Sep 25, 2006

UN Human Rights Council hears report from Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing


Mr. Kothari raises concerns about Iranian policies of land acquisition and the prevalence of discrimination in his annual report.

The International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) has made available its “Council Monitor,” a daily briefing on the ongoing sessions of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. From their summary of the events on 25 September 2006, the report of Mr. Martin Scheinin, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism, could be of particular interest to UNPO Members:

 

Report from Special Rapporteur on adequate housing

Mr Miloon Kothari, the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, presented to the Council his annual report, reports on women and adequate housing, communications, and missions to Iran and Cambodia. Most of his presentation focused on the issue of forced evictions, which he characterised as a human tragedy and one of the most pervasive and increasingly destructive violations of the right to adequate housing. He stated that forced evictions are taking place world wide, often under the justification or pretext of serving the ‘public good’ such as for development or city beautification projects, slum clearance or urban renewal drives. The number of people displaced by development projects today exceeds even those displaced due to armed or ethnic conflict. The Special Rapporteur has developed a set of guidelines on development-based evictions and displacement, to be viewed as an attempt to provide practical steps to deal with the problem. These include the need for State to conduct comprehensive impact assessments; intervene as necessary to ensure that market forces do not increase the vulnerability of low income and marginalised groups to forced evictions; notify affected persons sufficiently in advance to minimise the adverse impacts of evictions; recognise the rights of persons to return, resettlement and fair and just compensation; take steps to protect human rights prior to, during and after evictions; and detail strict criteria to ensure that evictions only take place in exceptional circumstances. He highlighted the need for States to strengthen national, legal and policy frameworks for protecting women’s rights to adequate housing, land and inheritance. He has recommended in his report that the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women adopt a General Recommendation on women’s right to adequate housing and land. He also stressed the importance of ensuring that women are able to participate and benefit from reconstruction efforts in post-disaster situations.

The Special Rapporteur also commented on his missions to countries. On the Islamic Republic of Iran (Iran), he emphasised concerns regarding the rehabilitation of those displaced by the Bam earthquake. The main obstacles relating to housing appear to be linked to the high costs of housing and inaccessibility of adequate housing for certain sections of the society. He also raised concerns around the doctrine of ‘eminent domain’ applied by Iran that prevents individuals and groups from challenging State acquisition of housing and land, and discrimination against women and minorities. Furthermore, he highlighted the case of discrimination against minorities. The Special Rapporteur highlighted that there were widespread forced evictions in Cambodia affecting large numbers of people and that the Government’s plans for relocation and compensation were not in place or inadequate. He stated that despite numerous statements and communications, he had not received any response from Cambodia. The report of his mission to Australia will be presented at the next session of the Council. He only briefly commented on the situation, stating that while Australia did have housing programmes in place, homelessness, the affordability of housing, and access to public and private rental housing were areas of growing concern. He also highlighted that indigenous peoples had been living in inadequate housing and living conditions for decades and Australia needed to critically address this humanitarian tragedy.

Interactive Dialogue

Iran expressed gratitude to Mr Kothari for his visit and stated that the Special Rapporteur’s report acknowledged many positive trends and a number of recommendations. They highlighted the difficulties around the social, moral and historical reconstruction of a city like Bam and also stated that it was not clear to them how the ethno-linguistic groups of Iran had been narrowed down to minorities subject to unsubstantiated discrimination. Cambodia expressed its disagreement with the Special Rapporteur’s report. They stressed the historical context in which the Government had begun reconstructing the whole country and outlined a number of positive initiatives that had been undertaken. Australia stated that they were looking forward to receiving the Special Rapporteur’s report. They contended that arrangements for the provision of housing, other forms of accommodation and housing support comply with Australia’s obligation to provide adequate housing. They stated that there were a wide array of arrangements to ensure the needs and aspirations of vulnerable groups and that Australia took the issue of housing affordability very seriously. The guidelines on forced evictions received the support of several delegations. Finland, on behalf of the EU, enquired how the guidelines could be put to effective use. They also raised the issue of follow-up to the guidelines and whether there could be a link with the treaty bodies. Argentina agreed with the emphasis placed by the Special Rapporteur on a human rights approach to evictions and displacement. Switzerland requested a clarification of the Special Rapporteur’s approach to land rights and ownership in the context of housing rights. They also raised the issue of street children and requested that the Special Rapporteur provide advice on how to deal with this problem. Finland also requested updated information on the situation in other countries mentioned in the report, notably Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe responded that its clearing of slums was justified in order to create housing. China inquired about the responsibility of major corporations, whose market speculation greatly influences the cost of housing for vulnerable groups. The interactive dialogue went beyond the time available and will be completed tomorrow morning.