Eviction is not a disaster

Abstract

Motivation: Should the process of forcibly evicting people from customary land be classified as a "disaster"? Some international organizations and governments are integrating processes on forced eviction of urban residents into policies that are primarily designed to manage displacements due to climate change and disasters-such as Vanuatu's 2018 National Policy on Climate Change and Disaster-Induced Displacement. Purpose: This article contextualizes the classification of evictions as "disasters." We argue that evictions are not disasters and should not be so classified. We make these arguments from an empirical position, based on community response to the declaration of eviction as disaster, and also from the perspective of international law. Approach and Methods: Our data come from the following sources: Communities: We use a storytelling method to interview around 100 women and men. The policy: We review the language of the Vanuatu policy in the context of international guidance on displacement generally and on forced eviction specifically. Public records: We use court records and newspaper reporting to understand claims of government, land claimants and survivors. Policy-makers: A limited number of unofficial conversations with policy-makers inform this work. Findings: Urban forced evictions should not be treated as "disasters" in policy on forced displacement. Our interviewees identify the equation of eviction and "disaster" as one that removes the agency of the government to protect their human rights. The evidence presented here suggests that the Government of Vanuatu does not have sufficient powers to intervene in some forced evictions from customary land. This raises critical questions about whether the government will be able to fulfil the promises made in the policy and in its obligations under international law relating to displacement. Policy Implications: Classifying forced evictions together with land conflicts, infrastructure and development as potential "crises," and so "disastrous," as the Vanuatu policy does, creates a new set of challenges that must now be managed as the policy is operationalized. This includes serious consideration of how countries that take this path will fulfil their obligations to protect against, avoid and minimize displacement, in the context of customary land, and meet other international policy standards, in order to ensure no one is left worse off nor denied the benefit of development opportunity. This is a timely issue for peer countries. Right now, other Pacific countries, like the Solomon Islands, are looking to Vanuatu's example to develop internal displacement policies of their own.

Locating the traditional economy in Port Vila, Vanuatu: Disaster relief and agrobiodiversity

“…Urban residents not living on their kin's customary land face tenuous housing security; for example, dozens of settlements were evicted in 2019 (Day, 2021). The reasons for evictions vary but often stem from contested land claims and are enforced through forced removals by police (Day et al ., 2021).…”

Linking gender, climate change and security in the Pacific Islands Region: A systematic review

“…Within the sample, 17 articles had a significant focus on types of security in the context of climate change. This included seven articles that had a primary focus on food and nutritional security (Cleasby et al 2014 ; Eriksson et al 2017 ; Rabbitt et al 2019 ; Savage et al 2020 ; Wentworth et al 2020 ; Cauchi et al 2021 ; Mangubhai et al 2021 ); three articles that sought to expand the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in the region to include climate change impacts as a human security issue (George 2014 , 2016 ; Bhagwan Rolls and Rolls 2019 ); two articles that considered women’s roles in community resilience, with a particular emphasis on food security (Davila et al 2021 ) or ontological security (Singh et al 2022 ); one article on energy security (Sovacool et al 2012 ) or energy poverty (Teariki et al 2020 ); one article considering land tenure security and forced evictions (Day et al 2021 ); one article on sexual and reproductive health responses in post-disaster periods which included the challenges of being considered as a ‘security’ issue (Beek et al 2021 ); and one article on the gendered nature of village water committees and water security (Nelson et al 2021 ). While this illustrates that the material aspects of human security, particularly food security, are being used to frame explicit treatments of security, this tends to be siloed.…”

“…The review also highlighted important threats to consider beyond climate change, such as the potential for discourse to cause greater problems than the actual climatic threats themselves (van der Ploeg 2020 ; Nef 2021 ), or the possibility that elite capture, poor regulation or poorly designed responses can lead to greater inequalities and divisions within communities (Buggy and McNamara 2016 ; Roberts 2019 ; Day et al 2021 ; van der Ploeg et al 2020 ; Westoby et al 2020 ). Externally driven projects, whether for resource development or adaptation, can drive significant local fractions, and either reinforce existing power differentials within households and between families, or create new power structures (Buggy and McNamara 2016 ; Roberts 2019 ).…”

Sister Communities: Rejecting Labels of Informality and Peripherality in Vanuatu

“…Adopting the language of peri‐urban , I have described the EECA and evictions in multiple publications (e.g. Day et al ., 2020). I have reproduced the language of development agencies, government, and other scholars without critical reflection on its application to this place.…”