A/79/317 I. Introduction 1. In his thematic report on resettlement after evictions and displacement: addressing a human rights crisis (A/HRC/55/53), the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context, Balakrishnan Rajagopal, issued a clarion call to address the poor outcomes and negative impacts of resettlement. He defined resettlement in the report as the relocation of a group of people, large or small, to a new location where they re-establish their habitual place of residence and rebuild their lives and livelihoods. The drivers of large-scale resettlement are diverse, such as development (e.g. unchecked use of eminent domain, urbanization including new city building, infrastructure projects, mega-events, land and housing speculation, overcommodification of land and housing, interest rates, industrial agriculture, water management, and conservation), violent conflicts, disasters and climate change. The Special Rapporteur emphasizes that all people have the right to remain in their current location, and that if they are forced to leave, they have the right to return or, if return is not feasible or desired, to resettlement that adheres to international human rights standards. 2. Although resettlement should be avoided wherever possible, it may become unavoidable in certain circumstances, especially due to conflict or climate change. However, resettlement universally has adverse effects on communities, often resulting in a range of human rights abuses and severe negative outcomes. Typical issues associated with resettlement include: (a) loss of land and access to natural resources, including common property and services; (b) increased homelessness or inadequate housing; (c) loss of access to public infrastructure, water and sanitation, education or health care; (d) cultural loss leading to alienation, status deprivation and social disintegration; (e) loss of employment and sources of livelihood; (f) food insecurity; (g) marginalization and disruption of social networks; (h) increased morbidity, mortality and psychological impacts, including trauma; (i) heightened risk of conflict and violence with host communities; and (j) disproportionately severe impacts on vulnerable groups, including women, racial, ethnic and religious minorities, children, older persons, migrants and Indigenous Peoples. Resettlement has also been closely associated with threats to and violence against human rights defenders, as well as excessive use of force by security personnel, arbitrary detention, torture, degrading treatment and even killings of those opposing resettlement. 3. In his report to the Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur characterized resettlement as a significant human rights crisis, coining the term “development cleansing” to describe its disproportionate impacts on vulnerable communities when resettlement is justified by development. He identified inadequate stakeholder engagement in project planning, “project megalomania”, funding constraints, flawed or contradictory laws and policies, and poor enforcement as factors contributing to these negative outcomes. 4. The widespread international condemnation of resettlement practices resulting in human rights abuses has prompted States, development finance institutions, businesses and other stakeholders to develop standards, safeguards and mechanisms aimed at mitigating these issues. In the present report, the Special Rapporteur examines the responsibilities of States, international organizations, development finance institutions, investors and businesses; reviews and assesses current laws, standards, policies and practices; and identifies gaps that require urgent attention from the international community, including through the forthcoming guiding principles. 5. The report serves as a second building block in the Special Rapporteur’s effort to create guiding principles for human rights-based resettlement – a proposal 4/24 24-15075