Today, thousands of waterfront residents in Cotonou are threatened by eviction and living with the fear of seeing their homes and communities destroyed.
On Tuesday, 20 August 2019, residents of Xwlacodji community woke up to an surprise, illegal demolition exercise that destroyed more than 160 homes. The evictees received no notice and no information about any resettlement action plan or compensation.
Since 26 August 2019, residents of nearly a dozen waterfront communities in Cotonou have received a quit notice warning of evictions to begin within 72 hours. These notices do not comply with national or international law and do not respect the right to adequate shelter and the prohibition on forced evictions.
We must remember that no one in the threatened communities is against development; however, development cannot be achieved through exclusion and unjust evictions that push affected residents into homelessness and deeper poverty.
- Sign this petition to demand that the Mayor of Cotonou refrain from executing the quit notices issued by the technical service of the Mayor’s office, in light of the fact that they are against the national law of Benin.
- Read the joint press statement