Several of the men left, rumors of domestic violence grew, and social relationships disintegrated. By 1997, the families were scattered around the city in whatever housing they could find. One of the most distressing consequences of urban displacement is the effect that insecurity of tenure has on all irregular settlements. Whether or not residents are ever evicted, the threat of eviction affects huge areas of developing cities and prevents investment in housing and services that is necessary to solve the problem of slums in the first place. Given the far-reaching social consequences of displacement, it is not surprising that forced evictions entail the violation of a number of human rights.
Evictions obviously compromise the right to housing.
The right to adequate housing has been made increasing explicit in international law. Article 25 of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights established the right to housing for the first time in 1948. The Declaration on Social Progress and Development, the Declaration on the Rights of the Child, the Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlement and other conventions all affirm the right to housing. More than 50 constitutions recognize housing as a human right, including the Colombian Constitution of 1991. In addition to the right to housing, the right to freedom of movement is commonly violated with eviction.