Progressive realisation It would be unrealistic to expect governments to realise social rights overnight. Governments are required to work towards the realisation of social rights. In other words, social rights are subject to progressive realisation. This raises the question we have already asked: how to hold a government accountable for its obligation to progressively realise the right to a decent home grounded on Te Tiriti o Waitangi? Progressive realisation allows governments time to improve social rights. In some countries governments acknowledge their social rights records do not meet expectations, but add that there is nothing to worry about because social rights will improve sometime in the future. In this way, some governments try to use progressive realisation as an escape hatch to avoid their obligation to steadily improve the enjoyment of social rights. How do we stop progressive realisation being misused as an escape hatch? In addition to progressive realisation, social rights are subject to resource availability. That means more is expected of high-income countries than low-income (or ‘developing’) countries. Aotearoa is a high-income country. In this chapter, we focus on progressive realisation, rather than resource availability, because the main housing problems in Aotearoa are primarily associated with a failure of policy and democracy, not a shortage of resources. An escape hatch? New Zealand has ratified important human rights treaties that include the right to a decent home. Ratification means that the New Zealand government has an obligation to respect, protect, and fulfil these rights. If it fails to do so, then the rights have been violated, unless the government provides a compelling explanation or justification for its shortcoming, such as a financial crisis or natural disaster. The government’s obligation to progressively realise social rights means that it is not enough for people’s enjoyment of social rights to remain static – they must be continually improving unless there is a compelling explanation or justification for the lack of progress. 26 Human Rights Commission We can track progressive realisation by using indicators combined with benchmarks or data points. For example, when assessing the right to a decent home, we can look at the percentage of people who report that their home is warm and dry in winter. This indicator reflects one dimension of the right: habitability. As required by progressive realisation, this percentage should increase over time. If it decreases or stays the same, this indicates a likely breach of the right to a decent home. In short, we can measure if things are getting better, worse, or staying the same by using indicators combined with benchmarks/data points. By tracking indicators in this way, we can assess whether there is progressive realisation (or not) in relation to one or more dimension of the right to a decent home. Using indicators to assess the right to a decent home in Aotearoa Earlier this year, the Human Rights Commission asked Motu Economic and Public Policy Research to develop a set of indicators to measure the realisation of the right to a decent home in Aotearoa.48 By collecting a range of indicators on the different dimensions of the right, they painted a picture of how well the right is being realised in Aotearoa. They prioritised the most relevant and