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adequate standard must be offered such housing within a reasonable time (Conclusions
2003 and 2011, France, Article 31§1; European Roma and Travellers Forum (ERTF) v.
France, Complaint No. 64/2011, decision on the merits of 24 January 2012, §112).
58.
The Committee reiterates that housing of an adequate standard under Article
31§1 means a dwelling which is safe from the point of view of sanitation and health, i.e.
it must possess all basic amenities, such as water, heating, waste disposal, sanitation
facilities and electricity and must also be structurally secure, not overcrowded and with
secure tenure supported by the law (see Conclusions 2003, Article 31§1, France;
European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless (FEANTSA)
v. France, Complaint No. 39/2006, decision on the merits of 5 December 2007, §76).
59.
The Committee notes, moreover that the Government does not reply to the
arguments made by Médecins du Monde on the degrading housing conditions of the
Roma. It refers to its Conclusions 2011, Article 31§1, France, where it found that :
“The Committee also notes the findings of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights
following his visit to France from 21 to 23 May 2008, in which he noted that most of the Roma in
France live in squalid shanty towns, often without access to water or electricity and with only
sporadic refuse collection. Hygiene conditions are often deplorable and some camps do not even
have toilets. According to a survey by Médecins du Monde cited by the Commissioner, about 53%
of Roma live in caravans, many of which are immobile, 21% in converted squats and 20% in huts.
In the light of the foregoing, the Committee considers that the living conditions of many Roma fail
to comply with the requirements of Article 31§1.”
60.
The Committee takes note of the different means made use of by the
Government in the field of housing, in particular the DALO Act of 2007, the Act on action
for housing and against exclusion of 2009 and the national strategy for the
accommodation and access to housing of the homeless (2009-2012). With regard to the
implementation of the DALO Act, the Committee points out that the DALO procedure for
accessing to housing is limited to nationals and migrants residing legally in France. The
Committee considers that plans, declaration of intention, exploratory processes,
roadmaps to identify primary targets, “special tools” for the future may be necessary to
achieve the targeted results but cannot be deemed as efficient and sufficient measures
– while their elaboration seem to use considerable part of the budgetary resources to
the detriment of concrete actions.
61.
As concerns the argument of Médecins du Monde that integration villages
encourage social exclusion, the Committee recalls that pursuant to Article 31§1, in order
for housing to be considered to have reached the level of adequacy, it must be in a
location which allows access to public services, employment, health-care services,
schools and other social services. States should be vigilant when implementing housing
policies so as to prevent spatial or social segregation of ethnic minorities or migrants
(European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) v. Portugal, Complaint No. 61/2010, decision
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