A/HRC/31/54 result of treating housing as a commodity rather than as a human right. It is rooted in a global privileging of wealth and power, and scapegoating and scorning of those who do not have a home. 87. Homelessness disproportionately affects particular groups, including women, young people, children, indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, migrants and refugees, the working poor, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, each in different ways, but with common structural causes. These include: (a) the retreat by all levels of government from social protection and social housing and the privatization of services, infrastructure, housing and public space; (b) the abandonment of the social function of land and housing; (c) the failure to address growing inequalities in income, wealth and access to land and property; (d) the adoption of fiscal and development policies that support deregulation and real estate speculation and prevent the development of affordable housing options; and (e), in the face of urbanization, the marginalization and mistreatment of those who are most precariously housed in informal settlements, living in temporary overcrowded structures, without access to water, sanitation or other basic services and living under the constant threat of eviction. 88. Instead of being treated as a group of rights bearers whose rights have been systematically violated, homeless people have become a stigmatized group subject to criminalization, discrimination and social exclusion. To be homeless is to experience acts of violence, a shortened life span and ill-health and to be criminalized for survival strategies for eating or sleeping in public space. Homeless people are rendered voiceless and invisible, banished to the peripheries of cities and towns, out of sight. Their humanity and dignity are rarely considered in legislation, public policies and strategies. 89. Failures to measure and document homelessness effectively, including in its less visible forms and in its more qualitative dimensions, have contributed to the lack of State-led or global responses. The absence of any reference to homelessness in development goals attests to the continued marginalization of homeless people. 90. From a human rights perspective, State obligations in relation to homelessness are well established and have been clearly articulated. These include the following immediate obligations of States: (a) to adopt and implement strategies to eliminate homelessness, with clear goals, targets and timelines; (b) to eliminate the practice of forced eviction, especially where it will lead to homelessness; (c) to combat and prohibit in law discrimination, stigma and negative stereotyping of homeless people; (d) to ensure access to legal remedies for violations of rights, including for the failure of States to take positive measures to address homelessness; and (e) to regulate thirdparty actors so that their actions are consistent with the elimination of homelessness and do not discriminate either directly or indirectly against homeless people. 91. In line with the present conclusions, the Special Rapporteur offers the following recommendations to States: (a) All States must commit to eliminating homelessness by 2030 or earlier if possible, in a manner that upholds international human rights and in keeping with target 11.1 of the Sustainable Development Goals; (b) All States must develop and implement, on an immediate basis, coordinated rights-based strategies to prevent and eliminate homelessness. Those strategies must include measureable goals and timelines; be developed and implemented in consultation and collaboratively with stakeholders; make explicit reference to international human rights law, including the right to adequate housing and non-discrimination; include monitoring and review mechanisms to ensure 21