A/HRC/56/47 47. In other cases, housing has been inadequate. In 2014, the village of Vunidogoloa, Fiji was relocated 2 km inland in response to tidal flooding, saltwater intrusion and coastal erosion. Homes built at the new site reportedly have improved facilities, particularly solar panels, and a bathroom. Some relocated persons felt, however, that the houses were too small and limited privacy. They regretted that kitchens had not been provided, owing to a lack of consultation with women in the relocation process, and that proper footpaths and drainage were lacking. Households constructed their own kitchens from salvaged materials.78 48. In some cases, housing arrangements do not respect the culture of relocated communities. In Papua New Guinea, the Manam island community that relocated following a volcanic eruption in 2005 faced overcrowding in the relocation settlements, contradicting the traditional village structure where leaders’ houses are spacious and separate from the rest of the community.79 Similarly, in Algeria, the considerable damage caused by successive extreme weather events in Timimoun, Bechar and Aoulef and frequent flooding led the local authorities to launch a planned relocation programme. Housing was reportedly unsuitable for family size and incompatible with traditional ways of life and architecture. In Gardi Sugdub, Panama, homes in the relocation site were reportedly too small to accommodate multigenerational Guna families, and lacked supportive beams to which hammocks could be attached.80 5. Right to water and sanitation 49. Access to water and sanitation services is inadequate in some relocation areas, often for years. In the Philippines, people displaced in 2013 by Typhoon Haiyan and relocated to Tacloban still did not have adequate access to safe and potable water in permanent shelter sites seven years after being displaced.81 Similarly, four years after Tropical Cyclone Evan in 2012, residents relocated from Demimanu, Fiji expressed concerns about drainage issues in the new village and inadequate sewage septic tanks. Two decades after the Manam Island (Papua New Guinea) relocation, communities still struggled to have access to services, including sanitation. 82 The San José Montenegro and Rincón Caballar communities in Chiapas, Mexico still lacked water 10 years after relocating following Hurricane Stan in 2005.83 50. In Sri Lanka, people who resettled to the China Friendship Village and Panapurewatta after a landslide in 2016 still faced limited access to water and essential services owing to their cultural isolation.84 Rising sea levels have led to the salinization of wells in El Bosque, jeopardizing access to water as the community awaits relocation. 85 Flooding and coastal erosion endangers fresh water sources, sewage lagoons and landfills in several native villages in Alaska that are seeking relocation in anticipation of risks associated with melting permafrost and rising sea levels.86 Access to water and sanitation improved, however, for the Vunidogoloa community in Fiji following relocation.87 6. Right to health 51. The impact of relocation on the right to health varies. Relocated residents in Tacloban (Philippines), Lake Enriquillo (Dominican Republic) and Vunidogoloa (Fiji) saw their access to health services improve after relocation. 88 In Vunidogoloa, the village was reportedly moved near a main road, giving access to nearby hospitals. Although Vunidogoloa residents reported fewer water-borne diseases after relocation, they experienced deteriorating overall 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 12 Submission by Yee, Piggott-McKellar and McMichael. Submission by the Asia Pacific Academic Network on Disaster Displacement. Submission by Human Rights Watch. Submission by the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines. Submission by the Asia Pacific Academic Network on Disaster Displacement. Pérez and Tomaselli, “Indigenous Peoples and climate-induced relocation”. Submission by the Asia Pacific Academic Network on Disaster Displacement. Submission by Moreno and Fry. Submission by the Alaska Institute for Justice. Submission by Yee, Piggott-McKellar and McMichael. See also https://kmhub.iom.int/sites/default/files/publicaciones/oim-relocation_report_6.pdf. Submission by the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines.