More than one billion people around the world do not have adequate housing. How far does human rights law help to remedy this problem? What measures must governments take to protect people against housing rights violations? What are the strengths and weaknesses of human rights law in the housing area? Is the current law enough, or are new laws necessary?
These and many other questions are addressed in the various chapters contained in National Perspectives on Housing Rights. While most coverage of economic, social and cultural rights has tended to focus on international standards and principles, this book examines the more challenging question of how housing rights are implemented at the national and local level. Chapters from recognised housing rights practitioners from Brazil, Canada, India, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Philppines, South Africa, the US and elsewhere provide some of the first national-level legal analyses of the implementation of housing rights standards recognised under international law.
A foreword by Nelson Mandela and a preface by international legal scholar Professor Philip Alston provide interesting perspectives on the fundamental role of housing rights within the broader human rights field.