MARKETS ALONE CANNOT PROVIDE ADEQUATE HOUSING FOR ALL, SAYS UN EXPERT

MARKETS ALONE CANNOT PROVIDE ADEQUATE HOUSING FOR ALL, SAYS UN EXPERT
New York, Mar 9 2009 9:00PM

The over-reliance on private home ownership that contributed to the sub-prime mortgage crisis and the subsequent global financial meltdown highlights the need to view housing through the lens of human rights and not just as a commodity, the United Nations independent expert on adequate housing said today.

"While political discussions are ongoing, I believe it is important to consider the linkage of the crisis with human rights, especially to look at the causes of the crisis and avoid repeating the same mistakes in any new national and global agenda," said Special Rapporteur Raquel Rolnik, who presented a report to the Human Rights Council on the financial crisis, its causes and its relation to the right to adequate housing.

"One of the fundamental errors has been to consider housing only as a commodity and an investment asset," she told the 47-member body in Geneva, underscoring that that the provision of adequate housing for all can not be left solely in the hands of private housing and financial capital markets.

As private loans and mortgages were the only option open to most people who needed a place to live, Ms. Rolnik noted that "credits were attributed by the private sector to households that – in normal circumstances – would not be eligible for loans."

As a result, not only did private companies' risk increase, but also "low-income households were made even more vulnerable to economic and financial changes," she added.

In her report, the expert also argued that the reduction in the amount of public housing made available by the State had a significant impact on people in need of affordable accommodation, especially those that could not afford market prices and mortgages.

She noted that rapid increases in the price of housing led to excessive borrowing and the ensuing expansion of the financial system.

"The 'biggest bubble in history' was foreseen, but little or nothing was done by Governments to prevent it," Ms. Rolnik, an architect and urban planner with extensive experience in the area of housing and urban policies, said in a press release.

Since the so-called bubble has burst, the financial crisis has resulted in housing becoming even less affordable for many people around the world, she noted.

"It is a blunt reminder that it is not just the poor, but also low- and increasingly middle-income groups, who find it difficult to raise enough money to buy or rent adequate housing," said Ms. Rolnik.

"I believe that the current crisis represents an opportunity for reflection, and to consider how to improve housing systems, policies and programmes so as to ensure adequate housing to all."
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MALDIVES: CLIMATE CHANGE THREATENS RIGHT TO HOUSING, SAYS UN EXPERT

MALDIVES: CLIMATE CHANGE THREATENS RIGHT TO HOUSING, SAYS UN EXPERT
New York, Feb 26 2009 12:00PM

Rising sea levels and coastal erosion, both wrought by climate change, threaten the viability of Maldives, but overcrowding and other impacts are already felt by the island nation's 300,000 people, a United Nations independent expert cautioned today.

After an eight-day visit to country, Raquel Rolnik, Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, said that "Maldives and its Atolls, because of their unique geological and topographic aspects and their fragile and delicate environmental system, are already experiencing the impacts of climate change."

This jeopardizes the survival of the nation, which could be inundated by water, but more immediately, it jeopardizes the right to housing due to the scarcity of land.

Ms. Rolnik stressed the responsibility of the international community to urgently support adaptation strategies, noting that "the post-2004 Indian Ocean tsunami reconstruction process in Maldives can be a source of precious lessons."

Over the past four years, donors and agencies have mobilized over $400 million in aid, but the Rapporteur voiced concern over the allocation of the resources and their management by Maldivian authorities.

"In the new resettlement sites that I visited, I detected a lack of participation in the decision-making process concerning relocation, the design of new houses and the infrastructure, which resulted in new structures that were not always compatible with the livelihood of the communities," she said.

Additionally, the expert noted that the tsunami may have been used by authorities as an opportunity to relocate communities, which has provoked serious conflicts. Today, there are still 3,500 people uprooted by the 2004 disaster who are still living in temporary shelters.

The reconstruction process has also resulted in a surge in the price of construction materials, putting upward pressure on rental prices and aggravating overcrowding.

Over 80,000 migrants from Bangladesh and other South Asian countries live in Maldives, with half of them working in the construction sector, and the Rapporteur said she was concerned over their housing and living conditions.

She called for a "human rights-based approach" to address the housing situation in the country, calling for the Government and international organizations to promote public participation in making key decisions.

Ms. Rolnik, who reports to the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council, took up her post last May and serves in an independent and unpaid capacity, as do all Special Rapporteurs.
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