A Report to The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights with Concluding Observations of the Committee: India (May 2008) Coordinated by Housing and Land Rights Network - HABITAT INTERNATIONAL COALITION Compiled by: Shivani Chaudhry Published by: Housing and Land Rights Network - South Asia Regional Programme Habitat International Coalition A-1 Nizamuddin East, Lower Ground Floor New Delhi - 110 013, INDIA Phone/Fax : +91 (0) 11 2435 8492 E-mail : [email protected] Website : www.hic-sarp.org Design and Printing: Akhil Art Printers, New Delhi, # (+91) 9811293898 March 2009 New Delhi ISBN: 978-81-902569-0-2 This publication may be used, translated or distributed with appropriate credits. Update March 2009 A Report to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights with Concluding Observations of the Committee: India (May 2008) and New Reporting Guidelines of the Committee (March 2009) South Asia Regional Programme Housing and Land Rights Network HABITAT INTERNATIONAL COALITION Table of Contents Introduction.......................................................................................................................................1 Background.......................................................................................................................................4 Key Issues of Concern.......................................................................................................................5 Inadequate Housing and Living Conditions in Urban and Rural Areas.............................5 Slums and Informal Settlements.......................................................................................6 Housing Shortage............................................................................................................8 Forced Evictions and Displacement.................................................................................9 Homelessness................................................................................................................19 Street Children.............................................................................................................. 20 Denial of Dalits' Rights to Adequate Housing and Land.................................................21 Landlessness..................................................................................................................24 Discrimination and Denial of Women's Equal Rights to Adequate Housing, Land, Property and Inheritance................................................................................................25 Inadequate Rehabilitation of Tsunami Survivors.............................................................27 Plight of Internally Displaced in Gujarat........................................................................30 Annex I: Concluding Observations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: May 2008, INDIA .....................................................33 Annex II: Concluding Observations of other United Nations Treaty Bodies on India that relate to the human rights to adequate housing and land.................48 Annex III: Saxena Report to the Supreme Court of India (In the Case: PUCL vs UOI & Ors., Writ Petition (Civil) No. 196 of 2001)................................52 Annex IV: List of Endorsing Organizations............................................................................55 Annex V: New Reporting Guidelines for State Parties from the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights............................................56 Introduction Universal human rights are often expressed and guaranteed by law, in the form of treaties, customary international law, general principles and other sources of international law. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) (1948) firmly established the basic civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights that all human beings must enjoy. The UDHR, together with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its two Optional Protocols, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and its recently adopted Optional Protocol, form the so-called "International Bill of Human Rights". International human rights law lays down obligations of governments. By becoming parties to international treaties, States assume obligations and duties under international law. These international human rights instruments consist of three types of State obligations: respect, protection and fulfilment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals or groups. The obligation to respect means that States must refrain from interfering with or curtailing the enjoyment of human rights. The obligation to protect requires States to protect individuals and groups against human rights abuses. The obligation to fulfil means that States must take positive action to facilitate the enjoyment of basic human rights. Through ratification of international human rights treaties, governments undertake to put into place domestic measures and legislation compatible with their treaty obligations and duties. Where national legal systems fail to address human rights abuses, mechanisms and procedures for individual complaints or communications are available at the regional and international levels to help ensure that international human rights standards are indeed respected, implemented, and enforced at the local level.1 Each international human rights treaty has a special body assigned to facilitate its monitoring and implementation. These bodies meet regularly and conduct reviews of States' compliance with their legal treaty obligations and also assess progress of States in respecting, protecting and fulfilling the human rights of their citizens. The Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (hereafter the Committee) is the body responsible for monitoring State compliance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), 1966. As State Party to ICESCR,2 India is obliged to report to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights every five years. Article 16 of the ICESCR requires State parties to submit periodic reports on “the measures they have adopted and the progress made in achieving the observance of the rights recognised” in the Covenant. After submitting its initial report, India failed to meet its reporting requirements. After a lapse of almost two decades, the Government of India finally submitted its combined second, third, fourth and fifth periodic report to the Committee in October 2006.3 This led to India's review at the United Nations by the Committee on 7 and 8 May 2008 in Geneva. 1. Adapted from the website of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (www2.ohchr.org) 2. India ratified the Covenant on 10 July 1979. 3. Combined second, third, fourth and fifth periodic report of India, E/C.12/IND/5, 1 March 2007. Available online at: www2.ohchr.org 1 Civil society groups, including the Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN) also submitted “parallel reports” to the Committee in order to supplement, complete, and where necessary, counter information provided in the Government report.4 These reports helped inform Committee members about the reality of human rights in India.5 Following the review of India's economic, social and cultural rights record in May 2008, the Committee issued a statement of concerns and recommendations to the Government of India in the form of “Concluding Observations.”6 These Concluding Observations contain concrete proposals for the implementation of economic, social and cultural rights, and cover among other issues, those related to housing, displacement, forced evictions, livelihood, food security, post-tsunami rehabilitation, discrimination, women's equal rights, and social security. The importance of monitoring and reporting on human rights is also explained and reiterated in General Comments 1, 2 and 3 of the Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights.7 Potential Uses of the Concluding Observations Apart from being used to pressure government officials and agencies to implement the recommendations contained therein, and holding government officials accountable for their national and international legal obligations, the Concluding Observations could also be used to: v Monitor governance as well as practices of all involved parties (including the corporate sector, public sector, and government) with the aim of ensuring compliance with national and international law. v Generate awareness amongst government and non-government agencies and actors on India's obligation to respect, promote and fulfil economic, social and cultural rights. v Generate awareness on the ICESCR and General Comments issued by the Committee. v Improve practices and policies of different actors, including government officials, municipal authorities, corporate sector representatives, law enforcement agencies, and others. v Inform national and local laws and policies to ensure compliance with human right guaranteed and protected by the ICESCR. v Assist law enforcement agencies (including the judiciary and human rights commissions) in interpreting and implementing national and international law. v Promote human rights education among all sectors of society. v Mobilize civil society groups to monitor India's human rights record. v Assist in the preparation of the next round of civil society parallel reports. The Concluding Observations of the Committee on Economic,