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amendments made to the regulation on the European Regional Development Fund
(ERDF) have opened up new possibilities to mobilise funds for the purpose of
renovating housing or converting buildings to be used by people in the most precarious
circumstances.
B – Assessment of the Committee
86.
The Committee underlines the differences between the right to housing (provided
by Article 31§1) and the right to shelter (provided by Article 31§2).
87.
The Committee points out that Médecins du Monde does not question the DALO
Act as such, but its application to migrant Roma with regards to the right to shelter. It
notes that the right to shelter is no longer provided by the DALO Act, but since the
enactment of Act No. 2009-323 of 25 March 2009, by Articles 345-2-2 and 345-2-3 of
the Code of Social Work and Families.
88.
The Committee takes note of Médecins du Monde’s arguments that evidence of
the "115" calls is impossible to obtain, which, as a consequence, brings about
systematic refusals to grant accommodation to the Roma pursuant to the DALO Act. It
notes, however, that, even when taking into account the principle of the shift of the
burden of proof, Médecins du Monde does not substantiate its allegations sufficiently on
this issue.
89.
The Committee recalls its findings concerning the right to shelter with regards to
Roma of Romanian and Bulgarian origin in its decision on the merits in complaint
European Roma and Travellers Forum (ERTF) v. France, No. 64/2011, decision of
24 January 2012, §§126-129:
“126. As mentioned above, since the right to shelter is closely connected to the right to life and to
the right to respect of every person’s human dignity, states parties are required to provide shelter
to persons unlawfully present in their territory for as long as they are in their jurisdiction
(Conclusions 2011, France).
127. The Committee moreover recalls that to ensure that the dignity of the persons sheltered is
respected, shelters must meet health, safety and hygiene standards and, in particular, be
equipped with basic amenities such as access to water and heating and sufficient lighting.
Another basic requirement is the security of the immediate surroundings (Defence for Children
International (DCI) v. the Netherlands, Complaint No. 47/2008, decision on the merits of
20 October 2009, § 62).
128. It can be seen from a wide number of recent sources (European Roma Rights Centre
(ERRC) submissions to the European Commission on the legality of the situation of Roma in
France dated September 2010, the Amnesty International report of 2011 and a report of July 2011
by Médecins du Monde concerning the living conditions of the Roma in France) that a large share
of the Roma camp sites do not meet these requirements and have not done so since at least 2006
when the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights noted, in a report of 15 February,
that these camp sites were squalid, often without access to water or electricity, wedged under
bridges or located between motorways and railway lines only a few metres away from a major
ring-road.
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