THIS IS A chronology of United Nations activity in the housing field and includes a brief history of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Fifty years ago it was set as a far reaching and innovative international standard, and still remains the cornerstone of a much more developed system of international human rights law. However, the promises of this statement have fallen short in terms of fulfilment, and human rights abuses are commonplace. Blind praise of the declaration is inappropriate although it does clarify the content of human rights and provides a way in which all governments and people must view the human person, recognizing all dimensions of what has often been referred to as the right to a full and free life.

In Article 25, the declaration asserts – for the first time in any international agreement – that people have a right to adequate housing: “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well being ... including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services ...” Although slightly different terminology has been used through the decades since the 1948 declaration, the right to adequate housing has been recognized in many subsequent international, regional and national instruments. Within the UN these include;
• the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees in 1951;
• the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in
1965;
• the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 1966;
• the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1979;
• the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989.

The housing right provisions of Article 11(1) of the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights are the most legally significant universal provisions recognizing these rights. It asserts that nations signing this treaty “...recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living ... including adequate food, clothing and housing” and they “...will take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right.” In the current year (2000), 140 nations have ratified this Covenant.

This report chronicles in outline form half a century of UN activity on housing rights. It provides a comprehensive overview of how, when and by what method this international organization has been working towards assuring that all of humanity understands, implements and enjoys human rights, including the fundamental right to a safe and secure place to live with peace and dignity.