A/HRC/RES/25/17 New Millennium, adopted at the twenty-fifth special session of the Assembly and annexed to its resolution S-25/2 of 9 June 2001, Noting the work of the United Nations treaty bodies, in particular the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in the promotion of the rights related to adequate housing, including all its relevant general comments, Recalling the Global Housing Strategy of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, the principles on housing and property restitution for refugees and displaced persons2 and the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security, Concerned that more than 860 million people are still living in unserviced and unplanned urban poor settlements, up from 725 million in 2000; that, despite the significant efforts to improve the living conditions of urban settlement dwellers, the net growth in the number of people living in these settlements continues to outpace the improvements; and that persons living in such conditions are particularly vulnerable to, inter alia, disease, natural and man-made disasters, unemployment and a lack of education, Deeply concerned that, in recent years, millions of homeowners have been affected by foreclosures and that high foreclosure rates may have an impact on the enjoyment of the right to adequate housing, and equally concerned that, in recent years, there has been an increase in private housing rentals for the urban poor without a balanced framework to protect tenants and owners, and that rental options for the urban poor are still insufficient and inadequate, Deeply concerned also that any deterioration in the general housing situation disproportionately affects persons living in conditions of poverty, low-income earners, women, children, persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and indigenous peoples, migrants, internally displaced persons, tenants, the elderly, persons with disabilities and other persons belonging to marginalized groups or persons belonging to groups in vulnerable situations, and that tenure insecurity per se might result in discrimination and further exclusion, particularly social and economic exclusion, Reaffirming that everyone is entitled to the right to adequate housing as part of an adequate standard of living without discrimination of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, Recognizing that security of tenure enhances the enjoyment of the right to adequate housing and is significant to the enjoyment of many other economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights, and that all persons should possess a degree of security of tenure that guarantees legal protection against forced eviction, harassment and other threats, Recognizing also the need to promote, protect and strengthen a variety of tenure forms as part of mainstreaming human rights, in particular in urban development, including in housing and slum upgrading, urban planning, land management and land administration policies, to ensure social integration, with the full participation of all relevant stakeholders, 1. Welcomes the work of the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to nondiscrimination in this context, including the undertaking of country missions; 2 2 E/CN.4/Sub.2/2005/17, annex.