The Mission

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing, Raquel Rolnik, made an official visit to the United States  between October 23rd and November 6th, 2009. It was the first official mission to the United States by a United Nations Special Rapporteur on Housing.  The Special Rapporteur focused primarily on concerns around public housing and Section 8 (social housing), homelessness, and the foreclosure crisis.  She made official visits to Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, and Washington, DC.  The New Orleans visit was a follow-up to the recent International Advisory Group on Forced Evictions fact-finding mission there.  During her time in Washington, DC she met with federal officials, including individuals from the Obama administration and congressional members.  She will draft a report of findings to be released in March of next year.

The Special Rapporteur is appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on the housing situation of a given country.  The general objectives of this visit were:

(a) to examine and report on the status of the realization of housing rights in the United States, with particular attention to aspects of gender equality, non-discrimination and the protection of the poor, the vulnerable and minorities;

(b) to engage in dialogues with the U.S. government, United Nations and intergovernmental agencies and civil society in their efforts to secure these rights;

(c) to identify practical solutions and best practices in the realization of rights relevant to the mandate; and
(d) to follow up on relevant concluding observations made by treaty bodies and other international bodies and assess their impacts on policies adopted by the U.S.

The National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI) and the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty coordinated the visit. NESRI facilitated planning of the city visits and NLCHP facilitated the meeting in Washington, D.C. and collected testimony (both written and video) from communities where the Special Rapporteur was unable to visit.

For more information on the U.S. mission, please select from one of the following:

Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing Mission Objectives

Campaign to Restore National Housing Rights Mission Objectives

National Itinerary

National Policy Position Paper

Primer on National Housing Issues

The Special Rapporteur’s Preliminary Findings

NESRI Press Statement on Conclusion of UN Special Rapporteur Mission

“Next Steps” Video on Vimeo