Privatization of Dormitory Housing in Dushanbe

What is affected

Communal

Type of violation

Forced eviction

Date

01 January 2007

Region

A [ Asia ]

Country

Tajikistan

Location

Dushanbe

Affected persons

	Total 438
	Men 0
	Women 0
	Children 0

Proposed solution

Details

Development

Forced eviction

Costs

Duty holder(s) /responsible party(ies)

State

Brief narrative

Source: Human Rights Watch, "Letter to Participants in `Human Rights, Housing, and the State: Cases of Forced Eviction in Tajikistan," 7 July 2008. Found at: http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2008/07/07/letter-participants-human-rights-housing-and-state-cases-forced-eviction-tajikistan

(Document attached)

"A third group of individuals affected by evictions are inhabitants of dormitories. They are an extremely vulnerable group often living on the margins of society. During the Soviet era, many ministries and state enterprises had dormitories for their employees. After the break-up of the Soviet Union, the economic crisis that attended it, and the civil war, many enterprises were closed and people lost their jobs. However, former employees often continued to live in the dormitories. The dormitories remained a profitable portion of an enterprise or ministry because they could be privatized, sold and turned into higher rent apartments. Therefore, in the last several years, enterprises have started to privatize dormitories."

Residents have been given little notice of their eviction and therefore no opportunity to challenge the order. Sometimes renters are evicted without being provided compensation or alternative housing.

Examples:
"Human Rights Watch received information about one case of violent eviction of 14 families from a dormitory despite the fact that the residents had rental contracts. In a second case Human Rights Watch was following, a family of eighteen was evicted from a dormitory and was attacked by police when they resisted leaving the building. One male family member was sentenced to three years imprisonment for civil disorder. Another 70 families from the same dormitory were forcibly evicted several months prior to that."

Costs

€ 0

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