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Statement of Mr. Miloon Kothari, Special Rapporteur on adequate housing to the Preparatory Committee for the International Conference on Financing for Development
15 October 2001
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Resumed Third Session New York, 15-19 October 2001
I have the honour to submit this statement to the third resumed session of the Preparatory Committee for the International Conference on Financing for Development. I was appointed Special Rapporteur last year by the Commission on Human Rights resolution 2000/9 with a mandate to focus on rights relevant to adequate housing and on the right to non-discrimination, as reflected in international human rights law.[1] In this context, I have been requested to, inter alia, report on the status of the realization of the human rights relevant to housing, and to promote cooperation among, and assistance to, Governments in their efforts to secure these rights.
In my report presented to the Commission on Human Rights held in Geneva in April 2001 (E/CN.4/2001/51), I highlighted several significant issues concerning the housing situation of the poor, in view of the effects of globalization, increasing income disparity, inadequate civic services and other environmental and social factors.[2] Subsequently, the Commission adopted resolution 2001/28, in which it encouraged me to bring these issues to the attention of the relevant review processes of UN conferences and summits. These reports and other essential documents related to the right to adequate housing are available under the website of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.[3]
I regard the International Conference on Financing for Development, to be held in Monterrey, Mexico in March 2002, as an important event as it discusses the challenge of meeting the goals agreed at all these conferences and at the Millennium Summit, from the perspectives of finance. In preparing for the Conference, it is of utmost importance that countries direct their attention to obligations arising out of international human rights, including the right to adequate housing.
The intention of this statement to the Preparatory Committee is to highlight the critical human rights dimensions of housing that need urgent attention, financially and otherwise, from the international community. Following this session of the Committee, the I intend to prepare detailed recommendations and outline a strategy for financing that can lead to improved and sustainable housing and living conditions. I look forward to being closely engaged in the preparatory process and attending the Conference in March 2002.
Housing plays a crucial role in development. Having a secure place to live is a fundamental requirement in enabling a person to grow and develop. It is also a fundamental human right. The right to adequate housing, as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, has been recognized internationally since the adoption of Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This right has also received explicit reaffirmation in a number of global conferences, particularly the Agenda 21 adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992, and the Istanbul Declaration and the Habitat Agenda adopted at the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) in 1996.
Today, globalization is having impacts on every social process – housing and living conditions are no exception. For the homeless and those inadequately housed, globalization has not brought tangible benefits. There is a wide gap between income groups, within countries and across countries, in terms of the availability, affordability and habitability of housing and access to utilities, which has resulted in an increase in the number of people in inadequate and insecure housing and living conditions. Nearly all countries at all levels of development have undertaken macroeconomic reform programmes during the past two decades, strongly influenced by market forces and policies of international financial institutions (IFIs). These reforms and domestic policy decisions regarding liberalization, deregulation and privatization have, to varying extents, constrained the exercise of monetary and fiscal policy options for social purposes, including provision of adequate housing.
Therefore, there is a need for governments to increase its attention to the financing needs of the poor in housing and related services to fulfill their obligations to meet the minimum core standards set out in international human rights instruments. They also need to support innovative approaches involving a range of programs for micro-finance and partnerships with local communities, including the institutionalization of participatory budget processes.
Obligations for States emerging out of the international legal provisions of international cooperation[4] are especially critical given the current global reality of growing income disparities. The International Conference on Financing for Development will offer an important forum to discuss the policies and guiding principles of bilateral and multilateral institutions that drive economic globalization, which have been the subject of increased media attention and growing civil society unrest. The Conference must address the need to assist developing countries through “joint and separate action” in their efforts to improve housing and living conditions of the poor and inadequately housed, including by ensuring States’ international policies, or policies towards multilateral forums and institutions, are formulated so as to respect the full realization of economic, social and cultural rights for all.
In the context of the right to adequate housing, it is important to keep in mind the obligations enshrined in article 11.1 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, currently ratified by 145 countries. It urges all States parties to “take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right, recognizing to this effect the essential importance of international cooperation based on free consent”. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which monitors the implementation of the Covenant, further clarified this obligation in its General Comment No. 4 adopted in 1991, in which the Committee stated that:
“Traditionally, less than 5 per cent of all international assistance has been directed towards housing or human settlements, and often the manner by which such funding is provided does little to address the housing needs of disadvantaged groups. States parties, both recipients and providers, should ensure that a substantial proportion of financing is devoted to creating conditions leading to a higher number of persons being adequately housed. International financial institutions promoting measures of structural adjustment should ensure that such measures do not compromise the enjoyment of the right to adequate housing. States parties should, when contemplating international financial cooperation, seek to indicate areas relevant to the right to adequate housing where external financing would have the most effect. Such requests should take full account of the needs and views of the affected groups.”[5]
It must be stressed that, in this era of increasing interdependence, it is important to go beyond the discussions of official development assistance or other forms of financial assistance when it is clear that States acting alone cannot meet their human rights obligations. In addition to the valuable discussions on the need for increasing targets for ODA, it is critical that the “solidarity” and “fraternity” dimensions of international cooperation are given urgent attention in the preparatory process for the International Conference on Financing for Development. In particular, the Conference should review existing and potential international economic (trade, investment, finance, debt servicing, structural adjustment) policies and ensure that these are consistent with the principles and provisions of international human rights instruments. Such an overview and direction for global policies must ensure that these policies do not in any manner inhibit or compromise the ability of developing countries to implement their commitments to respect, promote, protect and fulfill economic, social and cultural human rights commitments at the national level. The Conference must also indicate that, in pursuit of the operating principles of “solidarity” and “fraternity” in international cooperation, it is essential to accept that there is a need to evolve strategies for distributive justice, including land reform and increases in social spending on civic services essential to the realization of the right to adequate housing, such as potable water, electricity and sanitation.
Furthermore the Conference must, as its central concern, devote attention to the specific financing requirements to meet the needs of women and of children so as to ensure their ability to gain and retain the right to adequate housing. Women must be accorded full and equal rights to own land and other properties, and the right to adequate housing, including through the right to inheritance, and that necessary measures are undertaken to eliminate all kinds of discrimination against women, in accordance with provisions under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Commission on Human Rights resolutions 2000/13 and 2001/34. With regard to children, the Conference must recommend specific targets to finance policies and schemes to meet the housing rights of children in general and particularly of those facing adverse housing and living conditions such as street children and children living in slums. Such strategies for the upliftment of children must be consistent with the principles and provisions contained in the Convention on Rights of the Child, particularly its article 27.3 which calls upon the States parties to “take appropriate measures to assist parents and others responsible for the child to implement this right and shall in the case of need provide material assistance and support programmes, particularly with regard to nutrition, clothing and housing”.
[1] Art. 25, para. 1, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; art. 11, para. 1, of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; art. 27, para. 3, of the Convention on the Rights of the Child; art. 14 (h) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; and art. 5 (e) of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
[2] E/CN.4/2001/51, paras. 58, 65 and 109.
[3] /html/menu2/i2ecohou.htm
[4] Article 28 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which proclaims that everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms contained in the Declaration can be realized; and articles 2.1, 11, 15, 22 and 23 of ICESCR, which build upon the foundation for international cooperation in articles 55 and 56 of the UN Charter, and the obligation for States parties to recognize the essential role of international cooperation and to reaffirm their commitment to take joint and separate action.
[5] E/1992/23-E/C.12/1991/4. annex III, para. 19.
I have the honour to submit this statement to the third resumed session of the Preparatory Committee for the International Conference on Financing for Development. I was appointed Special Rapporteur last year by the Commission on Human Rights resolution 2000/9 with a mandate to focus on rights relevant to adequate housing and on the right to non-discrimination, as reflected in international human rights law.[1] In this context, I have been requested to, inter alia, report on the status of the realization of the human rights relevant to housing, and to promote cooperation among, and assistance to, Governments in their efforts to secure these rights.
In my report presented to the Commission on Human Rights held in Geneva in April 2001 (E/CN.4/2001/51), I highlighted several significant issues concerning the housing situation of the poor, in view of the effects of globalization, increasing income disparity, inadequate civic services and other environmental and social factors.[2] Subsequently, the Commission adopted resolution 2001/28, in which it encouraged me to bring these issues to the attention of the relevant review processes of UN conferences and summits. These reports and other essential documents related to the right to adequate housing are available under the website of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.[3]
I regard the International Conference on Financing for Development, to be held in Monterrey, Mexico in March 2002, as an important event as it discusses the challenge of meeting the goals agreed at all these conferences and at the Millennium Summit, from the perspectives of finance. In preparing for the Conference, it is of utmost importance that countries direct their attention to obligations arising out of international human rights, including the right to adequate housing.
The intention of this statement to the Preparatory Committee is to highlight the critical human rights dimensions of housing that need urgent attention, financially and otherwise, from the international community. Following this session of the Committee, the I intend to prepare detailed recommendations and outline a strategy for financing that can lead to improved and sustainable housing and living conditions. I look forward to being closely engaged in the preparatory process and attending the Conference in March 2002.
Housing plays a crucial role in development. Having a secure place to live is a fundamental requirement in enabling a person to grow and develop. It is also a fundamental human right. The right to adequate housing, as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, has been recognized internationally since the adoption of Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This right has also received explicit reaffirmation in a number of global conferences, particularly the Agenda 21 adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992, and the Istanbul Declaration and the Habitat Agenda adopted at the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) in 1996.
Today, globalization is having impacts on every social process – housing and living conditions are no exception. For the homeless and those inadequately housed, globalization has not brought tangible benefits. There is a wide gap between income groups, within countries and across countries, in terms of the availability, affordability and habitability of housing and access to utilities, which has resulted in an increase in the number of people in inadequate and insecure housing and living conditions. Nearly all countries at all levels of development have undertaken macroeconomic reform programmes during the past two decades, strongly influenced by market forces and policies of international financial institutions (IFIs). These reforms and domestic policy decisions regarding liberalization, deregulation and privatization have, to varying extents, constrained the exercise of monetary and fiscal policy options for social purposes, including provision of adequate housing.
Therefore, there is a need for governments to increase its attention to the financing needs of the poor in housing and related services to fulfill their obligations to meet the minimum core standards set out in international human rights instruments. They also need to support innovative approaches involving a range of programs for micro-finance and partnerships with local communities, including the institutionalization of participatory budget processes.
Obligations for States emerging out of the international legal provisions of international cooperation[4] are especially critical given the current global reality of growing income disparities. The International Conference on Financing for Development will offer an important forum to discuss the policies and guiding principles of bilateral and multilateral institutions that drive economic globalization, which have been the subject of increased media attention and growing civil society unrest. The Conference must address the need to assist developing countries through “joint and separate action” in their efforts to improve housing and living conditions of the poor and inadequately housed, including by ensuring States’ international policies, or policies towards multilateral forums and institutions, are formulated so as to respect the full realization of economic, social and cultural rights for all.
In the context of the right to adequate housing, it is important to keep in mind the obligations enshrined in article 11.1 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, currently ratified by 145 countries. It urges all States parties to “take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right, recognizing to this effect the essential importance of international cooperation based on free consent”. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which monitors the implementation of the Covenant, further clarified this obligation in its General Comment No. 4 adopted in 1991, in which the Committee stated that:
“Traditionally, less than 5 per cent of all international assistance has been directed towards housing or human settlements, and often the manner by which such funding is provided does little to address the housing needs of disadvantaged groups. States parties, both recipients and providers, should ensure that a substantial proportion of financing is devoted to creating conditions leading to a higher number of persons being adequately housed. International financial institutions promoting measures of structural adjustment should ensure that such measures do not compromise the enjoyment of the right to adequate housing. States parties should, when contemplating international financial cooperation, seek to indicate areas relevant to the right to adequate housing where external financing would have the most effect. Such requests should take full account of the needs and views of the affected groups.”[5]
It must be stressed that, in this era of increasing interdependence, it is important to go beyond the discussions of official development assistance or other forms of financial assistance when it is clear that States acting alone cannot meet their human rights obligations. In addition to the valuable discussions on the need for increasing targets for ODA, it is critical that the “solidarity” and “fraternity” dimensions of international cooperation are given urgent attention in the preparatory process for the International Conference on Financing for Development. In particular, the Conference should review existing and potential international economic (trade, investment, finance, debt servicing, structural adjustment) policies and ensure that these are consistent with the principles and provisions of international human rights instruments. Such an overview and direction for global policies must ensure that these policies do not in any manner inhibit or compromise the ability of developing countries to implement their commitments to respect, promote, protect and fulfill economic, social and cultural human rights commitments at the national level. The Conference must also indicate that, in pursuit of the operating principles of “solidarity” and “fraternity” in international cooperation, it is essential to accept that there is a need to evolve strategies for distributive justice, including land reform and increases in social spending on civic services essential to the realization of the right to adequate housing, such as potable water, electricity and sanitation.
Furthermore the Conference must, as its central concern, devote attention to the specific financing requirements to meet the needs of women and of children so as to ensure their ability to gain and retain the right to adequate housing. Women must be accorded full and equal rights to own land and other properties, and the right to adequate housing, including through the right to inheritance, and that necessary measures are undertaken to eliminate all kinds of discrimination against women, in accordance with provisions under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Commission on Human Rights resolutions 2000/13 and 2001/34. With regard to children, the Conference must recommend specific targets to finance policies and schemes to meet the housing rights of children in general and particularly of those facing adverse housing and living conditions such as street children and children living in slums. Such strategies for the upliftment of children must be consistent with the principles and provisions contained in the Convention on Rights of the Child, particularly its article 27.3 which calls upon the States parties to “take appropriate measures to assist parents and others responsible for the child to implement this right and shall in the case of need provide material assistance and support programmes, particularly with regard to nutrition, clothing and housing”.
[1] Art. 25, para. 1, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; art. 11, para. 1, of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; art. 27, para. 3, of the Convention on the Rights of the Child; art. 14 (h) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; and art. 5 (e) of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
[2] E/CN.4/2001/51, paras. 58, 65 and 109.
[3] /html/menu2/i2ecohou.htm
[4] Article 28 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which proclaims that everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms contained in the Declaration can be realized; and articles 2.1, 11, 15, 22 and 23 of ICESCR, which build upon the foundation for international cooperation in articles 55 and 56 of the UN Charter, and the obligation for States parties to recognize the essential role of international cooperation and to reaffirm their commitment to take joint and separate action.
[5] E/1992/23-E/C.12/1991/4. annex III, para. 19.