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The right to life and the right to adequate housing: the indivisibility and interdependence between these rights 2016, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- The Committee's recognition in these cases that deportation into homelessness may constitute cruel and inhuman treatment or punishment, and that victims of homelessness in this context are entitled to a remedy, is significant. It is equally important, however, to ensure access to adjudication and remedy for those who experience the same deprivations of homelessness resulting from inaction or neglect within a State's own borders. In A.H.G and Jasin, the Committee considered the effects of widespread and systemic violations of the right to security and dignity. However, this consideration remained within the negative rights framework of prohibited "treatment" or "punishment". That framework is not conducive to hearing the substantive claim to a life of dignity, security and inclusion advanced by people with disabilities or women escaping violence, who do not see the fulfilment of their human rights merely as freedom from treatment or punishment but more fundamentally as a right to a place to live in dignity and security.
- 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- 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. 55
- Paragraph text
- The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has had the opportunity to consider in its jurisprudence the obligation of States parties to address threats to women linked to lack of housing. In Ms. A.T. v. Hungary, the Committee considered the circumstances of a woman with two children who was viciously beaten by her husband and who feared for her life. She was unable to move to a shelter because there were no spaces available to accommodate her child, who had a disability. The domestic courts refused to grant A.T. possession of her home, in consideration of the property rights of her husband. The Committee held that women's human rights to life and to physical and mental integrity could not be superseded by other rights, including the right to property and the right to privacy. The Committee recommended that Hungary take positive measures to remedy the situation of A.T., to ensure better protection for women more generally and to ensure that A.T. was given a safe home in which to live with her children, as well as child support, legal assistance and reparation for the violations of her 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
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women and their right to adequate housing 2012, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- One area in which new policies adopted in recent years have increasingly protected women's right to adequate housing is within the context of domestic violence. In Europe, for example, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe issued a recommendation on the implementation of the right to housing in 2009, advocating the adoption and implementation of national housing strategies by all Council of Europe member States. Section 4.3.6. of the recommendation deals explicitly with women and women victims of violence, calling upon States "to protect women victims of violence through specific legal and policy initiatives including the provision of specialized emergency shelters and other alternative housing." Section 5 also urges States to adopt national housing strategies that "apply a gender perspective, identify disadvantaged and vulnerable groups and include positive measures for ensuring their effective enjoyment of the right to housing," and also to "adopt anti-violence provisions in housing legislation and policies and ensure that domestic violence laws include provisions to protect women's right to housing, including the right to privacy and security."
- 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
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women and their right to adequate housing 2012, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- The recognition that women's housing security is vital to their ability to leave a violent relationship is spreading, and efforts have been made at national level, resulting in the promulgation of new domestic laws. For instance, in Serbia, according to article 198(2) of the Family Law adopted in 2005, courts can issue an order for the removal of the perpetrator from family housing, and they can also order that victims of domestic violence be allowed to stay in family housing, in both cases regardless of the ownership of housing. In Brazil, what has become popularly known as the "Maria da Penha Law" (2006) allows for the removal of the abuser from the home. Additionally, the Indian Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (2005) explicitly recognizes the right of women victims of domestic violence to reside in a shared household, and provides that "every woman in a domestic relationship shall have the right to reside in the shared household, whether or not she has any right, title or beneficial interest in the same." In addition, the Act guarantees that a person suffering domestic violence "shall not be evicted or excluded from the shared household or any part of it by the respondent [i.e. the abuser] save in accordance with the procedure established by law."
- 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing in disaster relief efforts 2011, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- The optimal means for determining housing or land claims for the purpose of reconstruction and return will depend on the particular context, in terms of tenure or property arrangements, formality and registration, and resources. As discussed, formal administrative or judicial property restitution mechanisms might not be applicable or appropriate in a number of situations, in particular those characterized by multiple tenure arrangements. The Protocol on the Property Rights of Returning Persons of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region offers a more comprehensive approach than the Pinheiro Principles in this regard, by providing that both administrative and traditional authorities should address property disputes, thereby acknowledging the importance of traditional and customary systems with regard to land. The Protocol also envisages alternative and informal community-based mechanisms for resolving disputes, using requirements of proof of ownership based upon testimony. In practice, organizations supporting return of refugees or displaced persons have often relied on customary law and traditional conflict resolution mechanisms to solve land disputes. Caution must however be exercised so that women or others particularly vulnerable to discrimination are not excluded or disadvantaged in these processes.
- 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Mapping and framing security of tenure 2013, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- International human rights mechanisms have discussed the particular tenure situation of some groups and individuals, such as Roma or women, but have offered little guidance with respect to other groups. For instance, commentary in relation to the situation of internally displaced persons (IDPs) focuses only on a few issues (primarily housing or property restitution) and countries, and would thus warrant further elaboration. Other groups whose tenure needs require clarification are asylum seekers and migrants.
- 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
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- In addition to the more obvious requirements, within the framework of human rights, to ensure that housing developers exercise due diligence, comply with safety standards and adopt policies of non-discrimination, for example, States may also be required to ensure that investment in housing complies with a rights-based housing strategy and with the target of ensuring adequate housing for all by 2030. Private actors may be required to take particular steps to ensure access to credit for disadvantaged households and to address the needs of residents of informal settlements, women, migrants and people with disabilities. The obligation of States to facilitate the realization of the right to housing by establishing a coherent strategy at both the national and international levels with clearly allocated roles and responsibilities is central to the commitments made by States in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the New Urban Agenda.
- 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- States should take measures to protect the tenure security and promote inheritance rights of women and girls in the case of the death of a spouse, father, brother, son or other male household member so that they are able to continue residing in the family home. States should also take measures to address the vulnerability of women and children to tenure insecurity due to a breakdown of spousal relations, including as a result of domestic violence. Women and children's security of tenure should be prioritized in these circumstances. Many legal systems authorize the victim of domestic violence to stay in the family home, and order the removal of the perpetrator. For example, in Serbia, the Family Law authorizes the courts to issue an order for the removal of the perpetrator of domestic violence from the family home, allowing the victim to remain in the home, regardless of ownership (art. 198 (2)). When remaining in the family home is not feasible, States should ensure victims have access to alternative adequate housing with secure tenure.
- 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
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Reflection on work undertaken in first 14 years of the mandate; outline of opportunities and priorities 2014, para. 87
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur values and will continue to nurture the long-standing cooperation that the mandate holder has developed with civil society organizations, community organizations and regional and international networks around the world, notably those with a focus on the right to housing, women's housing and land rights, the "right to the city", economic, social and cultural rights and strategic litigation and, in general, organizations focused on the living conditions of people in situations of poverty or exclusion. She also wishes to consolidate channels of cooperation with tenant associations and with emerging movements and groups that will help to ensure that the mandate addresses housing rights issues as they arise. She hopes that the mandate will also give rise to new relationships, particularly through her missions and her participation in various forums, with constituencies that play an active role in the development of their communities, such as unions and community associations.
- 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Reflection on work undertaken in first 14 years of the mandate; outline of opportunities and priorities 2014, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur will also ensure that the housing conditions of women remain prominent within all aspects of the mandate. In this regard, she intends to continue the close collaboration the mandate holder has had with civil society organizations spearheading the work on women and the right to housing. She intends to cooperate with bodies within the United Nations system interested in developing a deeper understanding of women's right to adequate housing, including human rights treaty monitoring bodies, the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice and other relevant special procedures.
- 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
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Mapping and framing security of tenure 2013, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- Given that tenure can take a variety of forms and that States must ensure security of tenure to all, irrespective of tenure type, what are States' obligations with respect to ensuring that all forms of tenure that are legitimate under international human rights law are protected equally? Guidance is incomplete in this regard. United Nations and regional human rights bodies have focused only on a limited range of forms of tenure-mostly private property, indigenous communal ownership or use, women's access to land, property or inheritance, informal tenure (mostly in cases involving Roma), and occupancy tenancy rights (in countries that were previously part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia).
- 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
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women and their right to adequate housing 2012, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- The implementation of housing law, policy and programming often requires that adequate budgetary support be put in place in order to ensure effectiveness. In order to ensure that there are adequate financial and human resources allocated, processes of participatory budgeting which are inclusive of women's voices should be used. Women should be active participants in open and transparent budgeting processes related to all aspects of housing law, policy and programmes as well as land use plans. Gender-sensitive, detailed budget analysis of current housing programmes and land use plans should also be employed, so as to ensure better accountability of States in promoting and realizing gender equality, and in meeting their international human rights obligations.
- 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
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women and their right to adequate housing 2012, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- It is clear that the legal and policy barriers to women's enjoyment of their right to adequate housing must be removed, and replaced by laws, policies and programming which take a focused and proactive approach. Legislative and policy measures must be put in place at national and regional levels explicitly prioritizing women's right to adequate housing. In order to assist States and other relevant actors in the development of gender-sensitive housing law, policy, and programming, the Special Rapporteur takes this opportunity to provide some guidance on a gender perspective on the elements of the right to adequate housing, through a gendered lens.
- 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
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women and their right to adequate housing 2012, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- Women's access to and control over land is also a critical issue which connects in very real ways to women's right to adequate housing. At national levels, advancements in this area are also taking place. In Tajikistan, a joint effort of UNIFEM (now UN-Women) with the Government of Tajikistan, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other partners resulted in the establishment of the Coordination Council dealing with women's ownership issues, whose key task was to mainstream gender in Tajik land reform. In 2004, seven changes were made to the clauses of the national Land Code which previously discriminated against women. Changes in the Land Code made it mandatory that all family members - women included - are now listed on land use certificates when families receive pieces of land from former collective farms. Over the course of a few years, those changes coupled with media campaigns, the provision of free legal advice, and the collection of sex-disaggregated data, resulted in raising women's land ownership from 2 to 14 per cent.
- 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)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women and their right to adequate housing 2012, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- In applying the law, the courts also have a critical role to play. In Kenya, recent judicial decisions referencing the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women have put to rest the persistent conflict between customary legal systems which deny women inheritance of family property on the one hand, and the guarantee of gender equality under the Kenyan Constitution on the other. In the Ntutu case (2008), for example, the Kenyan High Court heard arguments by the sons of the deceased that "Masai customary law of succession … does not recognize the rights of the daughters to inherit the estate of their fathers." Here, the Court applied international human rights law, international covenants and treaties which have been ratified by Kenya, and noted the previous decision of Rono vs. Rono. The Court found "the customary law which shall abrogate the right of daughters to inherit the estate of a father cannot be applicable as it shall be repugnant to justice and morality," and upheld the right of the daughters to inherit equally from the assets of the estate.
- 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
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women and their right to adequate housing 2012, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- While the financial crisis looms heavy, it is important to recognize that some significant legal, policy and judicial progress has been achieved in recent years which increasingly recognizes and protects women's right to adequate housing. This section highlights some of the recent successes in the fight for women's equal right to adequate housing, including on issues related to inheritance, divorce, land and property at international, regional and national levels. While not meant to be a comprehensive account of all of the advancements that have been made, each of the laws, policies, frameworks, decisions and/or judicial decisions highlighted below has had positive attributes from the standpoint of women's right to adequate housing, as well as their right to equality.
- 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
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women and their right to adequate housing 2012, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- The e-consultation harnessed the participation of approximately 300 organizations, networks, social movements, grassroots groups, advocates, academics, affected women, experts and others from across the world. While many of the issues documented by the earlier reports of the mandate remain relevant today, it is also clear that new challenges have emerged which threaten to turn back the clock for women and their right to adequate housing. At the same time, it is also clear that some notable advances, mainly in the field of new national legislation on women and housing, have occurred in different regions.
- 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
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
17 shown of 17 entities