Informal Settlements Demolition in Sheger City, Ethiopia: Balancing Urban Land Law Enforcement and Housing Right Protection

Abstract

This article investigates the practice of evictions and house demolitions in Sheger City, Ethiopia, and their implications for constitutional guarantees and international human rights obligations. Drawing on primary data from surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions and legal analysis, the findings reveal that demolitions were carried out arbitrarily, often without adequate notice, consultation, compensation, or provision of alternative housing, leaving thousands displaced and homeless. Respondents reported widespread violations of rights to property, housing, health, education, work, and social security as enshrined in the FDRE Constitution and international treaties such as the ICCPR, ICESCR, CEDAW, and the African Charter. Evictions were frequently accompanied by excessive force, confiscation of property, and denial of judicial remedies, disproportionately affecting vulnerable groups. The destruction of houses, places of worship, and community infrastructure fractured social networks and precipitated a humanitarian crisis. Ultimately, the demolitions in Sheger City represent a systemic failure to harmonize urban development with human rights protections. The article concludes that urgent reforms are required, including legal clarity on informal settlements, strengthened procedural safeguards, reinstated judicial oversight, comprehensive compensation frameworks, participatory urban governance, and alignment with Ethiopia’s international obligations to explicitly prohibit arbitrary eviction and safeguard the right to adequate housing.