from organizing/advocacy. Those who insisted on remaining will be provided with medium rise apartment buildings.

• 3.Landgrabbing in rural areas were protested through organizing/advocacy/legal processes. At least two women leaders were arrested and imprisoned but eventually set free.

• Challenges• 1.While legal support and advocacy are available , the local grassroots organizations are still new in engaging with

authorities and face serious harassment/coercion/threat of arrest.• .Lessons Learned• No substitute for genuine community empowerment –people have to get organised and NGO support from

local/international need to invest in building grassroots organizations. Not just limited to their welfare programs/ respective advocacies .

• Recommendations• 1.Sustained support for women leaders and community organizers detained/harassed/arrested for their release and

stop to harassment.• 2. Research on the provisions on the access to rent/ ownership by women in the Boengkok Lakeside medium rise

buildings to be constructed for families who iinsisted on staying onsite.

South Korea*• 1. Seoul-Haneg-Dang,Hawang, Kumho Communities organised under Soen- donggu

Public Rent Housing Residents(1998) secured apartment units in the government’s campaign for high rise apartment complexes .

• Challenges• 1.Support for other communities facing evictions such as the “vynil” communities

within/ outside Metropolitan Seoul .• 2.Solidarity among residents and support for vulnerable groups within the building

such as PWDs.Single elderly , unemployed and pregnant women. • 3.Women are still viewed in traditional roles and still need support and women

empowerment education .• 4,Monitoring of admin/policy of rental housing in Korea Lessons learned 1.Seoul citizens need to educate community members about their share/participation

in decision making on “redevelopment of cities”2.How to sustain community living in urban apartment complexes :credit

union/cooperative/cultural events like “sulmunori”/support to vulnerable residentsRecommendations.1. Access of single women/women headed households to rental housing in urban areas.

Participating GroupsUrban Poor Linkage(uplink) was formally initiated on July 2002 during the process of

Asia –Pacific People’s Dialogue in Indonesia in September 2002.Fourteen city network members :Palembang-Lampung-Medan_BandaAceh-Jakarta-Tasikmalaya-Jogjakarta-Surabaya-Makassar-pare-Pare,PaluKendari,Manado-Pontianak. Urban Poor Consortium provides the NGO support .

Founding members of Groots Philippines:Ulap,Cowomb,Dampa,Mapagpala, Katafel, BUPCC, Bantay-Banay : Cebu ,Cagayan de Oro,

Katotohanan,Pagbabago at Serbisyo(KPS), Philippines Support Services AgencyP(HILSSA),(COPE),Community Organizers Multiversity,Grasroots Women Empowerment Center, Lihok Pilipina.

Sundong Community :Hanegdang,Hawang and Kumho –Seoul,Republic of South Korea• Soendonggu Public rent Housing Association (1998) . Composed of families who

resisted eviction during redevelopment of their neighbourhoods in early 90s, its members struggled to secure onsite resettlement in the new apartment complex that was constructed to replace their old neighbourhoods. It established successfully a Credit Union, a cooperative store providing food /household supplies from agricultural producers in nearby provinces .

Participating Groups• Thailand• FRSN (1998): United Slumdwellers , Homeless Federation, United Songkhla,Network of

Communities on Southern/Western Rail Lines, Rama 2 Slum Association, Community Network for Development, Khon Khan network, Groups for Development of Communities under Bridges . The local NGOs, Community organization for people’s Action (COPA) and Human Settlement Foundation (HFA) are support groups to FRSN.

• FRSN Women Network was established in 2010 December to broaden participation of women and consolidate grassroots women agenda in contxt of FRSN advocacy and organizing to improve slumdwellers quality of life.

• Cambodia• Urban Poor Women Development (UPWD) is a non-government organization Phnom Penh

organised in 1997. It undertakes community based work in 27 communes in Phnom Penh to support access to basic services,land tenure after civil war, support to persons with HIV-AIDS ,etc.

• Community Peace Network is composed of community leaders in rural Cambodia whose aim is to organise communities and support them in securing their lands fro landgrabbing, develop sust. Agriculture

• Cambodia Housing Rights task Force is a network of NGOs providing organizing/ legal/technical/advocacy support to urban poor groups in Cambodia.

• (CPN and CHRTF joined after the mapping of 2009)

Huairou Commission and LOCOA• Huairou Commission is a global coalition supporting grassroots women

work and leadership in community development , advocacy in public policy aimed at women empowerment and gender equality in homes,communities and broader societies. Founded in 1993 and working with its partners and members in 68 countries. Secretariat is based in New York .

• LOCOA,established in 1993, is an Asian regional network, a successor generation of Asian Committee on People’s Organizations(ACPO) an ecumenical iniative during 70s.It promotes community empowerment thru building independent grassroots organizations,developing leaders and community organizers.In 2010, established its goals to broaden women participation and consolidation of women’s agenda in LOCOA ‘s organizing/advocacy. LOCOA secretariat is based in Jakarta.