Summary

In the present report, submitted in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 52/10, the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context, elaborates on the challenges faced by migrants crossing international borders, including refugees, asylum-seekers and victims of trafficking in persons, in exercising their right to adequate housing. 

While everyone is entitled to enjoy the right to adequate housing on equal grounds regardless of migration status, migrants continue to experience housing conditions that are worse compared with those of nationals, as they are victims of discriminatory anti-migrant policies, racism and xenophobia that push them farther to the margins of society. The report challenges political and popular narratives that scapegoat migrants for worsening the global housing crisis. Far from being responsible for the housing crisis in countries around the world, migrants are often victims of the same crisis, which has other, unrelated root causes. 

Recalling international standards at the intersection of housing and migration, the Special Rapporteur elaborates on the barriers faced by migrants, and points to strategies that have proven successful in overcoming many of those barriers. The report contains recommendations for improving access to adequate housing for all migrants and a call for a global political response, building on recent international commitments, without which very little progress is possible.