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Racial discrimination against people of African descent 2011, para. 4a
- Paragraph text
- [Formulates the following recommendations addressed to States parties:] [People of African descent live in many countries of the world, either dispersed among the local population or in communities, where they are entitled to exercise, without discrimination, individually or in community with other members of their group, as appropriate, the following specific rights:] The right to property and to the use, conservation and protection of lands traditionally occupied by them and to natural resources in cases where their ways of life and culture are linked to their utilization of lands and resources;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
The meaning and scope of special measures in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms Racial Discrimination 2009, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- Article 2, paragraph 2, of the Convention stipulates that "States parties shall, when the circumstances so warrant, take, in the social, economic, cultural and other fields, special and concrete measures to ensure the adequate development and protection of certain racial groups or individuals belonging to them, for the purpose of guaranteeing them the full and equal enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms. These measures shall in no case entail as a consequence the maintenance of unequal or separate rights for different racial groups after the objectives for which they were taken have been achieved".
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Article 3 of the Convention 1995, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- The Committee observes that while conditions of complete or partial racial segregation may in some countries have been created by governmental policies, a condition of partial segregation may also arise as an unintended by-product of the actions of private persons. In many cities residential patterns are influenced by group differences in income, which are sometimes combined with differences of race, colour, descent and national or ethnic origin, so that inhabitants can be stigmatized and individuals suffer a form of discrimination in which racial grounds are mixed with other grounds.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Year
- 1995
Paragraph
Combatting racist hate speech 2013, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- In order to promote inter-ethnic understanding, balanced and objective representations of history are essential, and, where atrocities have been committed against groups of the population, days of remembrance and other public events should be held, where appropriate in context, to recall such human tragedies, as well as celebrations of successful resolution of conflicts. Truth and reconciliation commissions can also play a vital role in countering the persistence of racial hatred and facilitating the development of a climate of inter-ethnic tolerance.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Racial discrimination against people of African descent 2011, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- [Formulates the following recommendations addressed to States parties:] Include in textbooks, at all appropriate levels, chapters about the history and cultures of peoples of African descent and preserve this knowledge in museums and other forums for future generations, encourage and support the publication and distribution of books and other print materials, as well as the broadcasting of television and radio programmes about their history and cultures.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Article 19: Freedoms of opinion and expression 2011, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- Restrictions must be "necessary" for a legitimate purpose. Thus, for instance, a prohibition on commercial advertising in one language, with a view to protecting the language of a particular community, violates the test of necessity if the protection could be achieved in other ways that do not restrict freedom of expression. On the other hand, the Committee has considered that a State party complied with the test of necessity when it transferred a teacher who had published materials that expressed hostility toward a religious community to a non-teaching position in order to protect the right and freedom of children of that faith in a school district.
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Forced evictions 1997, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- In cases where eviction is considered to be justified, it should be carried out in strict compliance with the relevant provisions of international human rights law and in accordance with general principles of reasonableness and proportionality. In this regard it is especially pertinent to recall general comment No. 16 of the Human Rights Committee, relating to article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which states that interference with a person's home can only take place "in cases envisaged by the law". The Committee observed that the law "should be in accordance with the provisions, aims and objectives of the Covenant and should be, in any event, reasonable in the particular circumstances". The Committee also indicated that "relevant legislation must specify in detail the precise circumstances in which such interferences may be permitted".
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Year
- 1997
Paragraph
Discrimination against Roma 2000, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- [Recommends that the States parties to the Convention, taking into account their specific situations, adopt for the benefit of members of the Roma communities, inter alia, all or part of the following measures, as appropriate.] To include in textbooks, at all appropriate levels, chapters about the history and culture of Roma, and encourage and support the publication and distribution of books and other print materials as well as the broadcasting of television and radio programmes, as appropriate, about their history and culture, including in languages spoken by them.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Year
- 2000
Paragraph
Forced evictions 1997, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Many instances of forced eviction are associated with violence, such as evictions resulting from international armed conflicts, internal strife and communal or ethnic violence.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Year
- 1997
Paragraph
Reporting by States parties (article 7 of the Convention) 1977, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- Convinced that combating prejudices which lead to racial discrimination, promoting understanding, tolerance and friendship among racial and ethnic groups, and propagating the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations and of the human rights declarations and other relevant instruments adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations, are important and effective means of eliminating racial discrimination,
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Year
- 1977
Paragraph
Forced evictions 1997, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- Other instances of forced eviction occur in the name of development. Evictions may be carried out in connection with conflict over land rights, development and infrastructure projects, such as the construction of dams or other large scale energy projects, with land acquisition measures associated with urban renewal, housing renovation, city beautification programmes, the clearing of land for agricultural purposes, unbridled speculation in land, or the holding of major sporting events like the Olympic Games.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Year
- 1997
Paragraph
Discrimination against Roma 2000, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee further recommends that:] The World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance give due consideration to the above recommendations, taking into account the place of the Roma communities among those most disadvantaged and most subject to discrimination in the contemporary world.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Year
- 2000
Paragraph
Interpretation and application of article 1, paragraphs 1 and 4 of the Convention 1990, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- Having considered reports from States parties concerning information about the ways in which individuals are identified as being members of a particular racial or ethnic group or groups,
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Year
- 1990
Paragraph
Discrimination against non-citizens 2004, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Basing its action on the provisions of the Convention, in particular article 5, which requires States parties to prohibit and eliminate discrimination based on race, colour, descent, and national or ethnic origin in the enjoyment by all persons of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights and freedoms,
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Year
- 2004
Paragraph
The right of everyone to benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he or she is the author (Art. 15, para. 1 (c)) 2005, para. 18b (i)
- Paragraph text
- [The right to the protection of the moral and material interests of authors contains the following essential and interrelated elements, the precise application of which will depend on the economic, social and cultural conditions prevailing in a particular State party:] [Accessibility. Administrative, judicial or other appropriate remedies for the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from scientific, literary or artistic productions must be accessible to all authors. Accessibility has four overlapping dimensions:] Physical accessibility: national courts and agencies responsible for the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from the scientific, literary or artistic productions of authors must be at the disposal of all segments of society, including authors with disabilities;
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Year
- 2005
Paragraph
Female circumcision 1990, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Noting with grave concern that there are continuing cultural, traditional and economic pressures which help to perpetuate harmful practices, such as female circumcision,
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Year
- 1990
Paragraph
Forced evictions 1997, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- In accordance with the guidelines for reporting adopted by the Committee, State parties are requested to provide various types of information pertaining directly to the practice of forced evictions. This includes information relating to (a) the "number of persons evicted within the last five years and the number of persons currently lacking legal protection against arbitrary eviction or any other kind of eviction", (b) "legislation concerning the rights of tenants to security of tenure, to protection from eviction" and (c) "legislation prohibiting any form of eviction".
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Year
- 1997
Paragraph
Access to land and the right to food 2010, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- The protection of land-users' rights should not be limited to improving farmers' security of tenure. Fisherfolk need access to fishing grounds and may be severely affected by the fencing-off of land that provides access to the sea or to rivers. Pastoralists need grazing grounds for the animals that they raise. For these groups, as well as those practicing itinerant forms of agriculture, the formalization of property rights and the establishment of land registries may be the problem, not the solution: it may cause them to be fenced off from the resources on which they depend, making them victims of the vast enclosure movement that may result from titling. In Kenya, pastoralists whose rights were ignored in the formalization process have reportedly been the victims of violent land-grabbing by ranchers and others seeking scarce resources. Since they have no legal claim to the land, they cannot seek redress. In the United Republic of Tanzania, five years after a major titling effort had begun, pastoralists reported their eviction from multiple common grazing areas and were under threat of losing other grazing lands because those lands had been classified as "unused".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Responsibilities of local and other subnational governments in relation to the right to adequate housing 2015, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- Viewed through a human rights lens, from the perspective of those whose right to housing is at stake, those common challenges facing local governments or housing providers can be seen as barriers to the realization of rights. Those who are disproportionately affected by the challenges identified tend to be the most marginalized groups - those whose right to housing is most at risk. It is those groups who suffer most when local governments lack capacity or resources, when there is an absence of local human rights accountability, when local government becomes protectionist and exclusionary, and it is those groups who often confront the most complex web of governmental decision-making and authority, with the least information available to them.
- 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
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Responsibilities of local and other subnational governments in relation to the right to adequate housing 2015, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- The situation of residents of informal settlements in many cities around the world illustrates how allocation of responsibilities among different levels of government plays out in peoples' lives. For example, a recent study considers the situation of residents of the Mukuru settlement in Nairobi. They live in windowless shacks on privately held land without sewage or water infrastructure. They have been unable to determine title through local governments and therefore lack security of tenure, rendering them ineligible to apply for basic water, sewers or electricity. With the Kenyan Constitution now recognizing "the right to accessible and adequate housing and to reasonable standards of sanitation", the challenge for local residents is to claim their rights within a complex web of regulatory schemes and decisions applied by an array of governmental actors.
- 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- Financialized housing markets create and thrive on gentrification and the appropriation of public value for private wealth. Improved services, schools or parks in an impoverished neighbourhood attract investment, which then drives residents out. The transformation of an old railway line in West Chelsea in Manhattan into a public walkway and park has attracted wealthy investors to a mixed income neighbourhood, radically transforming it with luxury housing units costing in the multimillions, and displacing longer term residents. In Vancouver, the opening of new public transport facilities in Burnaby, one of the few remaining areas of affordable rental housing, has quickly led to the development of expensive condominium towers, displacing residents who have not only lived there for decades, but also invested in developing their community.
- 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)
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The impact of housing finance policies on the right to adequate housing of those living in poverty 2012, para. 71d
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur calls for a paradigm shift from housing policies based on the financialization of housing to a human rights-based approach to housing policies. In this context, she makes the following recommendations:] Housing policies should redress discrimination in access to adequate housing and promote the realization of the right to adequate housing for the most disadvantaged groups;
- 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
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Mapping and framing security of tenure 2013, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- Some innovative planning regulations exist to secure tenure for the most marginalized. A significant example is the Brazilian "Special Zones of Social Interest" (ZEIS). ZEIS is a planning instrument, based on the constitutional recognition of the social function of property, regulating the use and occupation, for social housing purposes, of public or private properties. It is used to recognize existing informal settlements as well as to define unoccupied areas of the city as areas for social housing.
- 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)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Minorities and discrimination based on caste and analogous systems of inherited status 2016, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- In Nigeria, discrimination against Osu descendants persists. Osu people were historically considered a property of the local deities among communities in Igboland, in south-east Nigeria. The Osu were dedicated and "sacrificed" to these gods and forced to live on the outskirts of the villages. In 1958, the Osu Abolition Law was passed, but members of the Osu are still subjected to social exclusion, segregation and mistreatment, and discrimination in employment and marriage.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Activities of the Working Group 2014, para. 84g
- Paragraph text
- [In recognition of the contribution of the continent of Africa and people of African descent to the development, diversity and richness of world civilizations and cultures that constitute the common heritage of humankind, States should, in collaboration with relevant United Nations bodies and agencies, particularly the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and international donors:] Put in place measures and procedures to prevent the media from perpetuating negative stereotypes.
- Body
- Working Group of experts on people of African descent
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Activities of the Working Group 2016, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- The Working Group recognizes that without the essential contribution of civil society, non-governmental organizations and academics, the fight against racism, racial discrimination, Afrophobia, xenophobia, Islamophobia and related intolerance will remain invisible. The link between their work, States and various United Nations mechanisms must be strengthened and made visible by joint equitable partnerships. There must be increased support for civil society engagement with States and the United Nations.
- Body
- Working Group of experts on people of African descent
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Preliminary survey on the root causes of attacks and discrimination against persons with albinism 2016, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- There are rare cases where persons with albinism are deified or viewed as having godlike qualities. For example, the Guna people in Latin America give a special place to persons with albinism as protectors. Tales of persons with albinism being considered as water deities or as natural chiefs have also been reported. While deification and positive supernaturalization of persons with albinism may appear to be desirable, this is not an ideal state because the person with albinism is still the subject of myths unfounded on fact or science. Consequently, their dignity remains grounded in subjective narratives and not in their objective status as human beings.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Access to land and the right to food 2010, para. 41b
- Paragraph text
- [In order to protect the right to food, States should:] Adopt tenancy laws, and effectively implement existing laws against the pressure to free land for private investors. The adoption of tenancy laws can protect tenants from eviction and from excessive levels of rent. Such laws can also allow a tenant's heirs to occupy the land if the tenant dies, and provide the tenant with the right to pre-emption if the landowner wishes to sell (ideally, at a below-market price); they can provide for the joint titling of husband and wife as tenants, in order to protect widows from the risk of eviction; and they can ensure that the tenant will be allowed to remain on the land if the property changes hands;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
The implementation of the right to social protection through the adoption of social protection floors 2014, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- Just as human rights require recognition by law, so too has the Social Protection Floor Initiative emphasized the importance of entrenching the social protection right in national laws and regulations. That dimension has been well captured by the United Nations Development Group: Obligations and entitlements to social protection benefits should be specified in a precise manner, so as to clearly delineate the rights and duties of residents and contributors. To ensure the predictability and sustainability of social protection provisions, laws and regulations should be designed and enforced to support all social protection schemes and services.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Challenges faced by groups most at risk when exercising or seeking to exercise the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and/or of association 2014, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- Some groups are denied registration or the renewal of their existing registration, in contravention of laws that outline the procedures to be followed in registering associations. This is allegedly the case in Viet Nam, where a majority of Hmong Christian house churches have been denied registration and are therefore unable to operate. The authorities do not consider them to be a "true" religion and instead characterize them as carrying out anti-Government activities. The Special Rapporteur aligns himself with the sentiments of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief "that freedom of religion or belief is not limited to members of registered religious communities and that registration may only be appropriate for the acquisition of a legal personality and related benefits" (A/64/159, para. 13). He emphasizes that it is the duty of the State to ensure that everyone can peacefully express their views without fear.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph