Human Rights and Registration of Vital Events
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Right to Housing
THE RIGHT TO HOUSING If a person has a low opinion of himselfand is unhappy because he lives in a filthy, dilapidated,rat-infested house, you cannot tell him to apply positive thinking-and "Be Happy!" Happiness will begin to blossom only when he finds a way to get out of his physical trap into improved surroundings. Harold Cruse* I. INTRODUCTION Housing is basic to human survival. When properly constructed and maintained, it provides an essential element for life: shelter from the forces of nature. The 1949 Housing Act' recognized the importance of housing by enunciating the national goal of a "decent home and a suitable living envi- ronment for every American family." The impact of housing quality on so- cietal well being is undeniable. For example, the quality and character of the family living unit significantly affects the nature of organized family life.2 Moreover, poor housing has been shown to cause mental and physical illness and is a contributing factor to the cause of crime.3 The demonstrated importance of housing quality supports the assertion that the right to habitable housing is a personal interest which is "implicit in the concept of ordered liberty"4 and thereby deserving of constitutional pro- tection. Yet, in Lindsey v. Normet5 the Supreme Court held that access to housing of a particular quality is not a fundamental interest which requires application of a strict standard of review under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Thus, governmental action which curtails a person's ability to obtain habitable housing need only bear a rational rela- tionship to a permissible governmental objective.6 Because the range of per- missible governmental objectives is broad, a rational relationship can usually be established and a challenged governmental action upheld.7 * H. -
The Right to Emergency Accommodation in France and EU Equality Law Cécile Bénoliel
Articles 75 Universal Rights but Not for Everyone: The Right to Emergency Accommodation in France and EU Equality Law Cécile Bénoliel Lawyer, member of the French housing rights law network Jurislogement, formerly a law and advocacy officer at Abbé Pierre Foundation \ Abstract_ In the context of the refugee crisis that started in 2014 in Europe, many have denounced restrictions imposed on migrants’ fundamental rights. This article explores the striking example of the right to emergency accom- modation in France, and puts these developments into question in the framework of European equality law, asking whether and how they may contra- dict the prohibition of discrimination on the ground of race and ethnic origin under EU law. The apparent incapacity of the current EU equality framework to effectively question discriminatory aspects of this recent phenomenon is dangerous, and calls for an urgent common reflection. In light of critical legal studies, it poses a threat to the consistency and effectiveness of the anti- discrimination legal framework in Europe, on the one hand, and of the very nature of fundamental rights, on the other hand. What is at stake is the tackling by the law of phenomena that may be seen as pertaining to institutional and structural racism, at national and European levels. ISSN 2030-2762 / ISSN 2030-3106 online 76 European Journal of Homelessness _ Volume 14, No. 2_ 2020 Introduction Much ink has been spilled on the consequences of the refugee crisis that started in 2014 in terms of people’s rights. These consequences are now also denounced as a housing policy issue in an increasing number of European countries, 1 and the EU Commission’s Social Policy Network has recently published a report on the fight against homelessness, demonstrating attention to this issue and openly recognising the specific obstacles faced by the migrant homeless (Baptista and Marlier, 2019). -
Limiting the Right to Procreate: State V. Oakley and the Need for Strict Scrutiny of Probation Conditions
CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Seton Hall University Libraries LIMITING THE RIGHT TO PROCREATE: STATE V. OAKLEY AND THE NEED FOR STRICT SCRUTINY OF PROBATION CONDITIONS Devon A. Corneal∗ INTRODUCTION In August 2001, the Wisconsin Supreme Court touched off a national debate1 by upholding a probation condition placed on a man convicted of intentional failure to pay child support.2 The probation condition prohibited David W. Oakley from fathering children for the term of his probation unless he could prove that he was capable of supporting the nine children he had already fathered and any additional children he wanted to have.3 The ruling created a conflict between child welfare concerns and the fundamental right to ∗ J.D. Candidate, Seton Hall University School of Law; M.S. 1997, The Pennsylvania State University; B.A. 1994, The College of William and Mary. 1 State v. Oakley, 629 N.W.2d 200 (Wis. 2001). To see the breadth of coverage the case produced, as well as the countervailing policy and legal considerations, see Vivian Berger, Bedroom Sentence, NAT’L L.J., Sept. 17, 2001, at A21 (indicating that the ruling “illustrates the truth of the hoary maxim that hard cases make bad law”); Joan Biskupic, ‘Deadbeat Dad’ Told: No More Kids Wis. Court Backs Threat of Prison, USA TODAY, July 11, 2001, at 1A (stating that the decision was “likely to reverberate across the USA”); Dennis Chaptman, National Implications Seen in Ruling on Dad: Father of 9’s Attorney Considering Taking Case to U.S. -
Human Rights and Parliaments: Handbook for Members and Staff
HUMAN RIGHTS AND PARLIAMENTS: HANDBOOK FOR MEMBERS AND STAFF The Westminster Consortium Human Rights And Parliaments: Handbook For Members And Staff March 2011 HUMAN RIGHTS AND PARLIAMENTS: HANDBOOK FOR MEMBERS AND STAFF CONTENTS CONTENTS Acknowledgements 9 Foreword 11 The Westminster Consortium 13 This handbook 15 PART I 1. Introduction 17 Why human rights? 17 Good governance, the rule of law and human rights 18 Sharing responsibility: a democratic dialogue on rights 19 2. Protecting human rights 21 The international human rights legal framework 21 INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS INSTRUMENTS 21 RESERVATIONS AND DECLARATIONS: CAN STATES OPT-OUT OF MINIMUM HUMAN RIGHTS STANDARDS? 23 MAKING RIGHTS REAL 25 Supervision, monitoring and implementation of international human rights law 25 THE REPORTING PROCESS 25 ENFORCEMENT BY STATES PARTIES 28 INDIVIDUAL COMPLAINTS: THE RIGHT OF INDIVIDUAL PETITION 30 INDEPENDENT INQUIRIES BY UN TREATY BODIES 34 NATIONAL PROTECTION MECHANISMS 34 CONTENTS HUMAN RIGHTS AND PARLIAMENTS: HANDBOOK FOR MEMBERS AND STAFF OTHER UN STANDARDS 36 THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL 38 Regional protection of human rights 40 AFRICA 40 THE ARAB REGION 41 EUROPE 41 THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE 41 THE EUROPEAN SOCIAL CHARTER 42 THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE AND THE COMMIttEE FOR THE PREVENTION OF TORTURE 42 THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE COMMIssIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHts 43 THE CHARTER OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHts OF THE EUROPEAN UNION 43 Domestic protection of human rights 44 CONSTITUTIONAL BILLS OF RIGHTS 44 LIMITATIONS ON LEGISLATIVE OR EXECUTIVE POWER 46 COMPLIANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS 48 LEGISLATIVE PROTECTION AND REVIEW 49 3. What do human rights mean for States? 49 Who is the State? 49 4. -
Universal Suffrage Does Not Exist: If You Are a Foreign National, You Cannot Vote
CITIZENSHIP RIGHTS, VOTING RIGHTS, MIGRATION AND MOBILITY Universal suffrage does not exist: if you are a foreign national, you cannot vote Alba Cuevas A young migrant waiting to regularize his situation shows his passport of origin. Photography by Jordi Borràs Racism is a form of exclusion, segregation, discrimination and aggression on the basis of ethnic or national origin, skin colour, religious belief or cultural practices. It is not just an ideology: it is also a systematic and routine practice that seeks to maintain a power structure. Introduction Racism and denial of rights Racism manifests itself in institutional relationships and also in daily life; it is produced and reproduced constantly. It is structural, deeply rooted in a past of slavery, plunder, usurpation, domination and exploitation within the context of colonial modernity [1]. Racism is present in many aspects and areas of many people’s lives, and always constitutes the infringement and/or restriction of a right, including the right to be recognised as equal to others, the right to dignity, the right to access and/or exercise other rights such as PÀGINA 1 / 9 employment rights, the right to housing, the right to live with one’s family, and more. It is also an infringement of political and participatory rights, such as the right to vote and stand for elected office. Infringement of the political rights of the foreign population [2] Civil and political rights are fundamental rights, and therefore play a key role in the comprehensive personal development of the individual. They are also closely related to the development of a sense of belonging, of forming part of a political and social community, and have a political and transformative content, which, in turn, impacts on the individual’s willingness to involve themselves in collective activities. -
The DC Right to Housing Campaign Meetali Jain
Human Rights Brief Volume 17 | Issue 3 Article 2 2010 Bringing Human Rights Home: The DC Right to Housing Campaign Meetali Jain Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/hrbrief Part of the Housing Law Commons, and the Human Rights Law Commons Recommended Citation Jain, Meetali. "Bringing Human Rights Home: The DC Right to Housing Campaign." Human Rights Brief 17, no.3 (2010): 10-14. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Washington College of Law Journals & Law Reviews at Digital Commons @ American University Washington College of Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Human Rights Brief by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ American University Washington College of Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Jain: Bringing Human Rights Home: The DC Right to Housing Campaign Bringing Human Rights Home: The DC Right to Housing Campaign by Meetali Jain* Housing is not simply about bricks and mortar, nor is it simply a financial asset. Housing includes a sense of community, trust and bonds built between neighbor- hoods over time; the schools which educate the child; and the businesses which the local economy and pro- vide needed goods and services. — Raquel Rolnik, UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing1 he United Nations Centre for Human Settlements esti- mates that globally over one billion people live in inad- Tequate housing, with an excess of 100 million people liv- ing in conditions classified as homelessness. Here in the District of Columbia, a city with the widest income gap between rich and poor of any city in the country, we do not need to look further than our backyard to bear witness to the truth of these statistics.2 Washington, D.C. -
A Right to Housing
P1: FAW/FAW P2: FAW GRBT106-INTRO GRBT106-Bratt December 7, 2005 15:37 Char Count= 0 Rachel G. Bratt, Michael E. Stone and Chester Hartman WhyaRight to Housing Is Needed and MakesSense: Editors’ Introduction IT IS UNCONSCIONABLE that in the larger fissures between the nation’s richest and 21st century, upwards of 100 million people in most of the rest of us—but most especially the theUnitedStatesliveinhousingthatisphysically poorest among us—disparities that have a clear inadequate, in unsafe neighborhoods, over- racial dimension as well and that make true crowded or way beyond what they realistically democracy impossible. can afford. Yet it could be quite different. We Just over 60 years ago, in his 1944 State of the could and should guarantee high-quality, truly Union address to Congress, President Franklin affordablehousingin“good”neighborhoodsfor Delano Roosevelt declared that economic secu- all and thus finally achieve the National Housing rity is a necessary ingredient for a democratic Goal of “a decent home and a suitable living en- society. He further asserted that there was a need vironment for every American family,” as artic- for a whole series of economic and social rights, ulated by Congress over a half-century ago in the including a Right to Housing. This is part of his 1949 Housing Act and reaffirmed in subsequent message: legislative initiatives.1 This book embraces the view that a commitment to a Right to Housing We havecometoaclearrealizationofthefactthat should be the foundation not only for housing true individual freedom cannot exist without policy but also for a new social agenda. economic security and independence. -
The Works of Mercy and Human Rights
The Works of Mercy and Human Rights Our vision A global community in which the dignity of every person is respected; resources are shared equitably; the environment is sustained; and nations and peoples live in peace. Our mission We are a Franciscan voice at the United Nations protecting the vulnerable, the forgotten, and the wounded earth through advocacy. A Reflection on the “Mandala” of Saint Nicolas of Flue This “Mandala” was created in the 15th Century based on the insights of Saint Nicolas of Flue (1417-1487), who was canonized shortly after the Second World War and proclaimed Patron Saint of Peace. The images of the mandala are sequenced according to the pleas of the “Our Father.” Its structure is that of a wheel which symbolizes the passing of time, and the history of the world and of humanity. God, the Unmoved Mover, is the center of the wheel and at the same time takes part in the different scenes. Through God’s action, history of the world becomes that of salvation. However, humans are not just the “objects” of salvation. They take active part in salvation, as “subjects,” with their acts of mercy. Just 70 years ago, after the horrific experiences of the First and Second World Wars, the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, with the hope that this action would prevent such horrors from ever occurring again. Mercy and human rights are interdependent. Without the recognition of the rights of humanity, mercy can be humiliating. Without mercy, rights can be loveless. Yet, both are rooted in human dignity which is unconditional and inalienable for each and every human being. -
Indigenous Peoples' Right to Adequate Housing
Indigenous peoples’ right to adequate housing A global overview United Nations Housing Rights Programme Report No. 7 United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Nairobi, 2005 This publication has been reproduced without formal editing by the United Nations. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the United Nations Secretariat concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Reference to names of firms and commercial products and processes does not imply their endorsement by the United Nations, and a failure to mention a particular firm, commercial product or process is not a sign of disapproval. Excerpts from the text may be reproduced without authorization, on condition that the source is indicated. Cover design: Sukhjinder Bassan, UN-HABITAT. Cover photo credits: Miriam Lopez Villegas. Printing: UNON Printshop, Nairobi. UN-HABITAT Nairobi, 2005. HS/734/05E ISBN 92-1-131713-4 (printed version) ISBN 92-1-131522-0 (electronic version) ISBN 92-1-131664-2 (UNHRP report series, printed version) ISBN 92-1-131513-1 (UNHRP report series, electronic version) An electronic version of this publication is available for download from the UN-HABITAT web-site at (http://www.unhabitat.org/unhrp/pub). The electronic version – in compiled HTML format, allowing complex text searches – requires Microsoft Windows 98 or later; or Microsoft Windows 95 plus Microsoft Internet Explorer (version 4 or later). -
Inter-American Convention on Protecting the Human Rights of Older Persons
INTER-AMERICAN CONVENTION ON PROTECTING THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF OLDER PERSONS INTER-AMERICAN CONVENTION ON PROTECTING THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF OLDER PERSONS PREAMBLE The States Parties to the present Convention, Recognizing that unqualified respect for human rights has been enshrined in the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and reaffirmed in other international and regional instruments; Reiterating the intention of consolidating, within the framework of democratic institutions, a system of individual liberty and social justice founded upon respect for the fundamental rights of persons; Bearing in mind that, pursuant to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the American Convention on Human Rights, the ideal of a free human being, free from fear and poverty can only be achieved if conditions are created that enable each individual to enjoy their economic, social, and cultural rights, as well as their civil and political rights; Reaffirming that all human rights and fundamental freedoms are universal, indivisible, interdependent, and interrelated, as well as the obligation to eliminate all forms of discrimination, in particular, discrimination for reasons of age; Underscoring that older persons have the same human rights and fundamental freedoms as other persons and that those rights, including the right not to be subjected to age-based discrimination nor any form of violence, are rooted in the dignity and equality inherent in all human beings; Recognizing also that, as a -
Cps Rights of Children and Youth in Foster Care Child Protective Services (Cps)-Permanency Division
Form K-908-2530 Revised March 2017 CPS RIGHTS OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH IN FOSTER CARE CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES (CPS)-PERMANENCY DIVISION Purpose: Children and Youth in the conservatorship of DFPS must be provided with a copy of the CPS Rights of Children and Youth in Foster Care. Directions: The caseworker must provide a copy of the CPS Rights of Children and Youth In Foster Care (Rights) to all children and youth in CPS foster care no later than 72 hours from the date they come into care and when a placement change is made. The caseworker must review these Rights with the child or youth. Upon completion of the review, the caseworker must have the child or youth sign on the appropriate signature line and attach the Rights to the Child's Plan of Service (CPOS). The reviewed and signed Rights must be attached to the initial and any subsequent reviews of the CPOS. The child or youth must receive a copy of the Rights and a copy must be placed in the case file as well. CHILD'S INFORMATION Child/Youth Full Name Child’s Date of Birth Date: Placement Name and Address: Note if the child/youth is unable to sign and the reason. CHILD'S RIGHTS AS A CHILD OR YOUTH IN FOSTER CARE I HAVE THE RIGHT TO: SAFETY AND CARE 1. Be told: Why am I in foster care? What will happen to me? What is happening to my family (including brothers and sisters)? How is CPS planning for my future? 2. Good care and treatment that meets my needs in the most family-like setting possible. -
ADJUDICATING the HUMAN RIGHT to ADEQUATE HOUSING Analysis of Important Judgments from Indian High Courts
ADJUDICATING THE HUMAN RIGHT TO ADEQUATE HOUSING Analysis of Important Judgments from Indian High Courts HOUSING AND LAND RIGHTS NETWORK Adjudicating the Human Right to Adequate Housing Analysis of Important Judgments from Indian High Courts 01 Suggested Citation: Adjudicating the Human Right to Adequate Housing: Analysis of Important Judgments from Indian High Courts, Housing and Land Rights Network, New Delhi, 2019 Conceptual Framework, Analysis, and Editing: Shivani Chaudhry and Miloon Kothari Legal Research and Analysis: Aishwarya Ayushmaan [with inputs from Ikshaku Bezbaroa for the initial draft] Published by: Housing and Land Rights Network G-18/1 Nizamuddin West Lower Ground Floor New Delhi – 110 013, INDIA +91-11-4054-1680 [email protected] www.hlrn.org.in New Delhi, April 2019 ISBN: 978-81-935672-2-7 This publication is printed on CyclusPrint based on 100% recycled fibres ADJUDICATING THE HUMAN RIGHT TO ADEQUATE HOUSING Analysis of Important Judgments from Indian High Courts HOUSING AND LAND RIGHTS NETWORK ii Housing and Land Rights Network PREFACE “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” ~ Theodore Parker While justice should be an inherent component of the law and, incontestably, is its end, in many parts of the world, law and justice, unfortunately, are not synonymous. Even where just laws exist, they are often not implemented, or selectively used. The judiciary, too, does not always ensure the uniform administration of justice. However, for the poor and marginalized, who find their rights being violated by state and non-state actors, the judiciary, at times, is the only hope for the pursuit of justice.