Human Rights Day
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Human rights belong to all of us. Join us and uphold the rights of everyone, everywhere. Our rights, our future, right now.
Issued by
Special Procedures
Issued by Special Procedures
Subjects
Administration of justice and rule of law, Extreme poverty, Adequate housing
Symbol Number
A/HRC/56/61/Add.3
Summary
The study explains why the criminalization of persons experiencing homelessness or poverty is not a suitable solution and may violate a wide range of human rights. The study argues that criminalization perpetuates historical legacies of discrimination and exclusion, entrenches discrimination and stigmatization and is an unsuitable, inefficient and costly approach to address social issues. It calls on States and local governments to repeal vagrancy laws and legislation penalizing life-sustaining activities in public spaces, such as sleeping, living, begging or undertaking informal economic activities in public spaces for persons that have no other means for their own survival.
In many States persons experiencing homelessness, living in poverty or vulnerability are disproportionately subjected to fines, deportation, arbitrary arrest, or detention for petty offences or conduct that is necessary to survive, such as informal street vending, waste collection, sex work, begging, sleeping, cooking or eating in public places. Persons who are unable to pay fines for petty offences, such as riding public transport without a valid ticket, continue to be imprisoned in many countries. Such sanctions do not only raise human rights concerns; they also congest the criminal justice system with issues that should be better addressed by other measures and policies tackling the root causes of homelessness or poverty.
The Guiding Principles on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights (A/HRC/21/39), adopted by Human Rights Council resolution 21/11 in September 2012 underline that States should "repeal and reform any laws that criminalize life-sustaining activities in public places, such as sleeping, begging, eating or performing personal hygiene activities". Furthermore States should "review sanctions procedures that require the payment of disproportionate fines by persons living in poverty, especially those related to begging, use of public space and welfare fraud, and consider abolishing prison sentences for non-payment of fines for those unable to pay".
The Guidelines for the Implementation of the Right to Adequate Housing (A/HRC/43/43), specify that "States should prohibit and address discrimination on the ground of homelessness or other housing status and repeal all laws and measures that criminalize or penalize homeless people or behaviour associated with being homeless, such as sleeping or eating in public spaces. The forced eviction of homeless persons from public spaces and the destruction of their personal belongings must be prohibited. Homeless persons should be equally protected from interference with privacy and the home, wherever they are living." They further recommend: "States should provide, within their justice system, alternative procedures for dealing with minor offences of homeless people to help them break the cycle of criminalization, incarceration and homelessness and secure the right to housing."
Similarly in June 2020 the Human Rights Council called in resolution 43/14 on States to "take all measures necessary to eliminate legislation that criminalized homelessness."
The Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing and the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights invite States, local Governments, civil society organizations, National Human Rights Institutions, national associations working with the homeless, and other relevant stakeholders to submit (additional) information concerning the following issues:
Brazil: input | annex-1 | annex-2 | annex-3
Ecuador: input | annex-1 | annex-2 | annex-3 | annex-4 | annex-5, 2nd submission
Mexico: input | annex, 2nd submission
Portugal: input | annex, 2nd submission
Comisión de Derechos Humanos de la Ciudad de México
Ősterreichischer Städtebund / Austrian Association of Cities and Towns, Annex
National Association of Local Authorities in the Republic of Serbia
Ministerio Público de la Defensa de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires / Argentina: input, 2nd submission: input-1 | input-2
United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG)
Belgian Federal Institute for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights
Canadian Human Rights Commission
Comisión de Derechos Humanos de la Ciudad de México
Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines
Danish Institute for Human Rights
Defensoría del Pueblo de la Nación, Argentina
Human Rights and Equality Institution of Türkiye (HREIT)
Slovak Centre for Human Rights
South Africa Human Rights Commission
Ombudsman for Children in Sweden
Abbé Pierre Foundation / France
African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum
Ambidekster Klub and Centre for Peace Studies / Croatia
Amman Centre for Human Rights Studies / Jordan
Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD) / Bangladesh
Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Wohnungslosenhilfe / National Federation for the Homeless in Germany
Campaign to Decriminalize Poverty and Status / Africa
Canadian Drug Policy Coalition and Pivot Legal Society: input | annex
Child In Need Institute (CINI) / India
Consortium of Street Children Joint Submission
Consortium for Street Children, second submission
Deep Poverty Network / Open Space Foundation / Turkey
Derbyshire Gypsy Liaison Group / UK
ESADE, University Ramon Llull / Barcelona / Europe
Eurasian Coalition for Health, Rights, Gender and Sexual Diversity (ECOM)
Eurasian Harm Reduction Association and HIV Legal Network
Facts and Norms Institute - update
FEANTSA European Federation of Associations Working with the Homeless
Global Forum of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (GFOD)
Global Network of Sex Work Projects / UK
Group of Activists in Treatment (GAT) / Portugal
International Commission of Jurists
Kazakhstan Parliamentary Development Fund
Maat for Peace, Development, and Human Rights / Egypt
Mawjoudin for Equality / Tunisia
National Association of Democratic Lawyers (NADEL) / South Africa
Observatoire pour les Droits des Citoyens Itinérants / France, Annex
SOMOS Mulheres joint submission
Southern Poverty Law Center / USA: input | annex
The Connection at St. Martin's / UK
Utcajogász Egyesület Streetlawyer Association / Hungary
Women's Legal Centre / South Africa
Ambika Satkunanathan / Sri Lanka
American University, Department of Justice Law and Criminology
Dullah Omar Institute/South Africa
Jean Galbraith and Rheem Brooks
Sanidhya Mukund and Sanjwala Mukund