A/HRC/43/43/Add.2 cases against their will. 57 It was the fifty-ninth eviction of an informal encampment of migrants in Paris since 2015. Despite the frequency of these evictions, it is commonplace that, after a few weeks, encampments start to form again, because of new arrivals and because alternative accommodation is unsuitable or provided only for short periods. A month after the eviction in November 2019, only half of the migrants were in long-term accommodation. Over 800 were still housed in emergency shelters, while 156 were reported to have voluntarily left the shelters.58 72. As of April 2019, near Calais and Grande-Synthe an estimated 600 to 700 migrants and refugees were living in tents and small encampments, suffering the harsh weather conditions with extremely limited access to emergency shelter. For example, in Calais there was only one emergency shelter open for 20 days during the winter period when the weather was expected to drop below 2ºC. 73. Since the spring of 2017, a deliberate and systematic policy has been implemented involving the regular eviction of persons camping on private and public land in this area. From 1 January to 31 March 2019, over 200 evictions at encampments were documented by local human rights organizations. These evictions usually took place in the morning, without prior notice, and tear gas was occasionally employed.59 The Special Rapporteur heard from individuals who told her that they were being evicted every 48 hours. They also reported that, when evicted, they were not permitted to pack up their tents or collect personal belongings. In fact, tents, sleeping bags and personal items are often destroyed or confiscated. 74. Migrants and asylum seekers evicted from their encampments in Calais are normally only offered accommodation in reception centres located more than 75 kilometres away, while international human rights standards require relocation nearby. The systematic nature of repeated evictions by police is a source of extreme stress, anxiety and sleep deprivation, for an already traumatized population. 75. On 28 February 2019, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in Khan v. France (Application No. 12267/16) that the failure to provide care for an unaccompanied minor after the makeshift camps set up in the southern section of the Calais heath area had been dismantled and his hut demolished constituted violation of article 3 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (European Convention on Human Rights) prohibiting inhuman and degrading treatment. 76. The practices reported to the Special Rapporteur by residents of the encampments around Calais are a gross violation of the right to adequate housing and other human rights, such as the rights to water, sanitation, health, food and physical integrity. The systematic and repeated nature of these cases of forced eviction suggest that they also constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of one of the most vulnerable population groups in France. C. Travellers 77. “Travellers” (“gens du voyage”) is a French administrative term for various itinerant groups with French nationality. Travellers often face stigmatization and discrimination similar to Roma with foreign nationality. In total, approximately 206,000 persons are estimated to live in caravans.60 78. While the Special Rapporteur welcomes the 2017 act on equality and citizenship, which abolished the requirement for travellers to carry a special travel pass, she is concerned about several policies that undermine their right to housing. 79. Under the “Besson” act of 5 July 2000, municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants are required to create a permanent caravan site in which travellers can stay with 57 58 59 60 14 Angelique Chrisafis, “French police begin clearing makeshift migrant camp in Paris”, Guardian, 7 November 2019. Julia Pascual, “Campements à Paris: que deviennent les migrants mis à l’abri?”, Le Monde, 9 December 2019. Human Rights Observers, “Les expulsions de terrain à Calais et Grande-Synthe : 1er août 2018–1er juin 2019”, 1 June 2019. European Committee of Social Rights, Follow-up to Decisions on the Merits of Collective Complaints: Findings 2018 (Strasbourg, 2018), para. 224.