CHAPTER 1 RELEVANT HUMAN RIGHTS The framework of international standards relating to the right to adequate housing is found in a number of human rights treaties. ‘Housing rights’ and the related obligations of governments are far broader and more complex than the mere requirements of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to protect citizens’ right to an adequate standard of living. Especially in the context of eviction schemes, urban development and the involuntary displacement of populations, international standards apply to restrict the activities of government and inform the processes by which administrative decisions are made. That there is no single source of international law on housing remains one of the principal difficulties in establishing a clear reference point for governments when considering housing policy in light of human rights standards. This difficulty is somewhat rectified by various secondary instruments and sources of law that help to explain the obligations contained in the body of relevant international instruments. This chapter will review the international treaties, conventions and declarations that contain these rules, as well as identify those additional interpretative mechanisms that help to translate those rules into appreciable policy standards. 1.1 International Treaties and Conventions The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing has identified a catalogue of treaty-based provisions relevant to the protection of housing and eviction-related human rights.2 These instruments constitute the basis for all relevant international standards and are utilised in this review as a background to the determination of compliance with international human rights law. All key international instruments relevant to the Philippine Government’s eviction and resettlement programmes are extracted below. It should be noted that the Philippines is a party to all instruments extracted that are legally binding treaties or conventions and create obligations under international law. (a) Universal Declaration of Hum an Rights (1948) Article 25(1): ‘Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.’ 2 Available at <http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Housing/Pages/InternationalStandards.aspx>. 1