29 May 1987

18th plenary meeting

Realization of the right to adequate housing

The Economic and Social Council,

Recalling General Assembly resolution 37/221 of 20 December 1982, in which the Assembly proclaimed the year 1987 International Year of Shelter for the Homeless,

Recognizing the objectives of the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless,

Recognizing that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provide that all persons have the right to an adequate standard of living for themselves and their families, including adequate housing, and that States should take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of that right,

Recognizing that the provision of housing for the homeless is an integral part of national economic and social development and represents an important step towards the realization of the right to development,

Noting that the objectives of the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless are closely related to the realization of the economic, social and cultural rights set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,

Recalling its resolution 1986/41 of 23 May 1986,

Taking into account General Assembly resolution 41/146 of 4 December 1986, in which the Assembly requested the Economic and Social Council to give special attention during the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless to the question of the realization of the right to adequate housing,

Also taking into account Commission on Human Rights resolution 1987/22 of 10 March 1987,

1. Expresses its deep concern that millions of people do not enjoy the right to adequate housing;

2. Reiterates the need to take appropriate measures, at the national and international levels, to promote the right of all persons to an adequate standard of living for themselves and their families, including adequate housing;

3. Calls upon all States and international organizations concerned to pay special attention to the realization of the right to adequate housing in carrying out measures for the observance of the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless, inter#alia, by developing shelter strategies and settlement improvement programmes;

4. Invites all States, in their reports on the implementation of the goals and objectives of the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless, to devote a special section to the national measures and actions they have taken to promote the realization of the right to adequate housing;

5. Decides to appraise, at its first regular session of 1988, the results of efforts to realize the right to adequate housing during the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless;

6. Invites the General Assembly to pay due attention to the question at its forty-second session.