Bangladesh is signatory to a number of international resolutions that protect the rights of slum dwellers. One such resolution, the Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000, stipulates that all States have a fundamental obligation to protect and improve houses and neighbourhoods, rather than damage or destroy them. The National Housing Policy 1993 affirms the right to habitation and housing for all and compels the Government to take steps to avoid forcible relocations or displacement of slum dwellers.

Slum settlements are the visible face of urban poverty in Bangladesh. In the absence of public and private sector initiatives to provide affordable and secure housing for the urban poor as well as commercial bank loans to stimulate affordable housing enterprises, slum living has become an unavoidable reality and so has the threat of eviction. Lack of security of land tenure remains a major constraint on poverty reduction. Access to land is an inseparable ingredient in a poor household’s ability to survive, earn, thrive and lift itself out of poverty. Aside from being a basis for shelter and access to services, secure land rights can act as a safety net in times of hardship and provide financial security. Secure tenure and housing also encourages people to invest in improved housing and the land itself, while attracting public and private investment in the community as well as other services and infrastructure.