Making Rights Matter

by Cheryl Duggan

Making Rights Matter was part of a two day dialogue with Miloon Kothari, the United Nations first Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing. The Special Rapporteurs job is to investigate, monitor and recommend solutions to human rights problems. They are critical in their views and forthright with their recommendation … even with the United Nations.

Before Miloon Kothari was appointed as special rapporteur the housing situation was worsening around the world. Once appointed as Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing Kothari developed a more wholistic approach going beyond the recognized economic, social, and cultural rights arguments.

The positional mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing is that every man, woman, and child has the right to a safe, and secure home, in order to live in peace and dignity.

The main findings of Miloon Kothari’s reports have universal implications. The commonalities between so-called developed and developing countries are staggering. There is a lack of a rights based approach to housing issues. There is no adequate assessment of the scale of the problem (including lack of accurate numbers of homeless persons). That is probably directly related not having a clear definition of homeless. Without a defintion and number it is impossible to assess different aspects of homelessness. Some important information that could be gleaned from those numbers, if available, would be how people become homeless, the disproportionate representation of various marginalized communities, and the societal segregation created within certain cities.

The most disturbing fact to Miloon Kothari during his consultations as the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing was that even when data was available on homelessness, or other housing issues, the governments did not use it!

Miloon Kothari believes that the housing/homelessness crisis stems from four main issues:
1 – An obsession with home ownership.
2 – A limited consultation with those who are actually affected by homelessness or inadequate housing
3 – A lack of focus on how housing impacts other basic human rights.
4 – No housing policy for the bottom twenty percent of the population.

Miloon Kothari cautions against considering privatization of housing initiatives as is a common neo-liberal approach. He warns that privatization costs jobs and an increase in fees for the marginalized. (Service to poor communities costs up to 20 times the rates paid by wealthy communities). To top that off the companies, who often turn out to be multinationals become accountable to share holders ignoring any accountability to their customers.

There is an effort to increase awareness about social control policies that have encouraged the creation of more gated communities while the poor are forcibly evicted from their homes. Those unfortunate enough to end up on the streets face the double indignity of vagrancy laws. Which is still better off than those fighting land claims who are being tried under anti-terrorist laws.

Miloon Kothari had three recommendation that he referred to as “protection ideas”. They include:
1 – adopt a combination of a humanitarian and human rights approaches to housing and homelessness issues
2 – urgent need for assessment methods in an effort to gage actual progress
3 – much more work with civil society groups integrating the expertise and information that government can use.

Several other speakers had important inclusions to the discussion.

For instance Michael Shapcott was impressed when Miloon Kothari began his housing/homelessnes discussions in Canada a decade ago. It was revolutionary at the time to consult 50 -50 between civil society and the government.

Michael has seen evidence that Miloon’s work is having a positive impact on housing issues across Canada. He mentioned a squatters camp in Edmonton, Alberta where a full scale eviction process was halted. The government was reminded of its obligation to relocate the individuals and families. Once reminded the government immediately sent in social workers to assist with the resettlement process.

Sonny Yeung, a Toronto mayoral candidate was asking what could be done within local communities to change the status quo.

A Toronto Community Housing Corporation tenant representative recommended everyone become human rights ambassadors. She also indicated that she was sad today because there did not appear to be anyone in attendance from the Ministry of Housing or mainstream media. The implication being that those that can make the changes, or those that can get the messages out, are not setting human rights high on their list of priorities.

Making Rights Matter was a great way to end the beginning of formal discussions that made up the series of events titled Health, Housing and Human Rights: Exploring the Connections in Canada and Globally.

As was stated during opening remarks the issue of human rights is not just about what developing countries need to do to improve human rights, or about what developed countries can do for developing nations. It is also about what the developed nations can do to improve human rights within their own borders.

During Miloon Kothari’s concluding comments he insisted that he keeps returning to Canada because he sees great potential for positive change. It is about time that Canada is seen as the human rights ambassador at home, as it often is abroad.

BLACK HAT MEDIA

http://www.blackhatmedia.ca/index.php?pr=Making_Rights_Matter

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