HIC Bulletin, March 2008

In this edition:

1. UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing end of mandate
2. HIC’s support Raquel Rolnik’s candidature for Special Rapporteur on adequate housing
3. Analysis of the Act Together - Housing for All Campaign
4. HIC Meetings in Barcelona 2008: General Assembly, Board Meetings and Strategic Development Workshops
5. Summary of the main themes of the Women and Housing Rights:
   Building Habitat for Human Dignity International Seminar
6. Renew your membership dues today!
   
   

Miloon Kothari, 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, introducing his report, said that the creation of his mandate had permitted better exposure of these rights. It had also made the indivisibility between all human rights even more obvious. He was happy to report that adequate housing was now increasingly recognized by courts as a distinct and fully justifiable right. He hoped that the work of the past seven years had convinced all members of the Council that without the recognition of this right, many other human rights would remain unfulfilled. The realization of the right to adequate housing encountered numerous problems. It was essential to recognize the right to adequate housing through legislation policy and through budgetary commitment. States should devise strategies to ensure the implementation of the right to adequate housing.

Source: Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights.
See the Final Statement of Miloon Kothari here 
(http://hic-net.org/news.asp?PID=587)

Click here to download pdf format
(www.hic-net.org/content/statement-miloon-kothari.pdf )

Habitat International Coalition would like to congratulate Raquel Rolnik for her nomination for the United Nations 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.

She has been officially nominated by the President of the U.N. Human Rights Council for this position and will be presented for approval by the Council on the 25th of March.

As we’ve stated to the Council, we are very satisfied with this decision since we feel Raquel Rolnik is most qualified for this position. She is from a country from the south and has a global perspective. She also has a long history of direct commitment  to the social struggles and processes.

Click here to see full text http://hic-net.org/news.asp?PID=569

Click here to view the complete analysis of the 4 month campaign. (http://hic-net.org/news.asp?PID=583)

The HIC Board Meetings 2008 took place in Barcelona (Spain) in the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (www.uoc.edu), which provided state of the art infrastructure and sufficient space for simultaneous translation booths. The meetings began on the 8th of February with a thorough revision of institutional themes and matters of the Coalition’s processes and initiatives of 2007.  The following day each HIC Structure presented their annual reports, allowing other regional and thematic representatives know what HIC initiatives are being made globally and how they can complement and participate in them through a HIC Global Strategy (http://hic-net.org/about.asp). On day 3 and 4, the HIC Board and the members present began the Strategic Development Workshop with the objective of reviewing and polishing HIC’s global strategic direction. Working groups were created to address and define the different strategic lines and objectives of the Coalition.  These groups worked ceaselessly to create working plans for each theme.
On the 12th of February, the General Assembly was successfully carried out. To see a summary, click here (http://hic-net.org/articles.asp?PID=833).

Click here to see pictures:
Online photos (Picasa)
Photographic Dossier of Board meeting (1MB)

Habitat International Coalition participated and co-organized the Women and Housing Rights: Building Habitat for Human Dignity International Seminar which took place in Barcelona. Click here to see more details (http://hic-net.org/foro/body_es.asp)

* Women and access to housing resources: strategies for equitable access to housing and land. This thematic area will address the impact of the multiple discriminations that women face regarding access to resources, water and an adequate environment, land and housing.
* Violence against women and the right to adequate to housing: strategies to face evictions, armed conflicts, urban reforms, mega-projects and domestic violence against women. This thematic area will discuss the many forms of violence against women regarding their housing rights and their right to not be arbitrarily evicted, both in the domestic and urban sphere.
* Women and management of the territory: strategies for democratic management of housing and resources. This thematic area addresses the issues related to housing rights and the gender perspective regarding women’s access to justice, women’s participation in politics and women’s participation in urban planning and city management.

Click here to see pictures of the Seminar:
Photographic Dossier (4.4 MB)

In order to renew your membership, you should update your organization’s contact and thematic information on the online service we have improved for this purpose as soon as possible! You can access this service here (http://www.hic-net.org/membership).

Remember that annual dues should be paid to HIC.

The annual contribution is determined by a sliding scale related to the budget of your organization or to your personal income as HIC friend. To make the payment please consult this website (http://www.hic-net.org/joinFees.asp) or contact marie@hic-net.org.