OHCHR | The right to housing of persons with disabilities

The right to housing of persons with disabilities

In October 2017 the Special Rapporteur on the right to housing presented to the 72nd session of the General Assembly a report on the right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities.

Around the world, the right to housing – a place to live in dignity and security, and to be included in community life with access to services and supports – remains beyond reach for most persons with disabilities. Action to realize and protect the right to housing for persons with disabilities have been largely ignored by legislative and policy initiatives globally.

The report considers how the “disability human rights paradigm” developed through the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities breathes life into the right to adequate housing. The Special Rapporteur highlights fundamental principles of a human rights approach to disability, such as dignity, substantive equality, accessibility and participation, as well as the over-riding obligation to realize the right to housing to the maximum of available resources, and correlates them to the key features of the right to adequate housing. She reflects on how persons with disabilities can more effectively claim the right to housing, how courts and tribunals can better address it, and reviews some effective policy and legislative initiatives that are necessary to implement this right.

The Special Rapporteur provides in her report a coherent framework to guide governments in the implementation of rights under articles 2 and 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and articles 19 and 28 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and other obligations under international human rights law.

The report concludes with key recommendations highlighting the transformative potential of the disability human rights paradigm and how it must be better harnessed in order to realize the right to housing of persons with disabilities in accordance with commitments of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.

See final report A/72/128 - 12 July 2017 - in all UN languages

Questionnaire for Governments, civil society and all relevant stakeholders:
English (Word - PDF)
Spanish (Word - PDF)
French (Word - PDF)

The Special Rapporteur invited Governments, National Human Rights Institutions, independent monitoring mechanisms, civil society organizations and networks, including organizations of persons with disabilities, and other relevant stakeholders, with relevant information to share contributions and inputs for her report. She welcomes information on innovative approaches and successful programmatic and legislative initiatives as well.

Due to limited capacity for translation, we kindly request that you submit your answers, if possible, in English, Spanish or French and, no later than 5 June 2017.

Responses from States