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The right to social security (Art. 9) 2007, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (the Committee) is concerned over the very low levels of access to social security with a large majority (about 80 per cent) of the global population currently lacking access to formal social security. Among these 80 per cent, 20 per cent live in extreme poverty.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
The right to adequate food (Art. 11) 1999, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- Despite the fact that the international community has frequently reaffirmed the importance of full respect for the right to adequate food, a disturbing gap still exists between the standards set in article 11 of the Covenant and the situation prevailing in many parts of the world. More than 840 million people throughout the world, most of them in developing countries, are chronically hungry; millions of people are suffering from famine as the result of natural disasters, the increasing incidence of civil strife and wars in some regions and the use of food as a political weapon. The Committee observes that while the problems of hunger and malnutrition are often particularly acute in developing countries, malnutrition, under-nutrition and other problems which relate to the right to adequate food and the right to freedom from hunger, also exist in some of the most economically developed countries. Fundamentally, the roots of the problem of hunger and malnutrition are not lack of food but lack of access to available food, inter alia because of poverty, by large segments of the world's population
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 1999
Paragraph
Right of everyone to take part in cultural life (Art. 15, para. 1(a)) 2009, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Given that globalization has positive and negative effects, States parties must take appropriate steps to avoid its adverse consequences on the right to take part in cultural life, particularly for the most disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups, such as persons living in poverty. Far from having produced a single world culture, globalization has demonstrated that the concept of culture implies the coexistence of different cultures.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights (Art. 2, para. 2) 2009, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- Individuals and groups of individuals must not be arbitrarily treated on account of belonging to a certain economic or social group or strata within society. A person's social and economic situation when living in poverty or being homeless may result in pervasive discrimination, stigmatization and negative stereotyping which can lead to the refusal of, or unequal access to, the same quality of education and health care as others, as well as the denial of or unequal access to public places.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Right of everyone to take part in cultural life (Art. 15, para. 1(a)) 2009, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- The Committee considers that every person or group of persons is endowed with a cultural richness inherent in their humanity and therefore can make, and continues to make, a significant contribution to the development of culture. Nevertheless, it must be borne in mind that, in practice, poverty seriously restricts the ability of a person or a group of persons to exercise the right to take part in, gain access and contribute to, on equal terms, all spheres of cultural life, and more importantly, seriously affects their hopes for the future and their ability to enjoy effectively their own culture. The common underlying theme in the experience of persons living in poverty is a sense of powerlessness that is often a consequence of their situation. Awareness of their human rights, and particularly the right of every person to take part in cultural life, can significantly empower persons or groups of persons living in poverty.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Right of everyone to take part in cultural life (Art. 15, para. 1(a)) 2009, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- Culture as a social product must be brought within the reach of all, on the basis of equality, non-discrimination and participation. Therefore, in implementing the legal obligations enshrined in article 15, paragraph 1 (a), of the Covenant, States parties must adopt, without delay, concrete measures to ensure adequate protection and the full exercise of the right of persons living in poverty and their communities to enjoy and take part in cultural life. In this respect, the Committee refers States parties to its statement on poverty and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
The right to the highest attainable standard of health (Art. 12) 2000, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- The Committee is aware that, for millions of people throughout the world, the full enjoyment of the right to health still remains a distant goal. Moreover, in many cases, especially for those living in poverty, this goal is becoming increasingly remote. The Committee recognizes the formidable structural and other obstacles resulting from international and other factors beyond the control of States that impede the full realization of article 12 in many States parties.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2000
Paragraph
Preliminary survey on the root causes of attacks and discrimination against persons with albinism 2016, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- The Human Development Index, which is a strong indicator of poverty and correlating factors, showed in 2014 that of the 26 countries where attacks have been reported, 20 were listed as countries with a low human development coefficient; the other six affected countries were listed in the medium human development category. That said, it is noteworthy that, overall, the affected countries had a level of income inequality that ranged from relative equality to relative inequality, with a GINI coefficient range of 30.8 to 63.9, the average for all 26 countries being 44.3.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- Given the lessons of the past two decades, and the institutional reforms already initiated, humanitarian agencies, and one would assume bilateral donors, are now much more aware of the risk of doing unintended long-term harm through well-meaning early action which ends up increasing the vulnerability of the poor. In the area of the right to adequate housing and particularly on the issues of security of tenure, location, cultural adequacy and availability of services, facilities and infrastructure, at least, the time has come for "Do no harm" guidelines to move to a next step where specific tools for timely analysis and proactive interventions ("Do the right thing") are provided at the field level.
- 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
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 4a
- Paragraph text
- [Property has a vital social function including adequate housing of the urban poor. States should balance property rights with the social function of property in designing and implementing housing and other relevant policies. In particular, States, including relevant authorities, should promote access to secure and well-located housing for the urban poor through, inter alia, the following measures:] Conduct citywide audits of vacant and underutilized land, housing and buildings;
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 4b
- Paragraph text
- [Property has a vital social function including adequate housing of the urban poor. States should balance property rights with the social function of property in designing and implementing housing and other relevant policies. In particular, States, including relevant authorities, should promote access to secure and well-located housing for the urban poor through, inter alia, the following measures:] Conduct assessments of spatial needs to house the urban poor, including homeless persons, taking into account current and anticipated trends;
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 80
- Paragraph text
- The urban poor face significant barriers in accessing justice, owing to, inter alia, political influence and corruption in courts and administrative bodies; prohibitive costs of legal representation; absence of legal information; and lack of legal recognition of persons without official identity documentation, including a registered address. States should take all measures to remove these barriers and ensure that the urban poor can access effective remedies through a range of judicial and administrative mechanisms. As an alternative to the courts, land dispute and grievance mechanisms that are inexpensive, accessible, socially legitimate and rule-bound should be established. States should establish, fund and enable legal aid and assistance for the urban poor, in order to address power asymmetries that pervade conflicts over land and obstruct access to justice.
- 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
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- Land acquisition. Land occupied by urban poor households with an ambiguous tenure status is disproportionately acquired by States for "public purpose" projects, such as infrastructure development, requiring the eviction of residents. This situation may amount to discrimination in the enjoyment of the right to adequate housing on the basis of tenure and economic status. In selecting sites for public purpose projects, States should ensure that the urban poor are not disproportionately affected, and that all alternatives have been considered.
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- Policy responses to the financialization of housing have tended to prioritize support for financial institutions over responding to the needs of those whose right to adequate housing is at stake. Spending on bailouts of banks and financial institutions after the 2008 financial crisis far outstripped spending to provide assistance to the victims of the crisis. In fact, many national Governments made substantial cuts to their housing programmes. As noted above, the World Bank continues to promote "financial liberalization" rather than active State intervention in housing provision in emerging economies, despite the evidence that financialization generally increases inequality and fails to address the needs of the millions of households living in situations of homelessness or grossly inadequate informal 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
- Humanitarian
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The impact of housing finance policies on the right to adequate housing of those living in poverty 2012, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- Having examined the impact of these policies in various regions of the world, it is the view of the Special Rapporteur that they have largely failed to promote access to adequate housing for the poor. Evidence indicates that housing policies based exclusively on facilitating access to credit for homeownership are incompatible with the full realization of the right to adequate housing of those living in poverty, failing to supply habitable, affordable and well-located housing solutions accessible to the poor.
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Responsibilities of local and other subnational governments in relation to the right to adequate housing 2015, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- In November 2012, the Province of Buenos Aires adopted a law on fair access to habitat (Ley de acceso justo al habitat) which guarantees the right to housing and to a dignified and sustainable habitat, along the lines of the provincial and national constitutions and several international human rights treaties. The law establishes a link between the public policy on housing and the way in which different public and private stakeholders are involved, including real estate companies. It requires steps to be taken to address the lack of adequate housing for people living in poverty or with special needs, and creates mechanisms to regulate speculation around land prices. It articulates both the right to adequate housing and the "right to the city" as core principles alongside the social function of land and property, democratic decision-making in the city and the importance of equitable distribution of benefits and costs of city growth, including in relation to infrastructure.
- 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
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Homelessness as a global human rights crisis that demands an urgent global response 2016, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- The favouring of profit over people's human rights through the unequal allocation of land, property, housing and related services in cities is a major driver of homelessness. Unregulated or underregulated financial and other market forces, and unfettered land and property speculation resulting in escalating land values, all contribute to the inequality of wealth distribution and homelessness. These systemic inequalities are compounded by direct discrimination against people who are poor, often pushing them to precarious housing conditions, including into informal settlements or on occupied land, and ultimately into homelessness. Many municipalities use planning and zoning laws or regulations to prevent construction of shelters or affordable housing in their communities. Homeless people are often denied opportunities to live in central locations; instead, they are compelled to live in remote, isolated and poorly serviced areas where there are no jobs.
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Homelessness as a global human rights crisis that demands an urgent global response 2016, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Rapid global urbanization has resulted in an astonishing accumulation of wealth for a few, accompanied by increasing poverty for many. Reliance on private market housing supply to respond to urbanization needs has meant that new housing supply has targeted mostly the rich, creating inflated real estate values, speculation and significant deficits of affordable housing. People who move to cities often have no choice but to live in informal settlements where millions suffer, in varying degrees, from poor sanitation, lack of access to clean water, overcrowding and makeshift structures. Instead of ensuring access for people in need of housing, land regulations, planning and zoning have rendered informal settlements "illegal", favoured commercial development over housing and failed to respect the social function of land as a public good. The legacy of colonialism in some countries has embedded inequality in land and property.
- 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
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Analysis of two alternative housing policies: rental and collective housing 2013, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- Housing policies have increasingly been reduced to housing finance systems to promote homeownership. Evidence indicates that housing policies based exclusively on facilitating access to credit for homeownership are incompatible with the full realization of the right to adequate housing for low-income households, as they fail to supply habitable and affordable housing to the poor that is secure and well located.
- 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
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Homelessness as a global human rights crisis that demands an urgent global response 2016, para. 86
- Paragraph text
- Homelessness is one of the least examined consequences of unabated inequality, unfair distribution of land and property and poverty occurring on a global scale. It is a result of State acquiescence to real estate speculation and unregulated markets - a result of treating housing as a commodity rather than as a human right. It is rooted in a global privileging of wealth and power, and scapegoating and scorning of those who do not have a home.
- 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
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The impact of housing finance policies on the right to adequate housing of those living in poverty 2012, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- Long-term rights-based assessment of the impact of housing finance on access to adequate housing for the poor is largely lacking. Available data focus on the volume of lending and housing finance availability, and there is a shortage of consistent, reliable indicators on the performance of housing finance systems over time, especially regarding the housing conditions of the poor.
- 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
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 4g
- Paragraph text
- [Property has a vital social function including adequate housing of the urban poor. States should balance property rights with the social function of property in designing and implementing housing and other relevant policies. In particular, States, including relevant authorities, should promote access to secure and well-located housing for the urban poor through, inter alia, the following measures:] Adopt measures to regulate the housing finance market and financial institutions.
- 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
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
The impact of housing finance policies on the right to adequate housing of those living in poverty 2012, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- The majority of the urban poor live in unplanned and unserviced urban settlements and self-produce their habitat incrementally, mobilizing their own material and financial resources. In 2005, over one third (37 per cent) of the urban population in developing countries lived in slums and UN-Habitat estimates that by 2020 the world slum population will reach almost 1 billion.
- 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
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
The right to life and the right to adequate housing: the indivisibility and interdependence between these rights 2016, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- An estimated one third of deaths worldwide are linked to poverty and inadequate housing and the immense impact of substandard housing and homelessness on the rights to life, security and dignity for the most vulnerable populations is undeniable. The following examples, focusing on the lived experiences of particular groups in particular circumstances, offer a deeper understanding of the intersections between the right to housing and the right to life.
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- In Egypt, after Prime Ministerial Decree No. 350/2007 removed restrictions on foreign purchases of property, land prices more than doubled in many areas, rising at a rate of 148 per cent per year between 2007 and 2011. Extension of credit for housing has been largely restricted to higher income households in Cairo and Giza, and approximately 3 million homes have been left empty or unfinished by their owners in urban areas. Poverty continues to increase and more than 12 million people live in informal 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
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- [In preparing for reconstruction and development, all relevant parties and actors should acknowledge that housing has an inherent social value of vital importance for social stability, alleviation of poverty and development. Any response to the impacts of conflicts or disasters on the right to adequate housing should go beyond a focus on the damage, loss or destruction of shelter and infrastructure and should seek to address, inter alia:] Compromised access to facilities, amenities and livelihood opportunities;
- 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)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- [In preparing for reconstruction and development, all relevant parties and actors should acknowledge that housing has an inherent social value of vital importance for social stability, alleviation of poverty and development. Any response to the impacts of conflicts or disasters on the right to adequate housing should go beyond a focus on the damage, loss or destruction of shelter and infrastructure and should seek to address, inter alia:] The loss of tenure security, particularly by those who had been living under customary or informal tenure systems prior to the disaster or conflict.
- 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)
- Environment
- Humanitarian
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Analysis of two alternative housing policies: rental and collective housing 2013, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- The access of poor households to rental housing is currently impeded by costs, mainly as a result of rising rent prices and a shortage of affordable rental housing. More and more households in Europe are facing difficulties in paying the rent (3.8 per cent of Europeans, and 8.6 per cent of those with income below 60 per cent of the median national income). Rent affordability issues are more widespread in developing countries where rental housing is even less available. The rent-to-income ratio for African cities is more than twice that of cities in high-income countries at 39.5 per cent of income.
- 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
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- Tenure security of the urban poor is affected by the activities of a diverse range of business actors, including property developers, construction companies, speculators, real-estate agencies, landlords, mega-event organizers and banks. While States must protect all individuals against violations of human rights, business enterprises also have human rights responsibilities. The responsibility to respect the right to adequate housing requires that business enterprises avoid causing or contributing to infringements of the right, and address adverse impacts when they occur. It requires that business enterprises seek to prevent adverse impacts on, inter alia, security of tenure that are directly linked to their operations, products or services by their business relationships, even if they have not contributed to those impacts.
- 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
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Centrality of the right to adequate housing for the development and implementation of the New Urban Agenda to be adopted at Habitat III in October 2016 2015, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- Although some of the structural causes of inequality in cities and some of the grounds and experiences of discrimination are new, an international human rights framework can be responsive. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has now recognized discrimination based on social or economic situation, including homelessness or other housing status, as a prohibited ground of discrimination. The Human Rights Committee and other treaty bodies have begun to engage directly with these issues. The guiding principles on extreme poverty and human rights specifically reference the need for States to repeal or reform laws that "criminalize life-sustaining activities in public places, such as sleeping, begging, eating or performing personal hygiene activities".
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph