ANGOLA: Amnesty calls for halt to forced evictions

IRIN reported on Thursday that Amnesty International (AI) called for a moratorium on forced evictions in Angola, claiming that over 5,000 people had been forcibly removed from their homes in three mass evictions between 2001 and 2003.

The London-based rights group alleged that evictions in the Boavista, Soba Kapassa and Benfica areas in the capital, Luanda, were "arbitrary and carried out at police gun-point, without adequate prior notice or consultation".

The 46-page report, "Mass forced evictions in Luanda - a call for a human rights-based housing policy", examines the evictions in the capital city, and discusses current Angolan law in light of international human rights standards on the right to adequate housing and the right not to be forcibly evicted.