A/HRC/25/54
the process. These measures are crucial to ensure the social and political legitimacy of
tenure security programmes.
78.
While some of these principles focus on immediate obligations, the implementation
of many measures is, by nature, a progressive process. States must demonstrate that they
are taking deliberate, concrete and targeted steps as expeditiously and effectively as
possible, including through the design and implementation of a plan of action for
strengthening security of tenure.92 States should conduct baseline surveys of tenure security,
develop quantitative and qualitative indicators and set benchmarks against which to monitor
progress, evaluate outcomes and inform decision-making. Indicators and benchmarks
should be designed to measure progress in, inter alia: (a) promoting a variety of tenure
forms; (b) the degree of security they confer; (c) securing the tenure arrangements of
marginalized groups; (d) reducing discrimination; and (e) achieving more equitable access
to urban housing, including reductions in the number of vacant plots and buildings and the
proportion used to house low-income households.93
79.
All data on progress and outcomes should be made public, ensuring that the urban
poor are able to access and understand the information. Progress reports should be
presented to a range of national mechanisms, such as legislatures, national human rights
institutions, and public forums, as well as to international mechanisms, including human
rights treaty bodies and the Council through the universal periodic review.
K.
Ensuring access to justice
80.
The urban poor face significant barriers in accessing justice, owing to, inter alia,
political influence and corruption in courts and administrative bodies; prohibitive costs of
legal representation; absence of legal information; and lack of legal recognition of persons
without official identity documentation, including a registered address.94 States should take
all measures to remove these barriers and ensure that the urban poor can access effective
remedies through a range of judicial and administrative mechanisms. As an alternative to
the courts, land dispute and grievance mechanisms that are inexpensive, accessible, socially
legitimate and rule-bound should be established. States should establish, fund and enable
legal aid and assistance for the urban poor, in order to address power asymmetries that
pervade conflicts over land and obstruct access to justice.
81.
Remedies for violations of the right to adequate housing may include restitution,
reparation,95 the provision of alternative adequate housing, rehabilitation of housing or
livelihoods, financial or non-financial compensation for loss and damage, and punitive
sanctions against the perpetrator. An injunction, precautionary measures or other judicial or
administrative intervention may be required to prevent imminent forced eviction or other
violation. Remedies may also include repeal or amendment of law or policy and quashing
of administrative decisions. In this regard, States should ensure that policies and decisions
affecting tenure security are subject to administrative and judicial review. In the case of an
92
93
94
95
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 3, paras. 2 and 9.
See OHCHR, Human Rights Indicators: A Guide to Measurement and Implementation (New York
and Geneva, 2012) (www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Indicators/Pages/HRIndicatorsIndex.aspx); UNHabitat, Monitoring tenure security in cities: People, Land and Policy (Nairobi, GLTN, 2011)
(www.unhabitat.org/pmss/listItemDetails.aspx?publicationID=3261).
See report of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, A/67/278.
See Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross
Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian
Law.
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