A/HRC/34/51/Add.2
violence, persons with disabilities, children, young people and all those who are poor
or who belong to the “new poor”;
(b)
Commit to ending homelessness as a priority, in keeping with the
Sustainable Development Goals, to leave no-one behind and to ensure adequate, safe
and affordable housing and basic services for all, and the New Urban Agenda;27 to this
end, they should ensure that the lessons learned from the first national strategy on
homelessness are taken on board in a new strategy, including by ensuring a
participatory process for its development, and ample consultations with specific
municipalities that engaged in implementing the strategy; and ensure that the new
strategy encourages preventive measures, not just crisis intervention;
(c)
Assess and address housing conditions in all informal settlements on an
urgent and priority basis, including for Roma communities and communities of people
of African descent, in keeping with the goals outlined in the national housing strategy;
(d)
Prevent demolitions and evictions that result in homelessness. Children
should not be removed from their parents for lack of adequate housing. Plans for
disadvantaged communities should be developed and implemented in consultation
with the populations affected, and should include key human rights principles, such as
security of tenure, in situ relocation, access to basic services, including water,
sanitation and electricity, affordability, and dignified living conditions.
87.
The Government should work closely with the Municipality of Porto and the
residents of the ilhas to ensure all those residing in them are provided with adequate
accommodation, whether through refurbishment or relocation to affordable long-term
housing, and allocate sufficient financial resources to that end.
88.
Central, municipal and autonomous regional governments should develop a
common vision for cities in Portugal with a view to ensuring they are places of
inclusion rather than predominantly for the affluent or tourists, and to ensure the
effective implementation of the rights to adequate housing and to non-discrimination
for long-term residents as a priority. Better coordination between levels of
government, including adequate flow of resources, must be achieved.
89.
Governments should adopt new regulatory mechanisms to prevent
displacement through “touristification”. They should examine effective policies and
practices in other cities around the world facing similar situations with a view to
protecting individuals from the negative impact of this phenomenon and of property
speculation.
90.
The Special Rapporteur recommends that the national and regional authorities
moreover:
(a)
Review eviction procedures, including administrative measures recently
adopted, to ensure that they adequately protect the rights of tenants, particularly not
to be evicted into homelessness, and ensure that they have access to legal aid or other
legal support to challenge evictions in court;
(b)
Conduct an assessment of the actual need for social housing, subsidized
housing and/or rent-controlled housing throughout the country; The Government
should then ensure the supply of affordable housing (defined in terms of cost burden
relative to income, not in terms of market value) for those with the lowest incomes and
those on waiting lists.
27
General Assembly resolution 71/256, annex.
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