A/HRC/29/41 context created by a depressed economy with limited avenues for income generation and the prohibitively high cost of building materials. The practice became widespread, since, for many, other means of financing the construction of a house were limited, given that they could not offer the land as collateral to obtain a loan. One of the problems generated by this practice, was that, while it was frowned upon, individuals could “sell” to people who had not completed their national service duties or paid their 2 per cent diaspora tax. 45. Many private houses built in Eritrea in the past 20 years were financed as described above. The Government, considering the practice to be “illegal sale of land”, threatened for several years to demolish houses built in such a manner. While none of those houses were built without the knowledge of the authorities, bulldozers were sent to raze the dwellings. B. Right to housing and the impact of forced evictions 46. The lack of availability of adequate and affordable social housing continues to be problematic in Eritrea, a country facing a grave housing and urban development challenge. The successive movements of refugees and internally displaced persons over the years have caused severe housing shortages. Following the achievement of de facto independence, after 30 years of liberation struggle, Eritreans returning from refugee camps and other locations faced a severe scarcity of houses, particularly in urban areas. During the EritreaEthiopia border conflict, from July 1998, the Ethiopian authorities summarily arrested, and left at the border, an estimated 70,000 ethnic Eritreans almost overnight, forcibly returning them to Eritrea. Eritrea drove out an almost equal number of Ethiopians who had been residing on its territory. An estimated 100,000 homes were destroyed and 450,000 Eritreans displaced. These movements and influxes of people and destruction of houses compounded the problem, thus affecting negatively the exercise of the right to adequate housing in Eritrea. 47. The housing problem persisted, as the recent demolition of houses and forced evictions confirmed. In 2005 it was estimated that by 2015 about 5,000 new dwelling units would be required annually in Asmara alone, in sharp contrast to the estimated 1,500 houses that were being built annually at the time of the estimate.25 The shortage is concentrated in the low-income housing market, affecting the majority of the population, especially those in the national service. The high cost of construction is a major impediment generally, but more particularly in the social housing market. 48. By resorting to evictions and demolitions, the Eritrean authorities demonstrated that they were reluctant to create the necessary conditions to expand access to adequate social housing, while prioritizing the construction of higher end residential complexes.26 Additionally, many reports allege that the demolitions were in part a form of retribution for several popular actions, including against groups that recently resisted the call for military training within the national service and the people’s militia. 27 49. The official reasons provided for the demolitions were that the houses had been built in contravention of the rights attached to plots allocated for the purpose of building a 25 26 27 Eritrea, UN-HABITAT and UNDP, “Eritrea: housing/urban development policy report”. “Eritrea’s quiet construction boom”, Madote.com. Available from www.madote.com/2014/04/eritreasquiet-construction-boom.html. The Asmara housing pilot project being developed in the Sembel, Halibet and Space 2001 districts consists of 1,680 homes and shops, and is reported to be the largest modern housing infrastructure project in the Horn of Africa. Houses range in size from 30 to 200 square metres. The prices range from US$ 22,744 for a 20 m2 apartment to US$ 142,742 for a 200 m2 house, all prohibitively out of reach for most Eritreans. Interviews conducted by the Special Rapporteur during the period 9 March to 25 May 2015. 13