UN to Investigate Forced Evictions in Post-Katrina NOLA

Courtesy of the domestic economic human rights organization NESRI, I see that the United Nations's Advisory Group on Forced Evictions will spend next week in New Orleans, investigating three key eviction issues: "the demolition of public housing; the displacement of Mid City residents to make way for the Louisiana State University hospital; and growing homelessness."  It is the UN's third visit to the city in 3 years; the tour will begin with testimony from displaced residents, incl. their visions for rebuilding the city.

Domestic human and civil rights activists have worked with the UN for decades in an effort to pressure the US to grant and honor full rights to its citizens, to little tangible effect from the average citizen's perspective (there's a both lack of public knowledge and a willful ignorance about HR violations and activism here at home).  Certainly, during the Bush Administration, and in the post-Katrina era, when I became especially tuned in to domestic human rights activism, the public shaming that the UN brings to our country was virtually ignored, if not outright condemned by our nationalist, imperial Administration.

What does seem to be highly influential in involving the UN in stateside investigations is the impact on Americans who have had their human rights violated.  From conversations with Sam Jackson, founder of May Day New Orleans (a partner of NESRI's) and others, I know that human rights organizing of poor communities and communities of color - particularly when its linked to other communities (e.g., Tsunami survivors) - is an excellent tool for mobilizing and empowering residents to fight back against social injustice.  Now if only we could equip them with more resources for their fight, and shift public awareness to the relevance of international human rights treaties on our laws and policies.

NESRI's announcement includes this key passage on how NOLA's post-Katrina HR violations are part of a nationwide move towards privatization and displacement:

The forced evictions being investigated in New Orleans come as a result of a rebuilding process that favors private sector interests over the interests of residents. This emphasis on private sector develop-ment is being felt across the country with devastating effects including the current economic crisis, which has its roots in the housing sector. While post-Katrina redevelopment policies have had a disproportion-ately adverse impact on poor and low-income African American communities, the ongoing lack of afford-able housing, and the evictions to make way for private sector development, is a significant issue for all residents of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. (my emphases)

Additional info is available here, here, and from the National Law Center on Homeless & Poverty here.

(Photo of March 2009 May Day NOLA Rally at Lafitte public housing site, New Orleans, LA; by NESRI)