SUB-COMMISSION CONSIDERS ISSUES RELATING TO ADEQUATE HOUSING AS PART OF THE RIGHT TO AN ADEQUATE STANDARD OF LIVING

Sub-Commission on the Promotion
and Protection of Human Rights
54th session
12 August 2002
Morning


Discusses Report of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations


The Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights debated the issue of adequate housing this morning as the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights, Miloon Kothari, briefed Experts on his report on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living.
The Sub-Commission also discussed the report of the Working Group on indigenous populations as well as other questions on the prevention of discrimination, racism and xenophobia.
Mr. Kothari, introducing his report which was presented to the Commission last April, said the principle of non-discrimination was central to issues related to adequate housing. The rights of women and children were essential, he stressed and explained that when looking at adequate housing, the indivisibility of human rights must be applied. This year, the impact of privatization of water and its consequences for adequate housing had been a major theme. Future work would be centered on forced evictions.
Sub-Commission Expert El Hadji Guisse stressed the need for access to water, saying that housing without such access to water could hardly be called "adequate". He suggested that Mr. Kothari also focus future work on the relationship between adequate housing and culture.
Expert Miguel Alfonso Martinez reminded the Sub-Commission of a 1993 resolution of the Commission on Human Rights which encouraged all Special Rapporteurs to consider indigenous people in their work. In the context of adequate housing, more focus on indigenous people was suggested. Expert Jose Bengoa underlined the need for cooperation and interaction between the Special Rapporteur, treaty bodies, the Sub-Commission and the Social Forum on issues related to adequate housing.
During the debate on the report of the Working Group on indigenous populations, Sub-Commission Expert Asbjorn Eide noted that a Permanent Forum and a Special Rapporteur on indigenous issues now existed. He welcomed the suggestion that the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group circulate a paper on the future relationship between these three instruments. A number of initiatives could still be undertaken by the Working Group and it would be interesting to follow the discussion on the complementarity of the three bodies on indigenous issues.
A representative of the World Indigenous Association stressed that when it came to human rights and fundamental freedoms, indigenous peoples were being streamlined and bottle-necked. There must be a more transparent way for indigenous people to speak freely and without restriction, he said.
Sub-Commission Expert Shiqiu Chen addressed the Sub-Commission on the prevention of discrimination. A representative of the World Bank also addressed the meeting. The following non-governmental organizations also spoke: the Indian Movement - Tupaj Amaru; Interfaith International; the International League for the Rights and Liberation of Peoples; the International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations; the World Muslim Congress; and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission.
The Sub-Commission went into a closed meeting at 11.30 a.m. in order to prepare for voting on the question of the violation of human rights anywhere in the world and on the administration of justice this afternoon. The Sub-Commission will reconvene at 3 p.m. to vote on a number of draft resolutions.

Statements
MILOON KOTHARI, Special Rapporteur on adequate housing of the Commission on Human Rights, said he had interpreted his mandate broadly since his appointment in 2000, and had taken numerous factors to be integral to the right to housing. He followed three or four main principles and themes in his work, with the principle of non-discrimination cutting across all of them. He looked at women and children's situations consistently; he focused on security of the home, security of the person, the right to a home, and the matter of international cooperation and solidarity in bolstering the right to adequate housing. He favoured institutionalizing land-use policies.
From the Sub-Commission it would be useful to know such things as what was the meaning of affirmative action as it applied to housing rights; and how the right to water interacted with housing rights. He was concerned with such matters as what happened when privatization of civic services failed; and how globalization affected housing rights. The Commission on Human Rights, further, had asked him to prepare a report on women and housing -- an idea that first emerged in the Sub-Commission. Issues of property, land, and inheritance would have to be explored in executing such a study.
MIGUEL ALFONSO MARTINEZ, Sub-Commission Expert, said the Commission on Human Rights, in 1993, had adopted a resolution in which it had recommended to all Rapporteurs to give particular attention in their work to indigenous people. In this context, one could look at adequate housing for indigenous peoples.
EL HADJI GUISSE, Sub-Commission Expert, said that in his work on the right to water he had come to realize, as had Mr. Kothari, that housing without water could hardly be called housing. Indigenous peoples, in building homes, built with what was available, and that raised the matter of housing and culture. Yet the populations of the South needed to improve the quality of housing, and he was sure they would be interested in information on ways they could do that which blended with their cultures and lifestyles.
ASBJORN EIDE, Sub-Commission Expert, underlined the need for close interaction between Rapporteurs, treaty bodies and the Sub-Commission.
JOSE BENGOA, Sub-Commission Expert, said he hoped work could be coordinated between Mr. Kothari and the Social Forum; proposed themes for coming years included rural and urban poverty and homeless groups; he urged Mr. Kothari to work with the Sub-Commission in selecting and exploring topics for upcoming Social Forum sessions.
ASBJORN EIDE, Sub-Commission Expert, said the future of the Working Group on indigenous populations was a key issue in the report. There now existed a Permanent Forum and a Special Rapporteur on indigenous issues. He welcomed the suggestion that the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group circulate a working paper on the relationship between these bodies. Different functions of these bodies could be played and there were a number of initiatives which could be undertaken by the Working Group. There was still a need for the Working Group, and that it would be interesting to follow the discussion on the complementarity of the three bodies on indigenous peoples.
ALFREDO SFEIR-YOUNIS, of the World Bank, said it was extremely important that the Working Group on indigenous populations make an effort to contribute to the economic and social policy of the Economic and Social Council. It was also important to expand the debate on education as it related to indigenous peoples. More needed to be heard of positive outcomes and experiences involving programmes for indigenous peoples; too much that was reported around the world on the matter was negative, and it was helpful to hear of successful or best practices.
RONALD BARNES, of the Indigenous World Association, reiterated that when it came to human rights and fundamental freedoms, indigenous peoples were being streamlined and bottle-necked. There must be a more transparent way for indigenous people to speak more freely and without restriction.
LAZARO PARY, of the Indian Movement "Tupaj Amaru", said self-determination, land title, and the use of natural resources were vital for indigenous peoples, and Tupaj Amaru had submitted documents to the Working Group on these topics. Unfortunately, they had not been edited or translated into the customary working languages. Indigenous peoples were so poor that their natural resources were being taken from them. Now they were told there was no money to translate their documents.
SHIQIU CHEN, Sub-Commission Expert, said colonialism, slave trade, foreign invasion and occupation, racial discrimination and apartheid were all typical manifestations of racism which had inflicted untold sufferings on the countries and peoples across Asia, Africa and Latin America. The United Nations, since its foundation, had launched three consecutive times the Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination and had adopted the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and other important instruments. He stressed that the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action provided a new and innovative anti-discrimination agenda for the international community to take further actions under the current situation.
As an important subsidiary body and the "think tank" of the Commission on Human Rights, the Sub-Commission could make many-faceted contributions in the fight against racism and the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. The struggle against racism remained an uphill struggle and prolonged endeavour. As the pernicious influence of old racism lingered on, many countries were still beset with poverty, internal conflict and turmoil. Moreover, neo-fascism, neo-Nazism, xenophobia and discrimination against migrant workers were frequently seen in some developed countries.
Mutual tolerance and respect between different civilizations must be advocated. People of different nations must promote understanding, learn from one another, and together carry forward the quintessence of human civilization.
MEHRAN BALUCH, of Interfaith International, said the Pakistani establishment had continuously suppressed, violated, and subdued the Baloch people and looted their motherland while the world turned a blind eye. Balochistan had petroleum, gas, coal and minerals; these were used by Pakistan while the Baloch people got nothing in return. An army operation from 1973 to 1979 had brutally suppressed the Rights Movement of Balochistan, killing over 15,000, and the federal Government recently had ordered a Frontier Corps raid in Dri Bugti to suppress people demanding priorities in jobs at a local energy company; some 200 had been detained and were being tortured in Frontier Corps camps and barracks.
Although the Pakistani establishment behaved this way, aid from the international community continued to pour into the country, especially from the United States. The people of Balochistan and Sindh provinces needed support from the United Nations and the international community in their struggle for liberty and freedom.
VERENA GRAF, of the International League for the Rights and Liberation of Peoples, said the Permanent Forum was not pursuing the same objectives as the Working Group on indigenous populations, and must therefore be considered complementary. There were still innumerable situations in the world where indigenous peoples lived in serious difficulties but were not heard of. The main reason for these difficulties stemmed from the fact that they had been denied the right to self-determination. The Sub-Commission was called upon to include the issue of self-determination in its agenda.
The League drew the attention of the Commission to the Western Shoshone in Nevada, the United States and their land rights which were enshrined in the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley. Alarming news had been received, and it appeared that after 30 years of threats, harassment and helicopter surveillance and raids by federal agents to confiscate their livestock, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee had tried to settle the land claim by a pay-out of $138 million. This deal had been rightly rejected by the Western Shoshone. There could be no compensation for land which had belonged to them since time immemorial, which was true not only for the Western Shoshone, but for all indigenous people.
LAZARO PARY, of the Indian Movement "Tupaj Amaru", said that a year after the World Conference against Racism, the outlook was gloomy; oppressed peoples had placed such hopes on the event, but the final document had little promise in it. Following the tragic events of 11 September, racism and racial discrimination had assumed large proportions in the great crusade against terrorism. The United States had responded to the terrorist threat with a war of terror and discrimination against Muslims, persons of African descent, and other minorities. The result could well be a spiral of violence.
At the World Conference, the colonial States had permitted themselves to hide the blackest papers of history, written in blood and tears. The historical truth about colonial barbarism, such as crusades to exterminate indigenous peoples and such as slavery, had been put aside. British and Spanish colonialism had been the most degrading form of all; those countries had a huge debt to pay to the indigenous peoples of the world. Indigenous peoples had sought justice and reparations at the World Conference, but the colonial States had lacked even the moral courage to express regret for their crimes against humanity, let alone to consider reparations. It was the obligation of the colonial States to assume their historic responsibilities; it had to be remembered that there was no statute of limitations or crimes against humanity.
SHAMIN SHAWL, of the International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations, said discrimination and degrading treatment of different types remained in vogue in India and in the United Nations mandated disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir under Indian occupation. The Sub-Commission had a responsibility for the prevention of discrimination, protection of minorities and ensuring a fair process of justice to the affected and suffering people. The Government of India had not lived up to its obligations under international human rights law with regard to the prevention of unlawful killings and had not taken adequate measures to prevent impunity to these acts.
The state of Jammu and Kashmir under Indian occupation was a graveyard of human rights. Selective violence against minorities and different linguistic groups was rampant. The Sub-Commission was urged to intervene and put an end to the human emergency in Indian occupied Kashmir; to take a lead in outrightly rejecting Indian attempts to misrepresent the Kashmir struggle for democratic rights as "terrorism"; and to mandate a United Nations Human Rights Rapporteur to conduct a fact-finding mission in Kashmir.
KAUSER TAQDEES GILANI, of the World Muslim Congress, said extremist elements and Hindu fanatics in India under the umbrella of the Government were continuing atrocities against minorities on the basis of caste, creed, race and religion. The carnage followed extremist attacks against Muslims in Gujarat which had resulted in 2,000 dead, the dislocation of thousands of Muslim families, and the destruction of their houses and businesses. More than 150,000 people had taken refuge in shabby and unhygienic camps; having lost everything they owned, they had no choice. Now, to create the false impression that normalcy had returned to the state, the state government had decided to close down the camps, and the supply of essential services including drinking water had been shut off. To conceal the genocide against Muslims in Gujarat, the Indian Government had denied visas to Amnesty International, which wanted to assess the situation.
United Nations mechanisms should carry out a thorough inquiry into the Gujarat events; ensure an international presence there to protect Muslims; keep Gujarat on its "watch list"; issue strong public condemnations of the massacre in Gujarat; and restore the dignity of Dalits and the safety of Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, Muslims, and other minorities.
LES MALEZER, of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, said he strongly supported the report of the Working Group on indigenous populations which correctly presented the concerns raised by indigenous people. Any termination of the Working Group would place new burdens upon the Sub-Commission to fulfil its mandate to promote and protect the human rights of indigenous people. Indigenous peoples must have equitable consideration before the Sub-Commission. To date, that had been possible because of the existence of the Working Group, which had been able to examine these matters at the United Nations level in collaboration with the representatives and delegates of indigenous people.
Another matter mentioned, but not elaborated on, in the report of the Working Group was that it had been a catalyst for expert resources on the human rights of indigenous peoples. The organization did not want the situation to evolve until the Sub-Commission was concerned with the human rights of all the world's population, except indigenous peoples. The future of the Working Group would be determined by the review of the Economic and Social Council and the consideration of the budget for the Permanent Forum and its secretariat. The Sub-Commission must give a commitment to re-new and re-invigorate the work of the Working Group; contribute to the review of all existing mechanisms in the United Nations concerning indigenous people; and support a separate budget, independent of and not intruding on the Working Group budget, for the Permanent Forum and its secretariat.
MIGUEL ALFONSO MARTINEZ, Sub-Commission Expert and Chairman-Rapporteur of the Working Group on indigenous populations, said it was encouraging to hear support for the group and for its continued existence. The statement by the International League for the Rights and Liberation of Peoples had mentioned the importance of defending the right to self-determination, and this was something being carefully discussed by those working on the draft Declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples; the matter continued to be very important to the Working Group on indigenous populations as well. Another NGO had mentioned that it was important for the Working Group to continue its efforts as a way of augmenting and alleviating the work of the Sub-Commission, whose session had been reduced to three weeks. The group also could act as a catalyst for indigenous groups in relation to international agencies and non-indigenous groups. He agreed with the statement of the World Bank that positive aspects of the situations of indigenous peoples should be emphasized.



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