Housing The right to adequate housing is enshrined in the International Covenant on Social and Cultural Rights (IESCR), the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Participants of the fono stated that rents were too high, especially in Auckland. In turn, this affects their ability to find adequate accommodation, with many having to live in overcrowded and sub-standard conditions, often under insecure tenancies. With the cost of rent being a major issue, the idea of home ownership itself was a goal viewed as out of reach for most participants. A report by Statistics New Zealand estimated that between 1986 and 2013, the percentage of Pacific people who lived in an owner-occupied dwelling had fallen from 50.8 percent to 33.1 percent.108 Ministry of Social Development data showed at March 2020, 2210 Pacific peoples were on the social housing register. Significant research has been done to understand the issues that Pacific peoples face regarding access to stable, healthy, affordable and appropriate housing. The following infographic draws out the key statistics from reports by MBIE, Auckland Council and the Welfare Expert Advisory Group. In its 2018 report, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights reported its ongoing concern for Pacific peoples and the risk of experiencing severe housing deprivation, including overcrowding. It recommended that the New Zealand government: “Step up its efforts to increase the availability of quality affordable housing, paying particular attention to low-income, Māori and Pasifika families, persons with disabilities and older persons, and allocate the necessary resources for the effective implementation of the KiwiBuild programme.” In February 2020, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing undertook a visit to Aotearoa New Zealand to explore the challenges and opportunities in realising and protecting the human right to adequate housing. Her End 108 109 39,384 PACIFIC PEOPLE REPORTED LIVING IN A DAMP HOUSE 39% PACIFIC HOUSEHOLDS REPORTED BEING IN CROWDED OR SEVERLY CROWDED HOUSES 71% OF ALL PACIFIC HOUSEHOLDS ARE RENTED of Mission Statement noted that Māori, Pacific peoples and other ethnic communities, persons with disabilities, single-parents (particularly single mothers), youth and children, and those living in poverty were among the groups experiencing the housing crisis most acutely.109 The Special Rapporteur also highlighted that the 2013 census provided a staggering picture, that 32 percent of homeless were Māori and 29 percent were Pacific peoples. She also noted that Pacific peoples, along with other minorities, experienced racial discrimination in the rental market, making access to private rental accommodation very difficult. While her End of Mission Statement did not make any recommendations specific to Pacific peoples, the recommendations generally highlight the need for the government to adopt a rights-based approach to housing to address the crisis. Statistics New Zealand (2014) Changes in Home Ownership Patters, 1986-2013: A focus on Maori and Pacific peoples. End of Mission Statement, Visit of the Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing to New Zealand, 19 February 2020. 31