2019
Statelessness & Citizenship Review
1(2)
Land, like property, is a critical component of this right, but the right to adequate
housing is understood to provide greater protections and be more allencompassing. As such, this analysis will focus on the right to adequate housing
and use this term throughout.
The right to adequate housing is enshrined extensively in international,
regional and national laws, even if states do not always honour these obligations.
This right is first recognised in art 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, which states ‘everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for
the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including … housing’.31
Binding international law reiterates this right in the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (‘ICESCR’), which recognises
the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family,
including … housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions.
The State Parties will take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right
… 32
The right to adequate housing is also addressed directly or indirectly in other
binding human rights treaties, including art 5 of the International Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (‘CERD’), which compels
state parties to ‘prohibit and eliminate racial discrimination in all its forms and to
guarantee the right of everyone, without distinction as to race, colour, or national
or ethnic origin, to equality before the law, notably in the enjoyment of … the
right to housing’, 33 and in the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights’ (‘ICCPR’) protections against the arbitrary and unlawful interference
with one’s privacy or home. 34
This right is further enshrined in international treaties providing protections
for particular groups. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women (‘CEDAW’) states that women should ‘enjoy
adequate living conditions, particularly in relation to housing’ 35 and that women
have equal rights to conclude contracts. 36 The Convention on the Rights of the
Child (‘CRC’) contains protections for children from arbitrary and unlawful
interference with their privacy or homes and obligates states to ‘recognize the
right of every child to a standard of living adequate for the child’s physical,
mental, spiritual, moral and social development’. 37 The CRC further obligates
states to take appropriate measures to assist those responsible for children in
implementing the right to adequate housing by providing material assistance and
support programs. 38 The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
31
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35
36
37
38
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, GA Res 217A (III), UN GAOR, UN Doc A/810
(10 December 1948) art 25.
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, opened for signature 16
December 1966, 993 UNTS 3 (entered into force 3 January 1976) art 11 (‘ICESCR’).
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, opened
for signature 21 December 1965, 660 UNTS 195 (entered into force 4 January 1969) art 5.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, opened for signature 16 December
1966, 999 UNTS 171 (entered into force 23 March 1976) art 17 (‘ICCPR’).
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, opened for
signature 18 December 1979, 1249 UNTS 13 (entered into force 3 September 1981) art 14.
ibid art 15.
Convention on the Rights of the Child, opened for signature 20 November 1989, 1577
UNTS 3 (entered into force 2 September 1990) arts 16, 27 (‘CRC’).
ibid.
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