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The impact of housing finance policies on the right to adequate housing of those living in poverty 2012, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- In some cases, administrative barriers or difficult requirements prevent low-income households from benefiting from subsidies. Enrolment remains low when people find it difficult to travel to apply to the programme because of time constraints, transportation expenses or disabilities. Having to produce expensive documentation of their eligibility for the programme, such as birth certificates or proof of residency, also increases their transaction costs and, thus, restricts enrolment. Inefficient land registration systems in many developing countries have sometimes created severe backlogs in title registration, circumventing the security of tenure of subsidy beneficiaries.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Homelessness as a global human rights crisis that demands an urgent global response 2016, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- Housing First has recently emerged as a dominant model for responses to homelessness in countries such as Belgium, Denmark, Hungary, the Netherlands, Portugal, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The model is straightforward, providing chronically homeless people, for example, those with psychosocial disabilities, with housing and support as needed. There are obvious benefits of keeping people in their communities as opposed to providing treatment services without housing, and this model offers easily measured outcomes. At the same time, concerns have been raised that Housing First may not serve as a generalized model as it tends to focus on visible forms of homelessness and does not address systemic causes of homelessness or ensure rehabilitation and production of affordable housing.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 22
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Homelessness for persons with disabilities is also linked to the breakdown of family relationships. A study in Montreal, Canada, of homeless persons with intellectual disabilities found that almost all individuals who lived on the street or in shelters had had no contact with their families since becoming homeless. On mission in Chile, the Special Rapporteur visited a homeless shelter run by the Salvation Army in Valparaiso where many of the residents were persons with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities who had been shunned or abandoned by their families.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 24
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Water, sanitation and hygiene facilities are often inaccessible and located some distance from the home. Those with mobility impairments may be dependent on assistance or forced to drag themselves along the ground to reach the facilities. In many situations, persons with disabilities are simply unable to gain access to toilets, must defecate in their homes and are often unable to remove waste. Streets or alleys in informal settlements are often sand, gravel or mud, sometimes built into steep cliffs and hill-sides, and are not accessible to persons in wheelchairs or with reduced mobility.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 75
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- In its recent white paper on the rights of persons with disabilities, the Department of Social Services of South Africa called for a comprehensive strategy to realize the right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities consistent with the transformative nature of the constitutional right to housing, including supported community living plans, subsidized housing support, universal design as a requirement in infrastructure grants and a sustainable community-based system for support for independent living. In the white paper, emphasis was laid on the critical importance of strengthening the enforcement of existing legislation, improving access to courts, complaints mechanisms and institutions and strengthening the capacity of institutions such as the South African Human Rights Commission and of organizations for persons with disabilities to support persons with disabilities in gaining access to justice.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 31
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Conflict and displacement also give rise to increased numbers of persons with disabilities. In Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Republic and the Gaza Strip, for example, conflict has contributed to high numbers of persons with disabilities. At the same time, in each of those places, adequate, accessible housing is extremely scarce, with housing stock having been destroyed and a lack of access or specific policies blocking access to the materials and resources necessary to rebuild homes. In refugee camps, poorly lit and remotely located latrines can lead to difficult access and experiences of sexual violence for women with disabilities, while crowded, narrow walkways can result in persons with visual impairments falling into open sewers.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 79
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Subnational and local governments have also initiated important efforts to address the right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities. Article XIV (1) of the World Charter for the Right to the City provides for universal realization of the right to housing and emphasizes the need for accessible and suitable locations. In article X of the Global Charter-Agenda for Human Rights in the City, it is recommended that cities adopt regulations to ensure the accessibility of housing for persons with disabilities. Some cities have sought to initiate inclusive zoning policies to prevent restrictions on supportive housing. Others have adopted measures to address affordability, such as housing benefits and/or allowances, grants or loans for required adaptations, lower interest rates on housing loans and reduced housing taxes for families with a family member with a disability.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 37
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- The right to non-discrimination also requires Governments and private actors to take positive measures to reasonably accommodate the needs of persons with disabilities insofar as such accommodation is “necessary and appropriate” and does not impose a “disproportionate or undue burden”. Reasonable accommodation is not restricted to physical modifications to existing housing. It also includes an obligation to adapt the application of laws and policies. As a component of the right to non-discrimination, reasonable accommodation is considered an immediate obligation of States.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 38
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Equality and non-discrimination are crucial for the realization of the right to housing of persons with disabilities under article 28. States must take positive measures to the maximum of available resources to address systemic homelessness and deprivation of housing, which disproportionately affects persons with disabilities, and to strive towards the full realization of the right to adequate housing for all persons with disabilities. In the Convention, it is made abundantly clear that the right to non-discrimination of persons with disabilities is not simply a negative right, requiring Governments and private actors to refrain from actions that exclude persons with disabilities, but also a positive right, requiring them to take measures to ensure the enjoyment of the right to housing. As Andrea Broderick notes, “the intersection of equality and socioeconomic rights in the [Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities] may provide a key to unlocking the structural inequalities which disabled people, and by extension other marginalised groups, have encountered for too long now”.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- In 1994, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights made an important advance with the adoption of general comment No. 5 (1994) on persons with disabilities. The Committee noted that an estimated 70 per cent of persons with disabilities worldwide lacked access to the services that they required and that “there is no country in which a major policy and programme effort is not required”. It emphasized that States were required “to take positive action to reduce structural disadvantage … in order to achieve the objectives of full participation and equality within society for all persons with disabilities” and that that included the right to support services for living in the community and to housing that was accessible, with additional resources made available.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 66
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- In a decision adopted in 2008, the Supreme Court of Nepal ordered the release of all persons who were imprisoned because of psychosocial disabilities, in keeping with the right to equality, health and a dignified life. The Court directed the Government to enact a law to protect the rights of persons with psychosocial disabilities and to arrange health services and other necessary measures. Local and international organizations have continued to exert pressure on the Government to implement the Court’s order in line with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In a decision adopted in 2012, the Court ordered the Government to provide a monthly stipend, build shelters and appoint a social welfare worker in each district.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 82b (i)
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- [In that regard, the Special Rapporteur offers the following recommendations:] [Courts, tribunals and national human rights institutions should:] Interpret and apply domestic law in accordance with the right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities and in particular recognize that the rights to life, liberty, substantive equality and non-discrimination require Governments to address homelessness, provide support for living in the community and respond to the diverse housing needs of persons with disabilities;
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Homelessness disproportionately affects persons with disabilities. In a vicious circle, disability often leads to homelessness and homelessness, in turn, creates or exacerbates impairments and additional barriers linked to stigma and isolation. Of the homeless adults in shelters in the United States of America, 43 per cent have a disability. Persons with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities are particularly vulnerable to homelessness and its effects.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 34
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- “Respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy including the freedom to make one’s own choices, and independence of persons” is a guiding principle set forth in article 3 (a) of the Convention that is particularly critical in the interpretation of the right to adequate housing. The deprivation of choice of where and with whom to live is often the most critical assault on dignity and autonomy for persons with disabilities.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 56
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Persons with disabilities frequently have critical needs in relation to the location of housing in order to ensure access to work, accessible transportation, support services and health-care facilities. Patterns of displacement of low-income communities to the peripheries of cities have disproportionately affected persons with disabilities. Such displacement and isolation are contrary to the right to housing and other human rights of persons with disabilities.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Women and their right to adequate housing 2012, para. 63d
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur reiterates that States should design, adopt and implement gender-sensitive and human rights-based law, policy and programming which:] Prioritizes the needs of particularly vulnerable and/or marginalized women, including widows, elderly women, lesbians, homeless women, migrant women, women with disabilities, women who may be single mothers or single heads of household, women living with or otherwise affected by HIV/AIDS, women belonging to minorities, domestic workers, sex workers, illiterate women and women who have been displaced;
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
The right to life and the right to adequate housing: the indivisibility and interdependence between these rights 2016, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- There are numerous ways in which the housing conditions of people with disabilities collide with their right to live in dignity and security and to life itself. Independent living requires that persons with disabilities have a choice as to where and how they live. The failure of States to provide the supports required for independent living has meant that people with disabilities often live in deplorable conditions. They may be compelled to live with family members in circumstances of abuse or isolation, where they may be ostracized by their communities. When living in informal settlements, they often have no access to sanitation facilities, or have to use facilities without adequate supports or equipment, putting them at risk of disease. For those with limited mobility, lack of adequate supports results in their being virtual prisoners, trapped in their homes, a potentially lethal situation, particularly in natural disasters and emergencies.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The right to life and the right to adequate housing: the indivisibility and interdependence between these rights 2016, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Many people with disabilities live in institutions because community supports to ensure independent living are unavailable. Many are institutionalized without their consent. Conditions in such institutions are invariably overcrowded. Residents are often prevented from having outside social or family relations and, in some cases, are forced to remain in isolation cells for long periods (see A/HRC/28/37). In some countries, such as the Republic of Moldova (see A/HRC/31/62/Add.2, paras. 48-52 and 61-72), residents are "controlled" through the use of physical restraints and the administration of large doses of psychiatric medications and tranquilizers. Some residents are forced to sleep in locked "cage beds" (hospital beds turned into small cages). Violence is commonplace. Together, these conditions heighten the risk of death.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Homelessness as a global human rights crisis that demands an urgent global response 2016, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- Homelessness is caused by the interplay between individual circumstances and broader systemic factors. A human rights response to homelessness addresses both. It understands that homelessness may be linked to individual dynamics such as psychosocial disabilities, unexpected job loss, addictions or complex choices to become street-connected, and that a major cause of homelessness is the failure of governments to respond to unique individual circumstances with compassion and respect for individual dignity. A human rights approach must also, however, address the overarching structural and institutional causes of homelessness - the cumulative effect of domestic policies, programmes and legislation, as well as international financial and development agreements that contribute to and create homelessness. In her consultations, the Special Rapporteur found that inequality and the conditions that breed it are the most consistently identified causes of homelessness.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- When seeking both private and public housing, persons with disabilities face overt and indirect discrimination. Sometimes access to housing is denied because of an irrational fear that facilities will be contaminated. Income and employment status is used in many countries to vet prospective tenants such that well-paid, full-time workers without a disability are considered to be “qualified” for affordable rental housing, while persons with disabilities with lower incomes are denied access. People with psychosocial disabilities are often treated as unworthy tenants because of “abnormal” behaviour that is defined as “antisocial”. Persons with intellectual disabilities are also discriminated against on the basis of an assumed lack of capacity to take care of the premises and deprived of the legal capacity to sign rental agreements.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- Discrimination is compounded by other grounds, notably sex, gender, socioeconomic status, race and belonging to ethnic, religious or linguistic minority groups. Indigenous peoples in Canada experience twice the rate of disability as the non-indigenous population and are subjected to intersecting discrimination on the basis of indigeneity, poverty and disability. Criminalization of persons with disabilities, in particular those living in homelessness and those with psychosocial disabilities, is common. A typical pattern for persons with psychosocial disabilities is first to lose their housing, when their needs are not accommodated or when they do not receive adequate financial assistance, then to be criminalized in the context of homelessness and then to be incarcerated. In prison, punitive responses for persons with psychosocial disabilities result in extended isolation, segregation, further deterioration of mental health and an ongoing cycle of homelessness and incarceration.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- Forced institutionalization often occurs as an indirect result of other violations of the right to adequate housing. When States fail to provide necessary forms of support for living in the community, or when persons with disabilities or their families simply have no means to afford housing, persons with disabilities may be forced to live in institutions because of a lack of housing options. Legislative protection of legal capacity and supportive decision-making can be rendered ineffective in the context of housing decisions when there is no support or affordable housing available for living in the community.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 21
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur has proposed a new rights-based framework under which homelessness is understood as a deprivation of housing (both physical and social) but also as a socially constructed group identity that is linked to stigmatization and discrimination, much of which is rooted in perceptions about persons with disabilities. As a result, in most places, that population suffers severe isolation and neglect. Homelessness and related violations of the right to life often result from deinstitutionalization without adequate community support or affordable housing in the community.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 67
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Effective remedies for violations of the right to adequate housing must be provided wherever possible by interpreting and applying domestic law consistently with the right to housing of persons with disabilities under international human rights law. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights emphasized that “guarantees of equality and non-discrimination should be interpreted, to the greatest extent possible, in ways which facilitate the full protection of economic, social and cultural rights”. Unfortunately, even in the wealthiest countries, where there are sufficient resources to ensure the right to housing of persons with disabilities, courts have failed to interpret domestic human rights guarantees of equality consistently with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and refused to apply such guarantees so as to hold Governments accountable for failures to address widespread homelessness and inadequate housing among persons with disabilities.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 35
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Freedom of choice for persons with disabilities is not just a civil and political right to freedom from forced institutionalization. In article 19 of the Convention, the right to be free to choose where and with whom one lives is set out as a positive right to be included in the community, with access to a range of residential and other support services. In addition, article 19 must be read in conjunction with and is reinforced by article 28 to require not only services but also adequate, accessible housing in which to live.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 80
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Few marginalized groups suffer such egregious violations of the right to housing as do persons with disabilities. Across the world, they are commonly homeless, institutionalized and subjected to cruel and inhuman treatment for no reason other than their disability. They endure isolation, stigmatization and discrimination in all aspects of housing, whether access, design or policy development and implementation. Their very lives are imperilled by housing and communities that are based on exclusion and uniformity rather than inclusion and diversity. Yet it is on the basis of those experiences and the claims to equal dignity and rights advanced by those affected that the disability human rights paradigm has emerged. This paradigm has the potential to breathe new life into the right to adequate housing because it underscores and amplifies the essence of that right, namely, having a place to live in dignity, it allows persons with disabilities to participate in their communities and it recognizes diversity as a strength that makes households and communities thrive.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 40
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Under article 9, States are required to ensure that all housing available to the public, including social and private rental housing, takes into account all aspects of accessibility for persons with disabilities. In the article, a broad range of accessibility issues “encompassing the physical environment, transportation, information and communication, and services” are addressed and obligations are established to: ensure physical accessibility, such as through ramps and accessible doors, as well as the accessibility of windows, bathrooms and kitchens; remove the communication barriers confronted by persons with disabilities applying for and living in housing; and ensure access to work, services and public spaces — in short, to ensure that all aspects of the housing environment are accessible. As the Special Rapporteur has consistently noted in her dialogue with government officials, under that article, States are also required to address economic and social accessibility barriers by ensuring sufficient benefits or housing subsidies to cover the cost of adequate housing and other services.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 42
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Participation is integral to the implementation of the right to housing of persons with disabilities. In article 4 (3) of the Convention, it is stated that, in the implementation of legislation, policy or other decisions, States must closely consult with and actively involve persons with disabilities through their representative organizations. As stated by the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, participation leads to the promotion of agency and empowerment, ownership, pride and better decisions, since persons with disabilities are best placed to identify their diverse needs. Effective participation, however, must be grounded in human rights and meaningful accountability. Under article 33 of the Convention, all States are required to develop independent institutions to monitor its implementation, including the right to housing, ensuring that persons with disabilities and their representative organizations are involved and participate fully in the monitoring process.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Deinstitutionalization without adequate housing and community support can have devastating consequences. In Gauteng Province, South Africa, more than 1,300 persons with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities were transferred owing to government budget cuts from a private hospital to the care of an array of non-governmental organizations, most of which lacked the capacity, oversight and resources necessary to address the needs of those transferred. This led to widespread ill-treatment and the death of more than 70 persons.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 23
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Persons with disabilities living in poverty in cities commonly live in informal settlements or homeless encampments. The Special Rapporteur has been shocked by the deplorable conditions endured by persons with disabilities in those contexts. Many, including young children and older persons, are left to languish in isolation, sometimes in dark rooms without electricity, hidden from view at the back of the home, without access to community centres, social opportunities or health clinics.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Older persons
- Persons with disabilities
- Youth
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph