VANCOUVER—The City of Vancouver’s efforts to remove a group of homeless people living in Oppenheimer Park have drawn the attention of a United Nations housing expert who is concerned that the residents’ human rights are not being respected.

Leilani Farha, the UN’s special rapporteur on adequate housing, said she is watching the unfolding situation at the park closely and spoke to city councillor Jean Swanson and the mayor’s office on Tuesday about her concerns.

“I’m concerned that the human rights of the folks living in Oppenheimer are not being respected,” Farha told Star Vancouver in an interview, “so I was trying to convey to both the city councillor and the mayor’s office my concerns and what human rights law actually says about these situations.”

Around 200 people had been living in tents for close to a year at Oppenheimer Park in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

On Monday, the homeless campers were handed notices from the Vancouver Park Board stating they and their tents had to be out of the park by 6 p.m. Wednesday.

While the city, BC Housing and non-profit housing agencies have put together 140 housing units to offer to those staying in the park, the move to empty the camp has been chaotic and confusing for residents.

Farha said there are several issues that concern her, one being that the city has not consulted in a meaningful way with residents of the park and their advocates.

“There is the right to participation and inclusion, and that means that those people living in the park really have to be part of conversations in an ongoing way about their future,” Farha said.

The city says it needs to shut down the camp immediately because it is unsafe, with 17 fires reported at the camp since February.

But, Farha said, if the community had some organizational help “they could have appointed several members as fire marshals who would go around and ensure that no one has combustibles. Maybe the fire department could train some individuals who would then act as fire marshals.”

The city won’t move to evict anyone from the park tonight, deputy city manager Paul Mochrie told Star Vancouver Wednesday, but the Park Board may go to court to seek an injunction to remove people who continue to live there.

Farha said she’s glad to hear that the city has no immediate plans for eviction, and hopes there will be no forced removals from the park — because that would be a violation of international human rights law.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

“You have to think of this as a traumatized community, and the threat of eviction can be incredibly traumatic,” Farha said. She’s also concerned that there won’t be enough housing for everyone who wants it, and that could result in a situation she called “eviction into homelessness.”

“If they’re evicted and no adequate housing is found for them, then they’ll be evicted into homelessness and that’s considered a violation of the right to housing,” Farha explained.

Read more about: