advocacy
As one of the world’s most far-reaching and pressing phenomena, displacement is linked to severe social and economic outcomes and political consequences. DRAN seeks to better analyze the impacts of displacement and increase knowledge of anti-displacement advocacy tools. The network aims to assist local communities, civil society networks, and social movements in advancing the frontiers of knowledge on displacement and to influence national and global advocacy that promotes social, cultural and economic rights.
zero eviction campaign event
In 2020, DRAN founder BalaIrishnan Rajagopal particiapted in Brazil’s Campanha Despejo Zero / National Zero Eviction Campaign, an advocacy campaign bringing awareness to the housing insecurity of the most vulnerable. The campaign focused on reducing evictions, defending the right to the city, and mitigating the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on access to housing.
Forced from Home: A Human Rights Assessment of Displacement and Evictions in Boston’s Chinatown
In Boston, Chinatown is among the frontlines of displacement pressures, as luxury residential development, short term rentals, institutional expansion and rising rents are all affecting the housing stock and deepening the commodification of neighborhood land. This has had both visible and less visible impacts on the community, directly displacing residents from their homes and with it impacting health, weakening access to services and community assets, fragmenting community cohesion and beyond. In light of the developing situation in Chinatown, the DRAN partnered with the Chinese Progressive Association (CPA) to conduct a detailed analysis of the impacts displacement is having on residents and the neighborhood, tying these to international human rights standards to evidence the rights violations these impacts implicate.
dran statement at the world humanitarian summit
DRAN released the below statement before the World Humanitarian Summit, convened by the UN Secretary General, in Istanbul in May 2016. The purpose was to complement the urban recommendations put forth by the Global Urban Crisis Partnership, and emphasized the centrality of human rights to humanitarian responses to displacement, and area based approaches in protracted situations involving urban displacements.
joint public statement on behalf of displaced communities
In 2014, DRAN members signed a joint public statement against development-induced evictions and displacement both in Boston and contexts around the world.