A/HRC/31/54
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 non-discrimination in this context
Contents
Page
I.
Introduction ......................................................................................................................................
3
II.
Towards a human rights definition of homelessness ........................................................................
4
A.
What does “homelessness” mean? ...........................................................................................
4
B.
A three-dimensional human rights definition of homelessness ...............................................
5
Discrimination, stigmatization and social exclusion ........................................................................
6
A.
Social construction of homelessness ........................................................................................
6
B.
Criminalization of homelessness .............................................................................................
7
C.
Discrimination in access to land and housing ..........................................................................
7
IV.
Interconnected causes of homelessness ............................................................................................
8
V.
Homelessness and marginalized groups ...........................................................................................
10
VI.
The human rights framework for addressing homelessness and access to justice ............................
12
A.
State obligations.......................................................................................................................
12
B.
Access to justice ......................................................................................................................
13
VII.
Metrics of homelessness and human rights accountability...............................................................
16
VIII.
Strategic policy responses to homelessness .....................................................................................
18
IX.
Conclusions and recommendations ..................................................................................................
20
III.
2