Dokument #1332829
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Autor)
No information on a group of squatters
taking over land in May 1996 in a shanty town or area of Lima known
as Juan Pablo or Juan Pablo II, or protesting their eviction later
that year, could be found among the sources consulted by the
Research Directorate.
Regarding granting of land titles to
squatters, in 1996 the central government established a special
committee under the responsibility of the Minister of Transport,
the Comite de Formalizacion de la Propiedad (COFOPRI), to
accelerate the granting of land titles to persons living in
occupied sites (Caretas 16 May 1996). The problem was
considered extensive since, according to the provincial
municipality of Lima, by May 1996 there were 370,000 untitled lots
in shanty towns or "human settlements" (asentamientos
humanos) and 180,000 in housing cooperatives or associations
throughout the metropolitan area; of these, 200,000 were already in
the process of being issued property titles, while 120,000 had not
yet been properly identified or registered for titling purposes and
some 50,000 had been "informally divided" (divididos
informalmente) (ibid.). Until then, the provincial
municipality's designation of a "human settlement" for relocation
or granting titles depended mostly on its location and on the
general guidelines for urban expansion involving the occupied area;
the latter were normally prepared by or fell under the jurisdiction
of the district municipalities (ibid.).
In late 1997 COFOPRI's new authority to
issue titles was questioned by the opposition in congress; it was
pointed out that although COFOPRI had been established to expedite
the granting of property titles to squatters and thus facilitate
their access to utilities, the committee's legal mandate waived the
infrastructural "feasibility" (factibilidad) and other
technical considerations for granting titles, which meant that some
legally recognized settlements could be out of practical reach from
utility networks (El Comercio 17 Oct. 1997). A new law
passed in 1997 regulating COFOPRI's activities effectively
eliminated the existing authority of the provincial municipality of
Lima to grant titles for human settlements; a congresswoman of the
ruling party explained that COFOPRI would exercise its authority to
grant titles for occupied farm land that had been expropriated,
while district municipalities would participate in the granting of
other titles (ibid.).
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is
not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any
particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
Caretas [Lima]. 16 May 1996.
"Titulacion a la carrera: Lo que le espera a la ministra de
Transportes Elsa Carrera como engargada del COFOPRI." [Internet] http://
ekeko.rcp.net.pe/CARETAS/1414/mdf/mdf.htm [Accessed 28 Sept.
1998]
El Comercio [Lima]. 17 October
1997. "Advierten problemas tecnico-legales en proyecto que da
facultad a la Cofopri." [Internet] http://www.comercio.com.pe/3/1997/10/
17/estrada.txt.html [Accessed 28 Sept. 1998]
Additional Sources Consulted
Andean Newsletter [Lima].
1996-98.
Foreign Broadcast Information Service
(FBIS) Reports. 1996.
Human Rights Watch World
Report. 1996-98.
Keesing's Record of World
Events [Cambridge]. 1996-97.
Latinamerica Press [Lima].
1996-98.
Latin American Regional
Reports: Andean Group Report [London]. 1996-98.
News from Americas Watch [New
York]. 1996-98.
Newspapers and periodicals pertaining to
the appropriate region.
Electronic sources: IRB Databases,
Global NewsBank, NEXIS, Internet, Refworld, WNC.
Note:
This list is not exhaustive.
Country-specific books available in the Resource Centre are not
included.