Obligations and violations Progressively realised over time International human rights law allows for the full implementation of the right to a decent home to be realised over time. Progressive realisation, however, is not an excuse for government to avoid or delay implementation of binding international legal obligations. The United Nations has confirmed that the government is required to take “steps which are deliberate, concrete and targeted as clearly as possible towards” realisation of the right to a decent home. How to measure progressive realisation: indicators and benchmarks The United Nations has also confirmed that progressive realisation of the right to a decent home should be tracked by using indicators and benchmarks. The indicators are broken down into areas of prohibited discrimination, such as ethnicity, disability, gender and age. By way of Tiriti partnership and a consultative process, attention should be given to identifying suitable national indicators for the right to a decent home in Aotearoa. The indicators will have to reflect Te Ao Māori, tikanga and Te Tiriti. Core obligations of immediate effect The United Nations recognises that some features of the right to a decent home are so important they are deemed core obligations of immediate effect i.e. these features are not subject to progressive realisation over time. By way of Tiriti partnership and a consultative process, attention should be given to elaborating these core obligations for the right to a decent home in Aotearoa. A human rights approach to policy making The human right to a decent home is subject to resource availability. Even high-income countries, such as Aotearoa, cannot avoid difficult decisions about resource allocation. Prioritisation and trade-offs are common features of every approach to policy making. The human rights approach grounded on Te Tiriti is distinctive because of the conditions it imposes on the policy making process. The Guidelines outline the conditions that apply to policy making in relation to the right to a decent home grounded on Te Tiriti. Obligations to respect, protect and fulfil human rights Human rights give rise to different types of obligations, widely known as obligations to respect, protect and fulfil. Understanding that human rights give rise to these obligations makes it easier to hold central and local government (and other duty-bearers) accountable and to identify human rights violations. The Guidelines outline some obligations and corresponding violations in relation to the right to a decent home grounded on Te Tiriti. 7