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Title | Date added | Template | Original document | Paragraph text | Body | Document type | Thematics | Topic(s) | Person(s) affected | Year |
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Migration and the right to adequate housing 2010, para. 27 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Non-discrimination and equality also imply that States have the obligation to recognize and care for the differences and specific needs of groups that suffer particular housing challenges or that have been historically discriminated against in terms of access to housing and essential services by the State or private actors. Therefore, the obligation to ensure non-discrimination requires positive measures of protection to be applied to particular groups, even in times of emergency or financial constraint (see E/C.12/GC/20, paras. 9, 12 and 13). | Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2010 | ||
The right to adequate housing in disaster relief efforts 2011, para. 24 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The Special Rapporteur notes the centrality of tenure security in the right to adequate housing. Tenure security does not equate to a right to private ownership, nor is it limited to the conferral of formal legal titles. There is a multiplicity of legitimate tenure arrangements besides private ownership, such as public or private rental accommodation, cooperative housing, lease, occupation/rent of land or property in informal settlements, and other user or occupancy rights through customary or traditional arrangements all with varying degrees of formality. It follows that only a minority of victims of natural disasters may in effect have individual, formally registered, ownership rights to their housing or land. | Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
The right to adequate housing in disaster relief efforts 2011, para. 64.3 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | [The Special Rapporteur makes the following recommendations:] The tenure rights of "non-formal owners", namely those without individual, formally registered, property ownership, should be honoured: For those with insecure tenure, measures should aim at strengthening their security of tenure, for instance by granting rights to housing or land at places of origin, either immediately or in incremental stages. When restitution or return is not desirable for the affected persons or is not possible owing to land having disappeared or to compelling safety reasons that prevent the return, alternative housing or land should be granted at another location. | Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
The right to adequate housing in disaster relief efforts 2011, para. 5 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The right to adequate housing is most clearly recognized by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (article 11). The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights underlined the importance of interpreting the right in broad terms, identifying seven aspects of the right that States must progressively realize: security of tenure; availability of services, materials, facilities and infrastructure; affordability; habitability; accessibility; location; and cultural adequacy. All the aspects and safeguards pertaining to eviction and resettlement derived from the right are relevant to disaster response, as are the human rights principles of participation and non-discrimination and equality. | Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
The right to adequate housing in disaster relief efforts 2011, para. 6 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | However, existing guidance with respect to disaster situations has given little attention to the right to adequate housing. When reference to the right is made it is limited, with the right narrowed down to the need to provide shelter, housing or to aspects related to protection. The few attempts to discuss the right in a more comprehensive manner have remained at the level of an individual organization's guidance and not in the form of authoritative policies of broad application. Equally, United Nations human rights mechanisms have, with notable exceptions, not addressed the specificities of disaster situations and their impacts on the enjoyment of the right to adequate housing or other human rights, remaining at the level of generalities. | Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
The right to adequate housing in disaster relief efforts 2011, para. 33 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | This mindset is evident among many organizations operating in Haiti. As evident in one assessment:
The condition of land markets is chaotic and essentially lawless. Land ownership records are non-existent or ambiguous. Lack of clear title to a plot of land or written approval from a verified owner makes it difficult to supply a potential beneficiary with a new house or to support re-occupancy of prior homes.
Clearly, this has been one of the reasons for the delay in reconstruction and return in Haiti. Similarly, in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami, the promulgation of contradictory policies and restrictions on land use at various levels of government and the contention surrounding these were said to have created obstacles to international recovery work and severely undermined efforts to pursue disaster risk management. | Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
The right to adequate housing in disaster relief efforts 2011, para. 44 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | In the examples discussed above, post-disaster reconstruction has had negative impacts on the poorest. In the worst cases, disasters provided a clean slate and excuse for powerful actors to destroy housing or grab land, which would not have been possible in the pre-disaster context, where legal procedures would have had to be followed and affected households consulted and given access to remedies. At best, States did not adequately monitor the operation and regulation of the post-disaster housing and reconstruction markets, nor did they take measures to ensure that people retained access to affordable housing and were not in effect forced to leave their places of origin. While nothing prevents States from asking for the support of private companies in reconstruction efforts - and indeed private sector contributions can be essential to recovery - Governments must be mindful of their role to monitor private sector delivery and ensure that reconstruction does not benefit only a privileged few to the detriment of others. | Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
The right to adequate housing in disaster relief efforts 2011, para. 46 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | In cases where public security and safety concerns are legitimate and compelling, decisions over land use or housing regulations must nonetheless be subject to human rights standards - in particular the strict procedural requirements relating to the conduct of evictions, the right to redress and remedy and an opportunity for judicial review, and the economic, social and cultural rights of affected communities. Evictions should not result in individuals being rendered homeless. Where those affected are unable to provide for themselves, the State must take measures to ensure that alternative housing, resettlement or access to productive land is available. | Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
The right to adequate housing in disaster relief efforts 2011, para. 49 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Beyond the more obvious protection aspects discussed above, it is important to address reconstruction from a broader view of adequate housing - including seeing housing as a social asset - and with the aim to progressively realize the right. Ensuring recovery and durable solutions, seen in this light, means rebuilding communities and neighbourhoods and ensuring an adequate standard of living, of which housing unit construction is only one part, sometimes not the most important or urgent. Disasters do not take place in a vacuum: it is important to assess and address the wider housing context in which disasters take place. | Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
The right to adequate housing in disaster relief efforts 2011, para. 51 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The well-known slogan, "Build Back Better", seems to, and certainly should, aspire to address the broader living conditions of affected communities. The special envoy of the Secretary-General to the Indian Ocean tsunami noted that the financial resources, international focus and openness to political and policy reform that often characterized a post-crisis period should allow for "build back better" and break out of inequitable development patterns in a sustained way. Similar calls were made to consider the Pakistan floods as "an opportunity to build back better lives and to step up to the task of bringing dignity to the millions who live on the margins of society". However, implementing this inspiring idea is often reduced to its most technical meaning, for instance building houses using flood- and seismic-resistant standards. | Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
The right to adequate housing in disaster relief efforts 2011, para. 54 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The situation in Haiti also serves as an example of the challenges facing the basic rationale for reconstruction and property restitution: in contexts characterized by massive poverty and grossly inadequate living and housing conditions, the question remains as to whether the final goal of reconstruction should be to provide high-quality houses for those who lost their dwellings in the disaster. The Special Rapporteur believes that interventions must instead aim to progressively realize the right to adequate housing for all. In Haiti, reconstruction and recovery have less to do with the construction of new houses for individuals directly affected by the disaster than with the improvement of the overall living and housing conditions in the unplanned and unserviced settlements affected by the disaster. The approach should thus focus on settlements and communities, not individual constructions, and the aim to create places where people can have an adequate standard of living. | Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
The right to adequate housing in disaster relief efforts 2011, para. 56 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | From a human rights perspective, investment in upgrading settlements characterized by grossly inadequate living conditions as part of disaster response is not only legitimate but also indispensable, bearing in mind the obligation of non discrimination and attention to the most vulnerable. Moreover, for principled and pragmatic reasons, in a number of contexts it would be important to address the situation from a longer-term perspective: in the context of Haiti, this means a focus on improving conditions in settlements not damaged by the disaster (provided they are not in disaster-prone areas) but with the same urbanistic and vulnerability characteristics as those affected by it. | Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
The right to adequate housing in disaster relief efforts 2011, para. 61 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Integrating the right to adequate housing into disaster response has broad implications. In practice, however, comprehension of the right to adequate housing and its application to disaster response has been limited to only some aspects of the right, most notably linked to physical structures and individual property ownership. In some cases, reconstruction and recovery efforts - by omission or commission - have had a detrimental impact on victims of disasters and their enjoyment of the right to adequate housing. | Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
The right to adequate housing in disaster relief efforts 2011, para. 62 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | In the view of the Special Rapporteur, making comprehensive efforts to realize the right to adequate housing in reconstruction efforts is not only an obligation but also an opportunity. While disaster response will not - and should not - replace development efforts, it provides an occasion to redress the inequalities that either exacerbated the natural disaster's impacts or were made visible by it, and to contribute to efforts to progressively realize the right to adequate housing for all, notably by improving tenure security. | Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
The right to adequate housing in disaster relief efforts 2011, para. 64.2 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | [The Special Rapporteur makes the following recommendations:] No harm should be caused by or to others in respecting and protecting the right to adequate housing, including tenure security: Health and safety regulations as well as disaster risk reduction measures, which may call for land use or housing restrictions, must be subject to human rights standards: their impacts on the human rights of individuals and communities must be assessed, and due process rights, and the rights to information and participation, must be upheld in all circumstances. | Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 63 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Dedicated funding mechanisms or channels should be established to provide resources to initiatives aimed at respecting, protecting and fulfilling the right to adequate housing from the very outset of humanitarian operations. In addition, structured capacity-building networks should be created at field level, accompanied by focused operational support. A documented body of evidence on past violations (and their causes) should be produced, made available and developed into guidelines for action. | Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 9 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | In addition to facing serious humanitarian problems and challenges, victims of disasters and conflicts are often exposed to grave human rights violations, invariably including the right to adequate housing. Humanitarian crises are human rights crises. Notwithstanding, given the concentration of international and national attention, resources and effort they often receive, such crises can also present important human rights opportunities. The World Bank has noted that "…while conflicts unleash horror and suffering, they also destabilize old ways of doing things and create new openings for poor people to get ahead. However, there is a narrow window of opportunity in the aftermath of conflict before old barriers begin to surface." | Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 14 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The right to housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living is internationally recognized. "[T]he right to housing should not be interpreted in a narrow or restrictive sense which equates it with, for example, the shelter provided by merely having a roof over one's head or views shelter exclusively as a commodity. Rather it should be seen as the right to live somewhere in security, peace and dignity". In line with this interpretation, "adequacy" is measured against a list of key factors including: legal security of tenure; availability of services, materials, facilities and infrastructure; affordability; habitability; accessibility; location; and cultural adequacy. Housing is therefore not simply a shelter commodity. It is much more than a physical structure for protection from the elements, and its value extends beyond what it will cost to buy, sell or rebuild. Housing has inherent social value. | Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 22 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Security of tenure is a fundamentally important dimension of the right to adequate housing. It is included in the list of factors comprising adequacy of housing and offers important guidelines to institutions responding to post-conflict and post-disaster situations. According to general comment No. 4 "Tenure takes a variety of forms, including rental (public and private) accommodation, cooperative housing, lease, owner-occupation, emergency housing and informal settlements, including occupation of land or property. Notwithstanding the type of tenure, all persons should possess a degree of security of tenure which guarantees legal protection against forced eviction, harassment and other threats. States parties should consequently take immediate measures aimed at conferring legal security of tenure upon those persons and households currently lacking such protection, in genuine consultation with affected persons and groups ". | Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 34 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | A number of successful rehabilitation and reconstruction initiatives in Honduras, where undisputed land was available at a reasonable distance from livelihood opportunities and facilities, illustrated how settlement development could be an appropriate means to support disaster-affected populations and introduce better practices in areas such as site planning, house design, use and production of building materials, water supply and sanitation and environmental protection. Cases such as El Progreso and Choluteca also included direct involvement by local authorities working in collaborating with other support institutions as well as members of the beneficiary community, all with the help of unprecedented levels of support from donors and relief organizations. | Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 37 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Given the urgent, crisis nature of post-conflict and post-disaster situations, the approach of collecting and analysing detailed information, and of direct participation by the people affected, may seem difficult to achieve. This approach is likely to contradict powerful humanitarian and political pressures that emphasize speedy resettlement, rebuilding and re-housing. In post-conflict and post-disaster situations, "quick wins" easily become equated with rapid physical delivery, often with scant consideration, or even awareness, of possible counterproductive longer-term consequences. Getting "policy choices" right in the field of land and housing requires, in normal circumstances, the undertaking of complex analytical processes. In the midst of crises, the need for speedy decisions and practical livelihood support-oriented action may run counter to the need for caution and for intensive consultation with those directly affected. | Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 57 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | 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. | Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 58 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | [Violations of the right to adequate housing can both contribute to and result from armed conflicts and natural disasters. The poorer and marginalized members of society are disproportionately affected. Addressing existing vulnerabilities can play an important role in both preventing and mitigating the impacts of disasters and conflicts. States should therefore:] Urgently step up their efforts to respect, protect and fulfil the right to adequate housing, in all its dimensions, in both urban and rural contexts; | Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 58 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | [Violations of the right to adequate housing can both contribute to and result from armed conflicts and natural disasters. The poorer and marginalized members of society are disproportionately affected. Addressing existing vulnerabilities can play an important role in both preventing and mitigating the impacts of disasters and conflicts. States should therefore:] Develop and implement land tenure reform policies and programmes that make suitably located, secure, safe and affordable housing accessible to all; | Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 61 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | [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 disruption of social and economic relationships and networks; | Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 61 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | [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; | Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 61 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | [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. | Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
The impact of housing finance policies on the right to adequate housing of those living in poverty 2012, para. 16 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Housing finance policies directly affect the affordability component of the right to adequate housing (article 11, paragraph 1, of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights). States should establish laws, policies and programmes to ensure that the percentage of housing-related costs is commensurate with income levels and that the attainment and satisfaction of other basic needs is not threatened or compromised. States are also required constantly to monitor the impact of their housing policies on the realization of the right to adequate housing and to control unreasonable increases in housing costs. | Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2012 | ||
The impact of housing finance policies on the right to adequate housing of those living in poverty 2012, para. 17 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | When designing, implementing and monitoring housing policies, States must ensure that they not only promote access to affordable housing, but also access to housing that is habitable, accessible and adequately located, and ensure the availability of services (such as health, education and welfare), means of livelihood, building materials, facilities and infrastructure, and security of tenure. States must ensure that housing policies are non-discriminatory and do not increase existing inequalities. When designing housing finance policies, States must pay particular attention to the rights of the poor and disadvantaged. Policies and legislation should be designed to bridge inequality gaps and to ensure access to affordable housing for the poor and marginalized and not benefit already advantaged social groups at the expense of others. | Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2012 | ||
The impact of housing finance policies on the right to adequate housing of those living in poverty 2012, para. 18 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The obligation to ensure the realization of the right to adequate housing does not oblige Governments to provide publicly built housing for all. Although the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights expressed the view that in some cases the State is obliged to provide social housing or low-rental units for low-income households, States are encouraged to employ a variety of housing policies, provided that "measures being taken are sufficient to realize the right for every individual in the shortest possible time in accordance with the maximum of available resources". | Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2012 |