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The right to life and the right to adequate housing: the indivisibility and interdependence between these rights 2016, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- Fifty years after the separation of international human rights into the two covenants, the United Nations is well situated to retrieve a unified and inclusive understanding of human rights and to affirm that the right to life includes the right to a place to live in dignity and security, free of violence. The Human Rights Committee has the opportunity to affirm this integrated understanding of the right to life in the ongoing preparation of its general comment No. 36. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has the opportunity under its Optional Protocol to highlight the connection between the rights to life and adequate housing in lived experience. Other treaty monitoring bodies have the opportunity to ensure that the understanding of the rights to life and adequate housing is informed by the experiences and unique claims of people with disabilities, women, children, migrants, racial minorities and indigenous peoples, 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)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- 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. 49
- Paragraph text
- The Constitutional Court of Colombia has also made important advances in that area. In 2004, in a ground-breaking ruling on the economic, social and cultural rights of internally displaced persons, the court ruled that there was an "unconstitutional state of affairs" as a result of the internal conflict. The Court also held the deteriorating housing conditions of internally displaced persons to be prima facie contrary to the Constitution. The national Government was ordered to implement a number of measures, including a housing plan that ensured local institutions provided equal benefits for displaced persons. In a follow-up ruling in 2006, the Court ordered relevant municipalities to organize a working group to review the housing policies in each jurisdiction, and to develop plans and programmes with direct participation of displaced persons, and with representatives of the National Human Rights Institution. The Court remained seized of the case, receiving trimestral reports from the different levels of government.
- 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
- Year
- 2015
- 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. 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
Reflection on work undertaken in first 14 years of the mandate; outline of opportunities and priorities 2014, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- The causes of homelessness and inadequate housing are multifarious, interrelated and complex. They include not only forced evictions and conflict, but also many other structural issues, such as inadequate services and infrastructure; barriers to access to credit; land speculation and zoning; displacement and migration; environmental degradation; and rapid urbanization and the development of megacities. Tackling the causes of homelessness often requires a multifaceted approach that relies on comprehensive and coordinated strategies, and is implemented in a collaborative fashion with various levels of government and relevant stakeholders. What is needed, as a starting point, is the articulation of key principles through which multiple policies and programmes can achieve a unified purpose and a coherent approach. The Special Rapporteur believes that a human rights approach to adequate housing and homelessness has much to offer in this regard and, if implemented, can be transformational, resulting in real change rather than a temporary fix.
- 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
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 48
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur also emphasizes that reasonable accommodation in housing is often linked to systemic patterns of discrimination and imbalances in power “which result in a society being designed well for some and not for others”. The Supreme Court of Canada warned that reasonable accommodation claims should not be allowed to shield systemic discrimination from scrutiny or leave in place imbalances in power that have led to the neglect of the needs or perspectives of marginalized groups in the design of policies. It is important to ask, in each individual case, not only what is required by the individual person with a disability to ensure equality, but also why the housing system created the need for individual accommodation in the first place. Requests for modifications of buildings or housing policies are usually only made because those requirements were not adequately considered when buildings or policies were designed in the first place. Persons with disabilities must be empowered to challenge housing, planning and zoning, social protection and justice systems that fail to meet their needs and thus deny them access 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)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 41
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Article 9 should also be read in conjunction with the obligation to progressively realize the right to adequate housing under article 28. As Gerard Quinn observed, “many of these obligations will require resources and extensive systemic change — all subject to the overall obligation of progressive achievement contained in article 4.2 with respect to socioeconomic rights”. The obligations of States under article 9 can be seen as components of the requirement to immediately implement inclusive rights-based strategies for the realization of the right to housing. Both housing strategies and plans for the implementation of accessibility must establish definite time frames, allocate adequate resources, prescribe the duties of the public authorities, including regional and local authorities, and private actors and ensure participation and consultation with those affected. Ensuring that any new housing is developed in accordance with barrier-free design requirements is an immediate obligation of States. States must also adopt, as quickly as possible, legislation and plans to ensure that barriers in existing housing are removed over time.
- 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
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 77g
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur suggests that the way forward requires a shift to take hold so that States ensure that all investment in housing recognizes its social function and States' human rights obligations in that regard. That requires a transformation of the relationship between the State and the financial sector, whereby human rights implementation becomes the overriding goal, not a subsidiary or neglected obligation. The Special Rapporteur believes that can be achieved with more constructive engagement and dialogue between States, human rights actors, international and domestic financial regulatory bodies, private equity firms and major investors. In order to create those new conversations and achieve that shift, the Special Rapporteur recommends the following:] International, regional and national human rights bodies should devote more attention to the issue of financialization and clarify for States, through constructive dialogue during periodic reviews and in consideration of individual cases, their obligations in relation to the financialization of 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
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 77b
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur suggests that the way forward requires a shift to take hold so that States ensure that all investment in housing recognizes its social function and States' human rights obligations in that regard. That requires a transformation of the relationship between the State and the financial sector, whereby human rights implementation becomes the overriding goal, not a subsidiary or neglected obligation. The Special Rapporteur believes that can be achieved with more constructive engagement and dialogue between States, human rights actors, international and domestic financial regulatory bodies, private equity firms and major investors. In order to create those new conversations and achieve that shift, the Special Rapporteur recommends the following:] Strategies developed by States and local governments to achieve target 11.1 of the Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda should include a full range of taxation, regulatory and planning measures in order to re-establish housing as a social good, promote an inclusive housing system and prevent speculation and excessive accumulation of wealth;
- 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
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- 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
The right to life and the right to adequate housing: the indivisibility and interdependence between these rights 2016, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- Similarly, in Jasin v. Denmark (see CCPR/C/114/D/2360/2014) the Committee considered the effects of homelessness in the context of a single mother facing deportation to Italy. Osman Jasin had fled for her life from a violent husband in Somalia and was rescued by the Italian Coastguard while crossing the Mediterranean. In Italy, she tried without success to find housing, lived in the street with her one-year-old daughter, sleeping in railway stations and marketplaces. Ms. Jasin and her daughter left Italy to seek asylum in the Netherlands, but were returned to Italy, where she again lived in the street with her two-year-old daughter, sleeping in railway stations during a pregnancy. She was denied medical assistance during the birth of her second child because she had no address. When she was unable to pay to renew her Italian residency permit, she travelled to Denmark. The Committee found that returning her and her children to Italy would constitute cruel and inhuman treatment because they would likely become homeless again.
- 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
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- 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. 32
- Paragraph text
- With the assignment of the right to life to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Human Rights Committee was charged with interpreting its universal meaning and clarifying State obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the right to life. Recent human rights treaties include the right to life as it applies to particular groups, specifically children, migrants and persons with disabilities. No doubt the interpretation of these provisions by treaty bodies will advance the understanding of the right to life in a manner that is informed by the lived experience of these different groups. To date, however, only the Human Rights Committee has adopted a general comment on this right, and all of the substantive jurisprudence on the right to life at the international level adjudicating allegations of violations of the right to life has emerged from cases under the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In the light of this leading role, the Committee's jurisprudence requires considered attention.
- 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
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- 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. 73
- Paragraph text
- States must address issues of inadequate housing and homelessness and name them as core human rights issues linked to the right to life - in domestic law and policy and in international initiatives, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the New Urban Agenda. States must also conduct a thorough examination of legislation, court practice and public policies to ensure that the right to life is not restricted to a negative rights framework. States must formally recognize that the right to life includes the right to a place to live in dignity and security, free of violence, and ensure access to justice for all victims of violations of the right to life, including those linked to homelessness and inadequate housing. Governments must ensure the effective integration of housing policy and social protection with human rights frameworks, mechanisms and institutions, so that housing policy is properly framed around the implementation of core human rights obligations, and access to effective remedies is incorporated in programme design and implementation.
- 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
- 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. 59
- Paragraph text
- Over the last 15 years, the "human rights city" has emerged as an important initiative involving mayors, city officials, civic and human rights non-governmental organizations and experts and community-based organizations in cities across the world. The Gwangju Declaration on Human Rights City, adopted in 2011, defined a human rights city as "both a local community and a socio-political process in a local context where human rights play a key role as fundamental values and guiding principles". Accordingly, local government, parliament, civil society, private sector organizations and other stakeholders work together to improve the quality of life for all inhabitants in a spirit of partnership based on human rights standards and norms. The Declaration emphasizes that a legal basis - city ordinances and legal instruments such as human rights charters and legal organizations - should be established. Human rights cities also acknowledge that implementation is more important than policymaking and that effective accountability mechanisms need to be developed to make city government accountable to its commitments.
- 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
- N.A.
- 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. 29
- Paragraph text
- In that regard, States have developed internal procedures for engaging subnational governments in periodic reporting on housing rights and related issues. In some cases, local governments have made direct written submissions to treaty bodies. National human rights institutions have also played an increasingly important role in periodic reviews, acting as catalysts for improved engagement of subnational governments with review processes. Where subnational representatives have participated directly in periodic reviews, they have been welcomed. Overall, however, subnational governments may experience the treaty review process only indirectly and remotely. While they may be asked by national Governments to provide information for reports, they often receive little direct feedback on positive measures they have adopted and may not hear about concerns and recommendations relevant to their areas of responsibility once the review is completed. As a participant in the expert consultation noted: "The more local the government, the further it is from Geneva".
- 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
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- 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. 20
- Paragraph text
- The experiences of decentralization in relation to human rights and the right to adequate housing, however, have been mixed. As Paul Lundberg noted, "the issue of human rights has not figured prominently in the ongoing discussion on decentralization". Reference to human rights obligations or the right to adequate housing is conspicuously absent, even from the International Guidelines on Decentralisation and Access to Basic Services for all and the European Charter of Local Self-Government. Decentralization and local governance initiatives from international or regional financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the Inter-American Development Bank, United Nations agencies such as the United Nations Development Programme, as well as from associations of local governments, have focused on economic and political dimensions and participatory rights linked to decentralization. However, they have largely ignored the question of how States' human rights obligations in relation to the right to adequate housing are to be applied to local governments that have taken on key responsibilities for programmes and policies.
- 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
- All
- N.A.
- 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. 65
- Paragraph text
- Obligations of States to maintain the rule of law are too often considered primarily in relation to legal protections of existing title to property or contractual economic relationships. Under the rule of law, however, fundamental human rights must be guaranteed, including the right to adequate housing. An urban rights agenda will require a more inclusive approach to the rule of law in cities than has been applied in the past, focused on the need to effectively address the circumstances of those who have had no access to legal title to land, housing or property. The right to housing must be fully incorporated within urban law as a right not only to physical and environmental aspects of housing but also to the equal protection of the law, with full protection of security of tenure, health and safety and entitlement to basic services, livelihood and cultural life. Laws and policies must be subject to ongoing review so as to adjust to emerging patterns of exclusion or to address previously unrecognized circumstances.
- 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
- 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. 34
- Paragraph text
- In the Special Rapporteur's view, there is a real risk that the implementation framework for the sustainable development goals will remain exclusively focused on statistical measurement and assessment without the meaningful accountability, participation, legislative action or access to justice that is required for the realization of all human rights. International human rights standards regarding development-based displacement, allocation of maximum of available resources, the adoption of national and urban housing and homelessness strategies and the obligation to take immediate steps to address discrimination and inequality - all of which are key to the enjoyment of the right to housing - have thus far not received much attention in discussions. In general, the continued neglect of the right to adequate housing in the sustainable development goals creates well-founded concern that commitments made to the right to adequate housing at Habitat III might very well be sidelined.
- 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- 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. 14
- Paragraph text
- Housing is a major component of any city. However, it seems to have largely fallen off the public policy agenda. At the international level, for example, the right to adequate housing has not been a focus of development goals. Also, the lending priorities within the World Bank have shifted dramatically away from low-income housing, even as the problems of inadequate housing and homelessness have become more widespread and severe. In the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s more than 90 per cent of total shelter lending was allocated to low-income housing, compared to about 10 per cent since the mid-1990s. Moreover, a much smaller share has gone to low-income countries (20 per cent, down from about 40 per cent from the mid 1970s to the mid-1980s). In short, there is little evidence of the commitment to the realization of the right to adequate housing that was articulated in the Habitat Agenda. What went wrong and how can we ensure that a similar commitment made in 2016 is more successfully implemented?
- 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
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Reflection on work undertaken in first 14 years of the mandate; outline of opportunities and priorities 2014, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur will also consider ways in which the mandate can support access to justice in relation to all aspects of the right to adequate housing. She recognizes that ensuring access to justice, particularly with respect to claims involving the obligation of States to take positive measures towards the realization of the right to adequate housing, presents new challenges. Courts and human rights bodies need to be provided with reliable evidence concerning resource constraints and competing needs. More participatory approaches to the adjudication of rights need to ensure that all stakeholders, including marginalized groups, are able to have their voices heard. Governments need to put accountability mechanisms in place, and to work in partnership with claimants and other stakeholders to improve policies and ensure effective remedies. Researchers and international monitoring groups need to further develop methodologies for providing statistics and reliable indicators of compliance with all aspects of 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)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Analysis of two alternative housing policies: rental and collective housing 2013, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- Although not all types of collective organizations are accessible to the poorest segments of society, there are numerous advantages to such a form of tenure, including: (a) the use of community leverage to compete with existing housing market forces; (b) cooperative and collective forms of tenure are inextricably linked to enhanced democratic participation, better access to information, and community-led governance; (c) both cooperatives and community funds provide their members with financial strength (through community loans or savings that enable low-income households better access to housing finance); (d) as opposed to the individual finance schemes detailed above, community organizations also have the ability to control land and housing affordability by controlling land prices (community land trusts), providing increased economic resilience (through financial support to households that temporary encounter financial difficulties (Federation of Mutual Aid Housing Cooperatives), protecting low-income households from the housing market volatility and by limiting economic displacement and gentrification.
- 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
- Year
- 2013
- 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
The impact of housing finance policies on the right to adequate housing of those living in poverty 2012, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- The discrepancy between income levels and soaring housing and rental prices coupled with unemployment led to increased payment default, foreclosures and homelessness. These processes were exacerbated by the adoption of legal and institutional adjustments aimed at facilitating foreclosure, which have been promoted in recent years as "imperatives for developing a housing finance system". The paradigm that promoted homeownership as the most secure form of tenure has been proven false, as increasing foreclosure rates have been one of the main results of the recent crises. In Spain, more than 350,000 foreclosures have occurred since 2007 and in 2011, about 212 foreclosures and 159 evictions occurred daily. The crisis has disproportionately affected the poorest and most vulnerable, who were the "last" to join the mortgage markets and the first to suffer the consequences of the crises owing to their low resilience to economic shocks and low repayment abilities. Recent research indicates that the majority (70 per cent) of defaults in Spain are related to the unemployment crisis and that 35 per cent of the foreclosed properties belong to 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)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- In the case of East Timor discussed earlier, the importance and value of direct participation of the affected population in re-establishing a system of housing, land and property rights in the aftermath of the 1999 referendum was emphasized from an early stage. A 2000 report to the United Nations indicated that the majority of Timorese interviewed during a fact-finding study had confirmed the importance of involvement of customary local dispute resolution structures in future land dispute resolution and adjudication mechanisms, on the grounds of their persisting legitimacy in spite of decades of conflict and dispossession and also their role as a valuable source of "information, including details of boundaries, levels of rights and history of acquisition and loss ". On the basis of these submissions from a broad range of Timorese, the report recommended that where feasible, existing local dispute resolution structures should be used as a crucial first step in dealing with land, housing and property disputes. This mediation could commence "at any of a number of levels, right down to the level of family meetings".
- 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
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- According to the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG): "Post-disaster operations need to deal early and forcefully with land ownership issues. Where possible land titles should be regularized or a functional proxy for land title should be provided [...] Where such measures are not possible, alternative means need to be found to ensure that land is not seized outright or that fraudulent claims are not honoured. The local government must help prevent profiteering on land that is urgently needed for the reconstruction process." This assessment of urgency and need for forceful action is absolutely correct. However the emphasis on title regularization, with other forms of tenure covered by "functional proxy", is problematic. Care should be taken that this does not result in programmes of rushed or enforced commodification of land and housing; or a process of favouring formal title resulting in the weakening or pushing aside of legitimate alternative forms of tenure security, as has happened in the case of Cambodia, discussed later. Many other equally legitimate forms of tenure require recognition, protection and support in their own 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)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
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 adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 82c
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- [In that regard, the Special Rapporteur offers the following recommendations:] Civil society and organizations of persons with disabilities should take forward or support legal challenges to structural violations of the right to housing of persons with disabilities and seek systemic remedies.
- 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
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 82b (ii)
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- [In that regard, the Special Rapporteur offers the following recommendations:] [Courts, tribunals and national human rights institutions should:] Ensure access to justice and effective accountability for all aspects of State obligations with respect to the right to housing of persons with disabilities, including budgetary allocations and the effectiveness of strategies and programmes;
- 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
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 82a (xii)
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- [In that regard, the Special Rapporteur offers the following recommendations:] [In consultation with persons with disabilities and their organizations, States should:] Establish an independent budgetary review mechanism to ensure that budget allocations for housing and related forms of support are consistent with the “maximum of available resources” standard;
- 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
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 78
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- A number of countries identified their national human rights institutions as having the jurisdiction to oversee the implementation of the right to housing for persons with disabilities, including Finland, Namibia and the Republic of Korea.
- 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 with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 72
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Under the National Disability Council Act of 2004 of Namibia, a council is established to monitor the implementation of a national policy on disability, including ensuring adequate allowances and pensions for persons with disabilities and developing and providing accessible housing through public schemes.
- 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
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph