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visible forms of homelessness and does not address systemic causes of homelessness or
ensure rehabilitation and production of affordable housing. 68
77.
National homelessness strategies have relied on legislation to clarify government
obligations. Scotland enacted the Homelessness etc. (Scotland) Act in 2003, which includes
the commitment to make housing a legal right by 2012. In keeping with this, an order was
passed by the Scottish Parliament in 2012 that ensures that all individuals assessed to be
“unintentionally homeless” have a right to settled accommodation.69
78.
In many countries, national human rights institutions are able to investigate
allegations of human rights violations related to homelessness and make recommendations
to relevant authorities to design public policy and to remedy those violations. For the first
time, the Human Rights Commission of Mexico City held a public hearing with groups of
homeless people, then issued a report that focused on their human rights situation, including
discrimination, criminalization and other human rights issues.70
79.
The Norwegian Refugee Council has canvassed a number of housing alternatives to
prevent and address homelessness for internally displaced persons. Options include
incremental housing — providing land or a basic house for the recipient to upgrade over
time; housing purchase certificates; social housing; the transfer of public buildings to
private ownership; rental support; incremental tenure — starting from administrative
recognition then legal recognition, developmental recognition to establishment of towns or
districts; neighbourhood upgrades; and support for municipalities. 71
80.
Homeless people have begun to reassert their identity through human rights claims
through both social movements and legal action. In South Africa, the shack-dwellers’
movement, Abahlali, has emerged as a vibrant social movement, claiming the right to
housing through both legal and political means. In Uganda, the Uganda Network on Law,
Ethics and HIV/AIDS provides free legal representation for homeless widows dispossessed
of their homes and properties as a result of discriminatory property and inheritance laws. 72
In the Simon Community in northern Belfast, homeless people, with the assistance of the
organization Participation and the Practice of Rights, launched the Homelessness Action
Charter to promote the human rights of homeless people.73 In Canada, homeless people and
supportive organizations challenged as unconstitutional national and subnational
governments’ failure to effectively address homelessness,74 while simultaneously lobbying
for legislation75 to create a national homelessness and housing strategy. In the United
States, homeless peoples’ organizations have systematically and successfully challenged
laws and policies that criminalize homelessness and have lobbied for federal, State and
municipal housing strategies. In El Salvador, local community members formed a national
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70
71
72
73
74
75
Response to questionnaire from the Danish Institute for Human Rights.
See www.gov.scot/News/Releases/2012/11/tackling-homelessness21112012.
Comisión de Derechos Humanos del Distrito Federal, Informe especial: Situación de los derechos
humanos de las poblaciones callejeras en el Distrito Federal 2012-2013 (Mexico City, 2014),
available in Spanish from http://cdhdfbeta.cdhdf.org.mx/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/poblacionescallejeras-integrado-imprenta.pdf. Executive summary in English.
See Norwegian Refugee Council et al., “Home sweet home: housing practices and tools that support
durable solutions for urban IDPs” (Geneva, Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, March 2015),
pp. 25-51.
See www.uganet.org/site/women-property-rights.
Response to the questionnaire from the organization Participation and the Practice of Rights, United
Kingdom.
See Tanudjaja v. Canada (Attorney General), 2014 ONCA 852.
See Bill C-400, an act to ensure secure, adequate, accessible and affordable housing, available from
https://openparliament.ca/bills/41-1/C-400/.
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