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Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- This recognition of a multiplicity of legitimate tenure forms, together with the obligation to offer protection to those holding them, is of great importance in developing responses to housing destruction or the displacement of residents. Security of tenure is essential for the realization of the right to adequate housing and has a great impact on location as another fundamental element of adequacy. Paradoxically, the absence of such security is often a pre-existing contributory cause of conflict and vulnerability to disaster. In trying to address housing rights in post-disaster and post-conflict situations, it is therefore important to investigate the tenure security challenges presented by those situations. Post-crisis responses to housing destruction and/or displacement that fail to take this into account are likely to be counterproductive, and could even themselves become drivers of future conflicts, dispossession and exacerbation of vulnerabilities. On the other hand, timely and decisive responses built on informed assessment and analysis of those underlying challenges can contribute significantly to strategies for restoration, reconstruction and development.
- 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)
- Humanitarian
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Mapping and framing security of tenure 2013, para. 95
- Paragraph text
- Progress has been made in recent years, with some humanitarian actors explicitly addressing issues of tenure for the most disadvantaged. For instance, several agencies have worked to record rights to housing and land at an early stage of displacement; to upgrade and regularize IDP settlements; and to support the most vulnerable through legal aid on housing, land and property issues, both in statutory and customary law contexts.
- 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
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- The case of post-conflict Rwanda illustrates the use of a top-down developmental approach to land allocation, resettlement and housing in an effort to deal with the legacy of dispossession and displacement in the years leading up to and immediately following the 1994 Genocide. The majority of Rwandans had experience of forced displacement, either within the country or to a second or even third country, a reality which has shaped all subsequent efforts to manage land issues and to realize housing rights. From 1997 the Government attempted to implement the imidugudu (villagization) model nationwide, requiring the entire rural population of Rwanda to be concentrated in rural villages instead of the traditionally scattered settlement patterns. Any further construction outside of dedicated village sites would be forbidden, while people were forced by the authorities to abandon and destroy their homes near their fields. Justified and pursued as an emergency shelter policy to deal with successive waves of approximately 2.5 million "old case" and "new case" refugees returning home after 1994, the imidugudu model had longer-term demographic, economic and governance goals. In the north-west of the country, it also served as a counterinsurgency measure in the context of incursions from ex-FAR and Interahamwe in Congo and violent reaction from Government troops.
- 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
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- The right to adequate housing can be severely compromised by disasters and conflicts, through damage and destruction, loss of records and the displacement of individuals, families and communities. While the numbers of people affected are often staggering, the impact of conflicts and disasters on this right should not be measured simply in terms of numbers of physical assets destroyed and people displaced. It should also and perhaps primarily be understood in terms of the extent of disruption of social relationships, networks and assets; destruction of home-centred livelihoods built up over many years; and the undermining of complex, multi-layered land tenure rights. Destruction of housing as a physical asset can be addressed through repair, rehabilitation and reconstruction. This is an urgent and difficult enough task in the aftermath of disasters and conflicts. Destruction of housing as a social asset, on the other hand, requires more multi-faceted and longer-term responses based on a deeper understanding of the tenure systems and histories of the affected settlements and, in particular, of their poorer and marginalized residents. It also requires vigilance in the course of the restoration and reconstruction to ensure that previously held tenure rights are not undermined or diminished in any way but are, instead, protected and where possible strengthened.
- 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)
- Humanitarian
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- There are similarities and differences between post-disaster and post-conflict contexts. While conflicts and disasters often result in large-scale human displacement, deliberate destruction of land records and systems is far more likely in post-conflict than in post-disaster contexts, as is the extent of secondary occupation of homes of those displaced. Housing rights issues in post-conflict situations arise mainly as a consequence of International Humanitarian Law or International Human Rights Law violations committed during the conflict. In post-conflict situations there is therefore the question of how to redress the situation, how to guarantee justice to the victims and support the reconciliation process. Peace agreements and the establishment of transitional justice law frameworks and mechanisms can constitute an opportunity to address the right to adequate housing during post-conflict situations but everything depends on if and how these questions are addressed by these mechanisms and frameworks. The fact that conflicts can last for a long time also implies important differences between post-conflict and post-disaster situations. While taking account of such differences, this report will mainly focus on common issues and questions that arise in both contexts.
- 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)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing in disaster relief efforts 2011, para. 64.3
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur makes the following recommendations:] All affected persons and groups should have access to information and be able to participate meaningfully in the planning and implementation of the various stages of the disaster response.
- 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)
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing in disaster relief efforts 2011, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- Post-disaster situations are likely to be characterized not only by massive damage to housing but also by mass displacement, disruption of social networks and relationships, damage or lack of access to basic services and loss of livelihoods, employment, assets, or land, which are all key factors that have an impact on enjoyment of the right to adequate housing. However, reconstruction and efforts to ensure durable solutions have too often focused on the most tangible aspects of housing (the physical structures). International organizations and Governments are prone to assume that housing reconstruction is the main priority for affected persons, rather than livelihoods or neighbourhood infrastructure. When housing is assessed it is assessed as a technical or economic sector rather than as a human right, and the focus is on building and construction standards and materials, and on the quality of emergency and transitional shelters. In some cases the focus on property restitution has also been to the detriment of rebuilding and improving the broader social, political or economic conditions required to support sustainable return - jobs, basic services and infrastructure, and security. A commentator stated that, the "house" had become the measure of success of the return process rather than the actual welfare of the people displaced from their homes.
- 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
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing in disaster relief efforts 2011, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- Instead, most initiatives to address disasters from a human rights perspective have taken place with respect to specific groups, notably internally displaced persons and refugees. The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement are essential in this regard. They have been recognized as a significant international framework for the protection of internally displaced persons in both post-conflict and post-disaster situations. While attention was at first geared to the protection of internally displaced persons in conflict and post-conflict situations, in recent years policy and operational guidelines have also been developed with respect to natural disasters, expanding the scope of application to all persons affected by disasters, including but not limited to internally displaced persons. The Inter-Agency Standing Committee Operational Guidelines on the Protection of Persons in Situations of Natural Disasters (Inter-Agency Standing Committee Guidelines) is an important document in this regard. The Guidelines and the above-mentioned Guiding Principles recognize the right of persons displaced by conflict or disaster to durable solutions, namely, a return to their homes or places of habitual residence (and, as key condition for durable return, to have housing or land restored to them), relocation elsewhere or local integration.
- 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
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- A useful example of the dangers of failing to deal with land tenure security challenges in a timely manner can be found in the case of post-conflict East Timor. It is estimated that during the violence that followed the 1999 referendum, 67,500 out of an estimated 170,000 houses (40 per cent of all housing stock) were rendered uninhabitable ; while approximately 70 per cent of all physical infrastructure was destroyed or rendered inoperable. Administrative documents, including land title records, were also destroyed or taken to Indonesia. Approximately 300,000 people fled or were forced into Indonesian West Timor; while an estimated 450,000 were internally displaced, out of a total population of 900,000. Houses left empty by the refugees were occupied by others, often because their own homes had been destroyed. Over the following months and years, returning refugees frequently found their homes occupied and had to pay the secondary occupants compensation for "guarding" or improving their homes so that they would leave. In many cases the secondary occupants refused to vacate, forcing the returnees to seek shelter elsewhere. This left an extraordinarily complex land and housing rights legacy for the transitional administration and future government to unravel and resolve. To add to the complexity, the post-referendum events took place against a historical backdrop of waves of dispossession and displacement and externally imposed land systems through Portuguese colonization, Japanese invasion and Indonesian takeover.
- 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)
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- However, numerous obstacles often stand in the way of rapid return, recovery and reconstruction. These can include dangers (e.g. damage to buildings, health risks, unstable ground); difficulty of access; inability of the authorities to provide services to the area; and lack of resources. Nevertheless, it is incumbent upon the relevant authorities to take measures to overcome such obstacles with a minimum of delay. According to IASC guidelines: "After the emergency phase, persons displaced by the natural disaster should be granted the opportunity to choose freely whether they want to return to their homes and places of origin, to remain in the area to which they have been displaced, or to resettle to another part of the country. Their right of choice may not be subjected to any restrictions except those which are provided by law, and are necessary to protect national security, the safety and security of affected populations, public order (ordre public), safety, public health or morals or the rights and freedoms of others. In particular, the return of persons displaced by the disaster to their homes and places of origin should only be prohibited if these homes or places of origin are in zones where there are real dangers to the life or physical integrity and health of the affected persons. Restrictions should only last as long as such dangers exist and only be implemented if other, less intrusive, measures of protection are not available or possible."
- 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
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing in disaster relief efforts 2011, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Concerns have also been expressed over what has been called "the business of reconstruction", whereby the planning, financing and implementation of reconstruction are outsourced to private companies. In some cases, outsourcing reconstruction without putting adequate safeguards in place has been associated with negative impacts on the adequacy and affordability of reconstruction as well as on people's ability to participate in and benefit from reconstruction efforts. In Chile, following the earthquake and subsequent tsunami of February 2010, the private sector reportedly played a central role in the reconstruction of urban centres and coastal areas. Following one of the main principles of the national reconstruction plan, families have the choice to decide whether to rebuild their homes on the same sites of the collapsed buildings or to acquire a previously existing or a newly built house. However, as housing reconstruction was supported mainly by subsidies attached to individual property, private constructors preferred to rebuild housing in new areas on the outskirts of towns, rather than the central areas from which many people had been displaced, where land and housing prices were much higher. Real estate companies were also said to pressure families to sell land and housing at very low prices in a moment where they were very vulnerable, in order to make way for private redevelopment. This shows that if left only to the market, new housing for the poorest will likely be in the peripheries.
- 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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.
- 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
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 30
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Mass displacement caused by situations of risk, including armed conflict, humanitarian emergencies and natural disasters, has catastrophic effects on persons with disabilities. In a survey by the United Nations, it was found that only 20 per cent of persons with disabilities could evacuate their living spaces immediately without difficulty in the event of an emergency and that a disproportionate number would be injured or die in the event of a disaster because their needs would not met by organized efforts. Persons with disabilities who are refugees, affected by disasters or living in conflict and post-conflict situations are especially vulnerable to mass, often repeated displacement, resource shortages, limited or non-existent services and access to rehabilitation or reconstruction and a wide array of security concerns.
- 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
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- Governments, with sustained support from international support agencies, should provide immediate, temporary shelter in reasonable adequate living conditions for anyone displaced by conflict or disaster.
- 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
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Failure to take timely appropriate measures can have serious consequences for the people affected. In post-conflict contexts the situation can be even more complex, as obstacles in the way of return and recovery can also include threats of violence against a returning family or group/s, secondary occupation of land and houses, among others.
- 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)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- The long-term success of post-disaster and post-conflict responses to a great extent depends on a properly informed understanding of the local context. It also requires high levels of consultation with and direct involvement of the people directly affected in the process of relief and reconstruction within that context. With respect to the right to adequate housing and displacement, this specifically includes those people with less formalized land use and occupation rights.
- 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
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to life and the right to adequate housing: the indivisibility and interdependence between these rights 2016, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- The Constitutional Court of Colombia has also made significant advances in the understanding of the connection between the right to life and the right to adequate housing. In its historic T-025 decision on the constitutional obligation to address the needs of internally displaced persons, the Constitutional Court affirmed that the right to life requires positive measures, many of which can only be implemented over a period of time, to address the needs of internally displaced persons in the fields of housing, access to productive projects, health care, education and humanitarian aid.
- 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to life and the right to adequate housing: the indivisibility and interdependence between these rights 2016, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- The indivisibility of the right to life and the right to housing is also heightened in situations of conflict, particularly where homes and residential areas are targeted. House demolitions, shelling and bombing in residential areas and the destruction of infrastructure (water, sewage and electricity systems, for example) are frequently used as acts of aggression in conflict situations, rendering entire areas unfit and inadequate for life. For example, in the 2014 incursion into Gaza, 160,000 housing units were destroyed or suffered major or minor damage. Eighteen months after the war, the reconstruction or repair of the homes of 74 per cent of Palestinian families who were displaced had not even begun, leaving approximately 90,000 people displaced or homeless.
- 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)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to life and the right to adequate housing: the indivisibility and interdependence between these rights 2016, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- Migrants constitute the majority of construction workers for mega-sporting event projects, tending to live in labour camps with deplorable conditions, at the mercy of private contractors and developers. Amnesty International has documented the conditions in labour camps in Qatar, finding unsanitary, overcrowded accommodations subject to flooding because of poor drainage, and a lack of safety measures such as fire alarm systems or fire extinguishers. Workers have no opportunity to have their conditions redressed. Migrant domestic workers have reported being forced to sleep in hallways, unprotected living spaces or closets of the homes in which they work. In some developed countries public shelters have refused to accommodate migrants or will only do so for limited periods of time. In these cases, migrants settle in slums, shacks and derelict or unfinished 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)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Responsibilities of local and other subnational governments in relation to the right to adequate housing 2015, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Local governments, on the other hand, tend to be assigned responsibilities for provision and management of services such as water, sanitation, electricity and other infrastructure; land-use planning, zoning and development, which relates to decisions regarding evictions, displacement and relocation; implementing programmes to upgrade informal settlements and inadequate housing; enforcing health, safety, environmental and building standards; providing local emergency shelter; putting in place or implementing disaster risk reduction and response policies; and regulating the use of public space. Even if programmes are designed and fully or partially funded by central governments, it is often local authorities that decide where housing will be built or upgraded, and determine who will be allocated housing units or receive social benefits or housing subsidy based on prescribed criteria.
- 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- Access to humanitarian assistance. Sometimes tenure documentation, such as title, is a prerequisite to establishing eligibility for humanitarian assistance to ensure the sustainability of the assistance provided and avoid fraudulent tenure claims and future conflict. However, often those most in need are displaced, landless and/or tenure insecure, and may not hold title or evidence of occupancy in their names, or may have lost their documentation during the conflict or disaster. In many contexts, various forms of customary tenure that do not rely on documentary evidence are dominant and can provide a reliable basis for durable shelter assistance.
- 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)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- These and other proposals to address housing, land and property rights through the active participation of the affected people, and to build on existing community processes, were not taken up by the transitional authorities or the newly independent Government. In the aftermath of the later wave of violence, destruction and displacement of 2006-7, the need for such involvement became prominently recognised. The five pillars of the National Recovery Strategy included one aimed at building trust within communities and between the people and the Government. This was in the context of urgent attempts to achieve the reintegration and return of IDPs displaced by the violence to their communities, with the incentive of cash compensation from the State with which they could repair their homes or settle in alternative areas in cases where reintegration proved impossible. As part of a Dialogue, Communications and Outreach Programme, dialogue teams were established to manage the necessary conflict resolution, mediation and negotiation processes. This required the participation of local authorities, youth leaders and other groupings. The programme, which was still continuing in some communities in May 2010, incorporated the use of customary dispute resolution practices and peacebuilding ceremonies. It is widely regarded as having been successful and necessary for peacebuilding and the safe return of IDPs. Women reportedly participated far more actively than men in the community dialogue and reconciliation process. This was in contrast to the compensation payment process, which had been male-dominated.
- 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)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Studies have demonstrated the potential negative effects of failing to follow this approach. One example is research done in Gujarat, India, in the aftermath of the 2001 earthquake which left 1.2 million people homeless and damaged 1.7 million properties including 15,000 schools, affecting a total of 490 towns and 8,000 villages. This was met with a comprehensive, generally successful and internationally acclaimed relief and rehabilitation effort managed by the Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority. The response was coordinated through a system of "village adoption", whereby NGOs and other entities took on responsibility for the reconstruction of the villages. Most affected households were offered two options: owner-driven reconstruction and donor-driven reconstruction. In the process different approaches were followed, allowing for flexibility, with varying success. A number of the lessons drawn from the study emphasized the importance of the involvement and active agency of the affected people, as well as the influence of location on the lives of affected communities. In one case, a new township constructed three kilometres from the original village that had been destroyed was found six years after the earthquake to be empty but for one or two houses occupied by migrant workers renting the properties from the intended owners. The intended inhabitants of this settlement, who had initially accepted the offer of houses built for them, had returned to the original village and built their own: "[The villagers said] that they did not want to leave their village, '…it is the home of our ancestors'. When asked who built the village, the proud response is that they did it themselves". In another village, while people had occupied the houses that had been built for them, they described their new settlement in "wholly negative" terms such as: "It is dead"; "We are bored"; "There are no shops ".
- 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)
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- In spite of these challenges, it is very important to ensure that time and opportunity are made for gathering of information, analysis and assessment of policy choices; and for intensive consultation with, and the involvement of, those affected. People directly affected by conflicts and crises are not mere helpless victims. They are invariably the first people "on the scene" and are often the first to take some form of action. In Honduras following the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch the immediate post-disaster processes of rescue, relief and stabilization were characterized by remarkable personal determination and great displays of social solidarity, with private and public buildings opening their doors to the displaced and homeless. Communities in different parts of the country self-organized and developed their own survival strategies. Citizens joined neighbourhood or community solidarity groups, which, because of insufficient official assistance and their isolation, frequently carried out emergency tasks on their own initiative. Some of the most basic emergency interventions implemented included search and rescue operations, provision of temporary shelter, sanitation programmes such as the disposal of human and animal remains, and the distribution of water, food, blankets, and domestic items. This was in contrast to the Government's response to the crisis which included immediate centralization of State power and, two days later, the announcement that plans to draft a national plan for reconstruction had been initiated, conducted without transparency in a secretive fashion.
- 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
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- This subsequent wave of violence and dispossessions prompted a well-considered and ambitious set of remedial actions in the form of a National Recovery Strategy (NRS) called Hamutuk Hari'I Futuru (Together Building the Future) launched in December 2007. The five pillars of this strategy focused on: IDP return and resettlement; establishing a social security system for the most vulnerable groups in society; addressing security issues including working with communities to identify and address sources of conflict; creating livelihood opportunities through job generation schemes; and building trust within communities and between the people and the government. However, various aspects of the strategy were not implemented. For example the range of options that was initially stated to be available to returning IDPs was drastically cut - essentially limited to the mass payout of cash compensation amounts. Ultimately these payments, combined with a reconciliation and dialogue process (discussed below), constituted the extent of the programme implemented to return or resettle IDPs and reconstruct housing. As of July 2010 payments were still being made and in total there had been approximately 17,000 recipient households. Under the circumstances of potential further disturbances and lack of State capacity there were good arguments for giving people the funds with which to address their own housing and immediate livelihood needs. The approach also allowed for individually tailored solutions for housing and livelihood restoration. However there were a number of problems from a human rights perspective, including the following: (a) most payments went to male heads of households, with no measures in place to ensure that the funds would be spent on housing for the whole family; (b) families under severe financial stress could be under pressure to use the cash payments to cover more urgent, short-term expenses instead of housing; (c) through resorting to cash payments, the State missed an important opportunity to channel funds towards the provision of properly serviced sites for 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)
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- In both post-disaster and post-conflict situations there is an inevitable tension between the pressing need to act quickly and decisively in order to facilitate the return of the displaced to their lands and homes, and the need to be comprehensive and thorough in dealing with what are in fact very complex questions. In post-conflict situations this can become particularly complicated, with the tension playing itself out between short-term peace demands and compromises, and the longer-term needs of a sustainable reconciliation and reconstruction process. Finding practical and locally appropriate ways to resolve the dilemma is very important. Given the expansive content of the right to adequate housing, protecting and realizing that right is never a clear-cut, linear process where an obvious causal link can easily be established between action on the ground and ultimate impact. Massive displacement, frequent destruction of records related to land and property, the equally frequent absence of documentation to prove the prior occupation history of long-term informal users and occupants of land, the emergence of "rights in conflict" (such as occupation versus restitution), inadequate legal frameworks governing land management, the actions of powerful interest groups keen on capitalizing on the opportunity for profitable investment; are all factors which would in principle call for caution and careful analysis of strategic options. In crisis situations, where the initial, overriding objectives for Government and for those external actors engaged on the ground would first and foremost be of an emergency shelter and basic livelihood support nature, housing rights and land tenure challenges may therefore seem impossible to address.
- 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)
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 17
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- The process of return, recovery and reconstruction is regarded as an urgent priority in post-disaster and post-conflict contexts. According to IASC: "Experience has shown that the longer the displacement lasts, the greater the risk of human rights violations. In particular, discrimination and violations of economic, social and cultural rights tend to become more systemic over time." The guiding principles put forward in a recent Handbook for Reconstructing After Natural Disasters suggest that a good reconstruction policy helps reactivate communities and empowers people to rebuild their housing, their lives, and their livelihoods and that reconstruction begins the day of the disaster.
- 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
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Another important development was the formulation of the Principles on Housing and Property Restitution for Refugees and Displaced Persons, generally known as the "Pinheiro Principles". These were the culmination of a shift that commenced in the early 1990s "from what were essentially humanitarian-driven responses to voluntary repatriation to more rights-based approaches to return […] increasingly grounded in the principle of restorative justice and of restitution as a legal remedy which can support refugees and internally displaced persons in their choice of a durable solution (whether return, resettlement or local integration)".
- 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
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 5
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- Armed conflicts and natural disasters are a massive and growing problem worldwide. They have devastating consequences for the people affected and cause daunting challenges on a massive scale. Each year conflicts result in dislocation for hundreds of thousands of people. According to calculations by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the total number of people forcibly uprooted through conflict and persecution stood at 43.3 million at the end of 2009, "the highest number since the mid-1990s". This included 15.2 million refugees, 983,000 asylum seekers, and 27.1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs). At the same time the world is facing natural disasters on an unprecedented scale. During the period 2000-2008 an average of 392 disasters per year occurred worldwide. During 2009 a total of 335 disasters were reported, killing 10,655 and affecting more than 119 million persons, and causing more than US$41.3 billion in damages.
- 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
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 65
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- The right of all people displaced as a result of conflict or disaster (refugees or IDPs) to voluntarily return to their land and homes or any other location within their country should be recognized and all possible steps should be taken to assist them to exercise that right. In cases where the displaced have settled and begun to build new lives and communities, their preference to remain should also be respected and supported. Further, in cases where secondary occupants are in possession of the land and houses of people displaced, sustained efforts should be made to achieve a negotiated agreement that satisfies all parties, prior to any legal action being taken.
- 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
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph