Women’s Housing Rights

Women’s Housing Rights

There are now in place a limited number of UN instruments which directly relate to housing rights and women.

The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women(CEDAW) adopted by the UN General Assembly (Resolution 34/180 of 18 December 1979) entered into force on 3 September 1981. Some 180 States are parties to the Convention as of March 2005. See www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/states.htm.

The Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, Miloon Kothari, was involved in preparing 3 reports on women and adequate housing. See:

UN Doc E/CN.4/2003/55 Women and adequate housing—Study by the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non- discrimination, Miloon Kothari, in accordance with Commission resolution 2002/49;

UN Doc. E/CN.4/2005/43, Women and adequate housing—Study by the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, Miloon Kothari;

 UN Doc. E/CN.4/2006/118, Women and adequate housing—Study by the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination, Miloon Kothari.

See also Irish Human Rights Commission, Submission of the Irish Human Rights Commission to the UN Committee ‌ on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.

There have been a number of UN resolutions on women and housing rights and these include the following which are available on the UNCHS website at www.unchs.org/programmes/housingrights/unhrp_resolutions.asp.

●The UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities resolution 1998/15, entitled “Women and the Right to Land, Property and Adequate Housing.” 86 UN Doc E/CN.4/SUB.2/RES/1998/15

 ●The UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities resolution 1997/19 entitled, “Women and the Right to Adequate Housing, Land and Property”,87 UN Doc E/CN.4/SUB.2/RES/1997/19.

● UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities resolution 1998/26 entitled, “Housing and Property Restitution in the Context of the return of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons”.88 UN Doc E/CN.4/SUB.2/RES/1998/26.

●Women’s equal ownership, access to and control over land and the equal rights to own property and to adequate housing - Commission on Human Rights resolution 2003/22.