A/HRC/40/61
United Nations
General Assembly
Distr.: General
15 January 2019
Original: English
Human Rights Council
Fortieth session
25 February–22 March 2019
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development
Access to justice for the right to housing
Report of the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component
of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to nondiscrimination in this context*
Summary
In her report, prepared pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 34/9, the
Special Rapporteur examines the critical issue of access to justice for the right to housing.
She suggests that the global housing crisis is rooted in a crisis in access to justice because
without access to justice, housing is not properly recognized, understood or addressed as a
human right. Millions who live in homelessness or unacceptable living conditions have no
place where they can claim their right to housing when States have failed to progressively
realize the right, imposed forced evictions, or criminalized those who live in homelessness
or in informal housing. She argues that the outdated division of the right to housing into
justiciable and non-justiciable components, negative and positive rights, must be firmly
rejected. Ten key normative principles are identified which States must satisfy to ensure
that all components of the right to housing are subject to effective remedies. The Special
Rapporteur outlines how compliance with the obligation to progressively realize the right to
housing is adjudicated; how forced evictions and criminalization must be prevented
through access to justice and participation in decision-making; how national human rights
institutions and informal justice systems should complement the role of courts; and how
private actors are required to ensure access to justice for the realization of the right to
housing.
* Agreement was reached to publish the present report after the standard publication date owing to
circumstances beyond the submitter’s control.
GE.19-00608(E)