Search Tips
sorted by
30 shown of 50 entities
The right to adequate housing in disaster relief efforts 2011, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- Against this backdrop it is important to differentiate between two tasks. In the long term, there might be a need to formally record and strengthen ownership or tenure through legal reforms and other mechanisms such as land titling, thereby definitively resolving the ambiguous and uncertain situation in which many find themselves. In the short term, however, these means may not be the most appropriate to address reconstruction and recovery needs and to do so without reinforcing inequalities. Experience also suggests the enormous challenge of attempting to deal with the full spectrum of ownership/tenure and land reform issues right after disaster or conflict. The Government of Pakistan noted that an appreciation of the social, political, technical and legal complexities of land tenure issues and the fact that those were not confined to the disaster-affected areas was essential. In the short term, it remains nonetheless essential and opportune to assess pre-disaster tenure rights, through swift methods, in order to move effectively towards reconstruction and recovery in a way that ensures a minimum of tenure security to everyone and addresses some of the worse forms of inequality and insecurity.
- 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
- Person(s) affected
- All
- 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. 63
- Paragraph text
- Despite the fact that the Constitution of India separates the right to life as a justiciable right from the right to housing as a policy directive, the Supreme Court of India recognized the impossibility of separating the two rights as early as 1981, stating: The right to life includes the right to live with human dignity and all that goes along with it, namely, the bare necessaries of life such as adequate nutrition, clothing and shelter and facilities for reading, writing and expressing oneself in diverse forms, freely moving about and mixing and commingling with fellow human beings. This case was followed by a number of crucial decisions, including in the Olga Tellis case, in which it was explicitly recognized that the right to livelihood forms an integral part of the right to life; the Shantistar Builders Society case, in which it was held that the right to life "would take within its sweep … a reasonable accommodation to live in"; and Chameli Singh v. State of U.P., in which the state's obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Political Rights were considered and it was noted that "[the] right to shelter when used as an essential requisite to the right to live should be deemed to have been guaranteed as a fundamental right".
- 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
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- 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. 59
- Paragraph text
- Similar approaches have been adopted in the African system. In the Pretoria Declaration on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights States parties to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights agreed that socioeconomic rights, including the right to housing, must be read into the Charter in the light of references to the right to life, stating: The social, economic and cultural rights explicitly provided for under the African Charter, read together with other rights in the Charter, such as the right to life and respect for inherent human dignity, imply the recognition of other economic and social rights, including the right to shelter, the right to basic nutrition and the right to social security. The Pretoria Declaration drew on the decision of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights in the case of Social and Economic Rights Action Center and Center for Economic and Social Rights v. Nigeria. The Commission found that environmental degradation had "made living in Ogoniland a nightmare" and that destruction of land and farms "affected the life of the Ogoni society as a whole". The Commission concluded that "the most fundamental of all human rights, the right to life, has been violated".
- 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
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- 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. 68
- Paragraph text
- Other emerging mechanisms, such as performance contracts which stipulate socioeconomic indicators and targets that municipal officials must meet, can similarly be used as an accountability mechanism at the local level for the right to adequate 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)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Responsibilities of local and other subnational governments in relation to the right to adequate housing 2015, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- The internal allocation of responsibilities for implementing the right to adequate housing is a matter for State parties to determine, but the allocation must be consistent with the obligation to ensure compliance with international human rights obligations. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has indicated that "all administrative authorities will take account of the requirements of the Covenant in their decision-making". Hence, the wide range of housing policy and programme decisions often made at the local level, including budgeting, planning, zoning, allocation of benefits and publically funded housing units, the provision or regulation of basic services, rent subsidies, and any other decisions related to access to adequate housing, must comply with relevant, applicable human rights norms. In most cases a national housing strategy is required among regional and local authorities in order to reconcile related policies with the obligations under the Covenant. The Committee on the Rights of the Child further clarifies that State parties must also ensure that local authorities "have the necessary financial, human and other resources to effectively discharge [their] responsibilities".
- 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
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Children
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 79
- Paragraph text
- All data on progress and outcomes should be made public, ensuring that the urban poor are able to access and understand the information. Progress reports should be presented to a range of national mechanisms, such as legislatures, national human rights institutions, and public forums, as well as to international mechanisms, including human rights treaty bodies and the Council through the universal periodic review.
- 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
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- Real-estate investments of a predominantly speculative nature can have the effect of undermining security of tenure of the urban poor by contributing to the unaffordability of land and housing. The result may be regression in the enjoyment of the right to adequate housing and increased homelessness. Business enterprises should refrain from entering into such property investments to avoid these adverse human rights 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
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- The inability of the poor to access secure and well-located urban housing is often a direct result of policies that promote the commodification of land and housing to the detriment of their social function. As housing becomes increasingly unaffordable, especially in city centres, people have no choice but to resort to insecure self-help alternatives, including sleeping in public places.
- 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
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- States, public and private utilities and service providers, businesses and other actors should recognize and respect the tenure rights recorded in settlement information systems, on an equal footing to established land cadastres and registries.
- 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)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 27e
- Paragraph text
- [States should also facilitate in situ tenure solutions, wherever possible, for those people residing on privately owned property where the inhabitants have no other adequate housing option. Options for securing tenure for inhabitants, either on an individual or collective basis, include:] Land sharing that allocates sufficient land to the owner and to the inhabitants;
- 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)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Economic Rights
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 27c
- Paragraph text
- [States should also facilitate in situ tenure solutions, wherever possible, for those people residing on privately owned property where the inhabitants have no other adequate housing option. Options for securing tenure for inhabitants, either on an individual or collective basis, include:] Sale of the property with State support where necessary;
- 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)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Economic Rights
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 27b
- Paragraph text
- [States should also facilitate in situ tenure solutions, wherever possible, for those people residing on privately owned property where the inhabitants have no other adequate housing option. Options for securing tenure for inhabitants, either on an individual or collective basis, include:] Rental of the property by the owner at affordable rates and with legal tenancy protections;
- 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)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Economic Rights
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 27a
- Paragraph text
- [States should also facilitate in situ tenure solutions, wherever possible, for those people residing on privately owned property where the inhabitants have no other adequate housing option. Options for securing tenure for inhabitants, either on an individual or collective basis, include:] The recognition of adverse possession 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)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Economic Rights
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- Rental. Renting a plot, dwelling or room from a private or public owner provides access to housing for many urban poor households. Rental involves the right to use housing for a period of time at a given price, without transfer of ownership, on the basis of a written or verbal contract.
- 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Mapping and framing security of tenure 2013, para. 78
- Paragraph text
- Public land remains one of the most important potential sources of land for housing the poor, yet there remain obstacles to using public land for such purposes. For instance, poor land governance, corruption in land administration and the tight relationship that exists between tenure status and land values encourages nepotism, corruption, clientelism and market-driven interests in public land allocation.
- 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Mapping and framing security of tenure 2013, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has noted that 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". Thus the Committee reflects the diversity of tenure arrangements worldwide.
- 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Mapping and framing security of tenure 2013, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- National and regional case law offers similar guidance. For instance, the Supreme Court of India has called upon the State to provide some security of tenure to marginalized groups, such as pavement dwellers, and the South African Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights have addressed security of tenure and protection against eviction for the urban poor and inhabitants of informal settlements.
- 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Mapping and framing security of tenure 2013, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- Security of tenure is understood in the present report as tenure of land and/or housing which ensures a secure home and enables one to live in security, peace and dignity. While the report does not address land tenure other than as prerequisite for housing, it must be noted that issues pertaining to land-whether for housing or agriculture-are intimately linked.
- 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)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Economic Rights
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Analysis of two alternative housing policies: rental and collective housing 2013, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- Collective forms of tenure clearly represent an effective form of self-help that may assist in the progressive realization of the right to adequate housing. In accordance with paragraphs 10 and 11 of General Comment No. 4 of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, States have an obligation to facilitate the activity of such mechanisms for housing production and allocation, particularly when evidence indicates that they can promote access to adequate housing for marginalized groups that would otherwise be excluded from the housing market. However, despite these clear advantages, to date collective tenure remains at a limited scale, mainly as a result of the lack of supportive legal, financial and institutional frameworks in most countries. Although community structures need a certain degree of autonomy in order to regulate the relationship between the members and the organization and preserve their decision-making autonomy, they also require supportive legal and institutional structures in order to enable their functioning. For example, the legal recognition of collective tenure is essential, as well as the possibility of taking on collective loans. In that context, it is crucial that the State provide urban land that is well located, in particular in densely populated urban settings, in order to support the ability of collective housing organizations to compete in the land market.
- 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)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Analysis of two alternative housing policies: rental and collective housing 2013, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- The cases of community land trusts, cooperatives and community funds demonstrate the capacity of collective organizations to tailor housing solutions that adequately address security of tenure, affordability, location and availability of services and infrastructure in urban settings for low-income households.
- 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
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- The State must regulate, direct and engage with private market and financial actors, not simply to ensure that they do not explicitly violate rights, but also to ensure that the rules under which they operate and their actions are consistent with the realization of the right to adequate housing. States are obliged under international human rights to ensure that private investors respond to the needs of residents for secure, affordable housing and do not cater only to the wealthy or purchase homes simply to leave them empty.
- 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
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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. 24
- Paragraph text
- Fiscal accountability is also a critical and often neglected element of a rights-based approach. The realization of the right to adequate housing requires appropriate use and distribution of resources. Under international human rights law, governments are required to give priority to human rights in budgeting by allocating the "maximum of available resources" and using "all appropriate means" to realize the right to adequate housing and related 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)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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. 19
- Paragraph text
- Incorporating the right to housing as a pillar in a new urban agenda will have important ramifications. The right to housing is the right to a home that is secure and connected to services, employment opportunities and urban life. Beyond walls and a roof, it requires individuals and households to have access to water, sanitation, electricity, schools, health care and other services, such as waste management, roads, sewage systems and access to transportation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- Property status and place of residence, including a settlement that is not legally recognized, are prohibited grounds of discrimination. States should adopt deliberate, concrete and targeted measures to combat discrimination against individuals and groups on the basis of their tenure status in the enjoyment of their human rights. The prohibition on discrimination applies whether or not the tenure arrangements are recognized under law, and whether or not there is documentary evidence of tenure status.
- 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
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Mapping and framing security of tenure 2013, para. 73
- Paragraph text
- Increased global demand for land implies an increased need for land policies that ensure tenure rights and equal access to land. Efforts to promote secure tenure must go hand in hand with improving the overall governance of land and protecting human rights. This is precisely the rationale behind the voluntary guidelines on land tenure mentioned above. Other guidance exists with regard to the governance of agricultural investments. Yet no such safeguards are in place for urban and housing investments.
- 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
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Mapping and framing security of tenure 2013, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- While no one appears fully protected from tenure insecurity, it is evident that the most marginalized and poorest bear the brunt of the insecurity burden.
- 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
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Mapping and framing security of tenure 2013, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- Land tenure systems and forms determine who can use and dispose of what land, housing or natural resources for how long and under what conditions. Attempts have been made to classify forms and systems of tenure in order to clarify existing arrangements.
- 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Reflection on work undertaken in first 14 years of the mandate; outline of opportunities and priorities 2014, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- The meaning and the application of non-discrimination and equality in the context of economic, social and cultural rights have been described in a variety of international human rights documents.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- As noted by the Institute for Human Rights and Business, global financial institutions with representations from central bank governors and ministers of finance, "seem generally remote from stakeholder engagement. These institutions are independent self-governing bodies with their own rules of procedure and are not directly accountable to the public." Governments relying on the financial system and financialized housing assets to service their own debt are not encouraged by global financial institutions to manage housing systems for compliance with human rights. They are more likely to be urged to cut housing programmes and social protection programmes to comply with the demands and economic theories of financial corporations and credit agencies.
- 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
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- Financialized housing markets respond to preferences of global investors rather than to the needs of communities. The average income of households in the community or the kinds of housing they would like to inhabit is of little concern to financial investors, who cater to the needs or desires of speculative markets and are likely to replace affordable housing that is needed with luxury housing that sits vacant because that is how best to turn a profit quickly. Financialized housing thus precipitates what has been referred to as "residential alienation", the loss of the critical relationship to housing as a dwelling and the diverse set of social relationships that give it meaning. In financialized housing markets, those making decisions about housing - its use, its cost, where it will be built or whether it will be demolished - do so from remote board rooms with no engagement with or accountability to the communities in which their "assets" are 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph