A/79/317 Indigenous Peoples, who are often adversely affected by projects such as mining. When resettlement is triggered by natural disasters or climate change, preparation and planning may focus on evacuation or retreat, but displaced individuals should have a meaningful say in their relocation and living conditions. Examples of State legal and policy frameworks 11. Land acquisition for development and other projects. The Special Rapporteur is concerned about the unchecked use of eminent domain for national interest projects, which often evades the scrutiny required under normal resettlement and expropriation procedures. 12. In Pakistan, the colonial-era Land Acquisition Act of 1894 allows land acquisition for public purposes, including public-private partnerships and private companies. The Act, along with other laws based on it, permits forcible eviction with minimal procedural safeguards. The Katchi Abadis Act of 1987 provides some rehabilitation rights for residents of urban informal settlements, but efforts to grant legal titles to these residents have faced challenges. 2 13. In India, the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act of 2013 integrates land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation policies into a single law. Although initially groundbreaking, subsequent amendments have weakened protections and removed safeguards, raising concerns among human rights advocates and scholars. 3 14. Response to conflict. Increasingly, forced returns and relocations of internally displaced persons have been observed globally, exposing these communities to protection risks. 4 The Special Rapporteur stresses that displaced persons must be protected from forcible return or resettlement to areas where their life, safety or health would be at risk. 15. In Lebanon, the Ministry of the Displaced and the Central Fund of the Displaced, both established in 1993, has aimed to improve conditions for 450,000 displaced Lebanese. Despite efforts to finance housing and reconciliation initiatives, challenges such as coordination issues and alleged mismanagement have hindered progress. 5 16. Response to disaster. National disaster risk reduction policies increasingly reference planned relocation (see A/HRC/56/47, paras. 31–33). 17. In Türkiye, following the earthquake in 2023, the authorities introduced an earthquake recovery and reconstruction project, including a resettlement framework aligned with the World Bank Environmental and Social Framework. Despite efforts to establish fair criteria and mechanisms, civil society reports instances of discrimination and unequal treatment during resettlement. 6 __________________ 2 3 4 5 6 6/24 See communications PAK 6/2021 and PAK 7/2022. See also Human Rights Watch, “I escaped with only my life: abusive forced evictions in Pakistan”, 2024; available at www.hrw.org/sites/ default/files/media_2024/05/pakistan0524web.pdf. Rita Sinha, “Land acquisition law in neoliberal India: old wine in a new bottle?” in The Land Question in Neoliberal India, Varsha Bhagat-Ganguly, ed. (London, Routledge, 2020), pp. 151–171. Global Protection Cluster, “Global protection update: forced returns and relocations, April 2024”. Available at www.globalprotectioncluster.org/publications/1855/reports/global -protectionupdate/global-protection-update-forced-returns-and. Joseph Schechla, “Housing and property restitution for refugees and displaced persons: implementing the Pinheiro Principles in the Middle East and North Africa”, Housing and Land Rights Network of Habitat International Coalition, 2018. Türkiye, Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, earthquake, recovery and reconstruction project, resettlement framework. Available at https://webdosya.csb.gov.tr/db/ kadiyap_en/menu/rf_20240313034355.pdf. 24-15075