U.N.: Rights Of Katrina Displaced Violated

Authorities Accused Of Forcing La. Blacks Into Homelessness By Demolishing Public Housing

(AP)  United Nations experts weighed in Thursday on the debate over public housing in New Orleans, accusing the U.S. federal government and local authorities of forcing predominantly black residents into homelessness.

The experts said the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and local governments will violate the human rights of thousands of New Orleans residents by demolishing public housing units.

The majority of those affected are black and many were devastated by Hurricane Katrina, they said.

"These demolitions ... could effectively deny thousands of African-American residents their right to return to housing from which they were displaced by the hurricane," said the statement from Miloon Kothari, the U.N. Human Rights Council's investigator for housing, and Gay McDougall, expert on minority issues.

Both experts are independent and unpaid; the U.N.'s Kothari is an Indian architect and McDougall is an American lawyer who has long campaigned for human rights.

"The authorities claim that the demolition of public housing is not intentionally discriminatory," they said, but added that "predominantly African-American residents" would as a result be denied their "internationally recognized human rights."

The U.S. mission in Geneva declined to comment immediately.

The U.N. statement cited the start of demolition work on the St. Bernard public housing development in New Orleans, and said there were similar plans for the Lafitte, B.W. Cooper and C.J. Peete developments.

These demolitions, combined with the spiraling costs for private housing and rental units, puts African-American communities badly hurt by Hurricane Katrina "in further distress, increasing poverty and homelessness," they said.

The experts said they understood that authorities are intending to replace demolished housing. But "only a portion of the new housing units will be for residents in need of subsidized housing and the remainder will be offered at the market rate."

Many more homes will be demolished than newly created, meaning thousands of blacks in New Orleans would be denied "their right to return to housing from which they were displaced by the hurricane," the experts said.

The U.N.-appointed experts called on the governments of the United States, Louisiana and New Orleans to halt demolitions of public housing and include current and former residents of the city in discussions to help them return to their homes..

[bb19631]

Stop whining get a job, find housing elsewhere if you have too. Stop using Katrina as an excuse! I''ve said this before,excuses,excuses. Learn to be self reliant on yourselves. If housing is not available go some place else.

[oldpilot954]

Tell the UN to get off US soil and go play in their own backyard. Darned shame the planes did not get the UN on 9/11. The US populaion never wanted the UN here in the first place. Where were they when Katrina was happening and our military and other services were caught unprepared and understaffed by the overwhelming scope of the crisis?

[ianlou]

It''s pretty sad that the U.N. sees a need to help Americans in America.

Bush and the boys are creating a third world nation within the boarders of The First World Nation.

I hope it eventually affects the only things he cares about, his legacy and his wallet.

[wardoglrs]

This is the answer to the problem


http://www.ideachannel.tv/

[libsrweak]

maybe we should turn the UN building into one huge apartment complex for katrina victims..i mean the UN does not need a building to solve world problems with thier infamous "barrage of harsh words"

[facts6]

"""bropous""" you are 100% correct.

[facts6]

The UN. How can the American middle class possibly support the UN and New Orleans? I suggest the free housing dwellers get a job and buy a home. Then we only have to support the UN.

[joanne600]

To Nandrelli - Very well said. How convenient that so many forget the school buses that could have evacuated many, but instead lay dormant because Nagin showed no management or leadership skills. Unfortunately your words aren''t heard by those who need to hear them. You know how leftists just hate having their feelings confused by actual facts.

[libsrweak]

Again, would this had happened in a predominantly white area???


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Posted by beader59 at 02:42 PM : Feb 28, 2008
+ report abuse


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the people who remains ''affected'' by this katrina are the ones who are so DEPENDENT..either MENTALIY AND PHYSICALLY that thier very course of action for ANYTHING..if for someone to save them..KATRINA IS NO...I SAY IT AGAIN..NOT A EXCUSE TO GET A LIFETIME WELFARE MEAL TICKET..

[nandrelli]

To watcher269: I would like to point out that it was the Democratic mayor, Ray Nagin, who failed to execute the evacuation plan for which HE was responsible, leading to the death of over 900 people. It was the Democratic Governor, Kathleen Blanco, who (1) didn''t know it was HER responsibility to call the President and ask him to send in the National Guard (2) refused to let the Red Cross provide bottled water to the people in the Superdome because she didn''t want people converging there, thereby making things more miserable for thousands of people. Sure, FEMA did not do such a hot job, but by the time things got down to their level of responsibility, Nagin and Blanco had screwed things up beyond repair.

If the government said "these units are unsafe, but we%u2019ll let people live there and take their chances of having the buildings collapse, or having the residents contract numerous diseases". Then it would be "The Bush administration is forcing minorities to live in death traps".

People who put the U.N. above all else are exactly the type of people who will ruin this country. One of the things the Iraq war pointed out (for anyone who is capable of reading a newspaper) is the corruption that ran all the way to the top of the U.N. (if you don''t remember the Iraqi Oil for Food program and the bribes and kickbacks between Saddam and France, Germany, Russia, China, etc., then you really weren''t paying attention).

You people are amazingly ignorant.