Protection Snapshot #5: The Impact of Violence on the Right to Adequate Housing in the North of Central America

Published 02. Oct 2019
In the North of Central America, the right to adequate housing has been impacted by decades of poverty, the absence of rule of law, corruption and discrimination, and is now being exacerbated by widespread criminal violence. Due to fear of reprisals from criminal groups, and the lack of protections for displaced people, many are unable to recuperate their houses or ensure that they are not sold illegally.

In Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, rapid urbanisation has led to the creation of large irregular settlements in the peripheries of urban areas, with high levels of tenure informality. This situation has been exacerbated by criminal violence and the current protection crisis; faced with threats from criminal groups, people are forced from their homes. There are no specialised mechanisms for displaced people to protect their housing rights and ensure that their homes are not sold illegally, or to assist in the recovery of their properties.

In parallel, forced evictions, in particular due to large-scale development, agricultural projects and mining, and the impact of natural hazards, have gradually displaced communities and individuals, and left them unprotected. The widespread lack of temporary shelters increases the vulnerability of displaced people. A few humanitarian organisations offer temporary shelter for those displaced by criminal violence, but humanitarian efforts to ensure recovery and restitution of homes are obstructed by security issues, the absence of rule of law, and the limited humanitarian access to affected areas.

This snapshot highlights the main barriers preventing access to adequate housing, particularly in the context of criminal violence and forced displacement. What are the existing vulnerabilities in the housing situation in the NCA? How does criminal violence affect this right? How are States and the humanitarian sector responding to the problem?

This is the fifth snapshot report on the protection situation in the North of Central America: an initiative of the REDLAC Regional Protection Group for the NCA, led by the Norwegian Refugee Council, and supported by AECID. The reports aim to present short regular analyses of the current situation and the humanitarian response to violence in the region, and are based on contributions from humanitarian organisations operating in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.

Download the report in English and Spanish: