Rapporteur Hails Canada’s “Historic” Decision to Recognize Right to Housing in New National Housing Strategy
GENEVA (23 November 2017) – The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to housing has commended Canada for announcing the
adoption of its first-ever national housing strategy.
“What makes this a truly historic moment is the Government’s acknowledgement that housing is a human right and its
intention to recognize this through a rights-based housing strategy as well as in legislation,” said Leilani Farha.
“This is a long-time coming – for years Canada has resisted repeated calls by UN bodies to address homelessness and
inadequate housing as an urgent human rights matter.”
“I am glad to see that the Government has now made a significant shift in its approach. It is finally moving toward a
more inclusive understanding of human rights, recognizing all people as rights holders, including those who live in
inadequate housing and those who are homeless.”
Ms. Farha added: “This is an important step that is in keeping with Canada’s commitment to the right to housing
contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the commitment Canada made in 1975 when it ratified the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.”
The Special Rapporteur described the national housing strategy as ambitious in scope, with significant resources
committed to it over 10 years, providing a broad range of programmes. It recognizes the continuum of housing
disadvantage, focuses on particularly vulnerable groups, and aims to address issues including homelessness, housing
affordability, inadequate housing conditions, and insufficient supply of social housing stock.
She is particularly encouraged by the announcement of two new bodies: a Federal Housing Advocate and a National Housing
Council. Though further details are to be determined, these positions offer the possibility of an independent
accountability and monitoring framework and provide an opportunity for affected groups to be heard on systemic issues of
concern in the area of housing.
“Homelessness is the most egregious violation of the right to housing and other human rights. I am disappointed by the
Government’s failure to commit to ending all forms of homelessness by 2030 in keeping with Goal 11 of the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs). Just two years after joining 192 other States in adopting the SDGs the Government seems to be
abandoning a key target. Canada is one of the wealthiest countries in the world with a strong economy, there is little
doubt that they could be real leaders in eliminating homelessness. I hope Canada will re-visit this before finalizing
the strategy.”
The Special Rapporteur’s next report to the Human Rights Council, scheduled for March 2018, will focus on human
rights-based housing strategies and is intended to assist States as they move forward in their efforts to implement the
commitments made in theSustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda.
ENDS
Ms. Leilani Farha (Canada) is the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context.
She took up her mandate in June 2014. Ms. Farha is the Executive Director of the NGO Canada without Poverty, based in
Ottawa, Canada. A lawyer by training, for the past 20 years Ms. Farha has worked both internationally and domestically
on the implementation of the right to adequate housing for the most marginalized groups and on the situation of people
living in poverty.
Follow the Special Rapporteur on twitter at: @adequatehousing, #Right2Housing #MakeTheShift
The Independent Experts are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system,
is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific
country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis;
they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or
organization and serve in their individual capacity.
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