HIC-HLRN-India Launches Habitat III Status Report

Habitat International Coalition - 2017-10-05 08:52

HIC - HIC-HLRN-India Launches Habitat III Status Report

HIC-HLRN-India Launches Habitat III Status Report HIC-HLRN SA The report presents an indispensable analysis of India’s implementation of the Habitat Agenda, as states and governments pledged to do upon its adoption at the Habitat II conference in Istanbul in 1996. NewDelhi—On Friday, HIC Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN) launched its firstHabitat III country report titled, Housing and Land Rights in India: StatusReport for Habitat III. The United Nations (UN) Conference on Housing andSustainable Urban Development (Habitat III)—the third bidecennial internationalconference on habitat issues—will be held in Quito, Ecuador, in October 2016,to adopt a new Habitat Agenda till the year 2036. The HIC HLRN report for Habitat III, being submitted to the Government of India and theUN, has been endorsed by 56 organizations, social movements, and communitygroups across the country. It presents an indispensable analysis of India’simplementation of the Habitat Agenda, as states and governments pledged to doupon its adoption at the Habitat II conference in Istanbul in 1996. Applyingthe core principles and commitments of the Habitat Agenda, the HLRN reportdocuments the status of housing and land rights in the country and highlightsrelevant law and policy developments over the implementation period. It alsoprovides recommendations to the Indian government for the improvement ofhousing and living conditions, and to UN-Habitat and organizers for thedevelopment of a human rights-based agenda at Habitat III. JusticeA.P. Shah, formerChief Justice of the High Court of Delhi, released the report and expressed hisconcern over the rise of forced evictions and homelessness across India. Hehighlighted the problem of homelessness, particularly in urban environments andin megacities like Delhi, where affordable housing options are practicallynonexistent. He drew attention to the millions of residents of these urbanspaces who are compelled to live in pathetic conditions on the streets, or inlow quality and poorly serviced settlements, while policymakers make arbitrarypolicies about evictions and resettlement, and while fellow citizens"conveniently forget that these are usually the people who actually run thecity—they are the road sweepers who keep our streets clean, the housemaids whokeep our homes clean, the construction workers and labourers who build ourroads, gleaming corporate offices and palatial mansions.” Justice Shah observedthat although the Supreme Court and various High Courts had recognized theright to housing as an integral part of the fundamental right to life inArticle 21, the right itself remained only an abstract right, on paper, andthese people still face tremendous prejudice on a daily basis, routinely called"encroachers, or trespassers, or even criminals.” Whileexplaining the rationale for the report, ShivaniChaudhry, Executive Director of HIC Housing and Land RightsNetwork, said, "It is a failure of governance—at the international and nationallevels—that the Habitat Agenda, which reiterates states’ commitments toprotecting the human right to adequate housing, has not been implemented.Instead of retaining the focus on ‘human settlements,’ as also articulated inSustainable Development Goal 11, it is unfortunate that UN-Habitat andconference organizers have narrowed the Habitat III scope to a "new urbanagenda.” The rural dimension of habitat cannot be ignored. The claim to the"inevitability of urbanization” must be questioned. A sustained focus onbalanced rural and urban land, housing, and development, as the Habitat Agendapromised, could help reduce forced migration and the unmanageable pace ofurbanization.” Speaking about the role of the Indian government, Ms. Chaudhryadded that, "While ‘housing for all by 2022’ is a noteworthy goal, India must alsodevelop a human rights-based housing law that can be implemented.” Thereport release was followed by a panel discussion on The Right to Housing in India: InternationalCommitments and National Response. Independent experts exploredvarious dimensions of India’s legal commitments to, and violations of, thehuman right to adequate housing across the country. Dr.Usha Ramanathan,independent law researcher, while condemning the prevalence of forcedevictions, stated that, "The idea of the poor as ‘illegal’ in the country haslet demolitions happen with impunity. This is such a distorted notion. Whenland is acquired for planned development of the city, and housing for the pooris not constructed, is it the poor who are illegal or is it the state that doesnot do what the law requires it to do?” Dr. Ramanathan further mentioned that,"Repeated demolition of the dwellings of the poor results in the creation ofurban nomads, viz., people who cannot settle anywhere because there is arefusal to recognize their right to the city.”

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Habitat International Coalition - 2017-10-05 08:52

Mr.Miloon Kothari,former United Nations Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, emphasized that,"We urgently need to ensure that millions of residents of India have theirrights to housing, potable water, and sanitation realized. These imperativesmust take precedence over the development of smart cities and mega urbancorridors. The Habitat III world conference offers India an opportunity todemonstrate to the international community that the government is serious aboutmeeting the colossal human settlements challenge that the country faces.” Someof the recommendations made in the HIC HLRN report include the need for amoratorium on forced evictions; improved state accountability; trial ofofficials responsible for violations of housing and land rights; implementationof international law, guidelines, and recommendations of UN treaty bodies,Special Procedures, and the Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human RightsCouncil; better coordination among ministries and national human rights institutions;and recognition by nation states and UN-Habitat of the rural-urban continuum.The HLRN report asserts that the outcome document of the Habitat III conferenceshould adopt a strong human rights approach that integrates the commitments ofthe Habitat Agenda as well as international law and standards. Atthe event, HIC HLRN also released a compilation titled United Nations Documents Related to Housing andLand Rights in India. This document is intended to serve as areference for understanding, monitoring, and reporting on India’s compliancewith international law and guidelines, and recommendations of UN bodies andmechanisms. Formore information, please contact: (+91) 98182-05234/99719-28737 Readthe new HLRN report online: Housing and Land Rights in India: Status Report for Habitat III Seealso: United Nations Documents Related to Housing and Land Rights in India

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