UN accuses UK of human rights abuses at Dale Farm

WHAT'S HAPPENED?A United Nations team has visited the Dale Farm travellers camp and said that Monday's planned eviction of some of its residents is a violation of international law. Basildon council plans to evict 85 families who, despite owning the land, are living in homes built without planning permission.

The UN Advisory Group on Forced Evictions used a press conference today to launch a wider report on the eviction of travellers and gypsies from sites across Britain.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?Professor Yves Cabannes, chair of the UN Advisory Group on Forced Evictions, says there are three pieces of international rights legislation, to which Britain is a signatory, which have been breached by Basildon council in the instance of Dale Farm and by the government across the UK. They are:

• The right to adequate housing which is culturally suitable
• The right to be protected from forced evictions
• The right of ethnic minorities to be protected from discrimination.

In answer to the charge that the Dale Farm travellers are in breach of planning law, which applies equally to all British residents, Prof Cabannes (above) said: "The people who are abusing the law are the council, not the travellers. The council is not fulfilling its duties. There are many Dale Farms which face these issues every day and there needs to be a co-ordinated approach across the country."

Earlier, Prof Cabannes had told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Basildon council has a legal duty to provide proper pitches for the travellers' families.

He said that the UK High Court had been wrong to rule that the human rights of the travellers had been properly considered during the 10-year legal battle that has led to Monday's eviction.

WHAT NEXT?Monday's eviction looks set to go ahead. Basildon council has dismissed Prof Cabannes's accusations, telling the Press Association: "The UN 'representative' may not be aware that Basildon provides more approved traveller sites than any other local authority area in Essex and among the greatest number in any area in the country...

"The UN refers to the rights of the families involved. Basildon Council respects those along with the rights of the vast majority of its residents who want this illegal camp moved after 10 years of stalling tactics by the travellers."

The British government is also sticking to its guns. The Department for Communities and Local Government said Basildon council is within its rights to evict the Dale Farm travellers.

Despite the determination of some travellers and sympathisers to resist using peaceful methods, some residents have already left. Police are on standby in case there is any trouble. ·