UN housing rights expert visits
Nigeria
GENEVA (12 September 2019) – The UN
Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, Leilani Farha, is visiting
Nigeria from 13 to 23 September 2019.
“I look forward to travelling to
the most populous nation in Africa to explore the challenges and opportunities
facing Nigeria with regard to its implementation of the right to housing,” the
expert said.
Nigeria faces significant housing
challenges, including the growth of informal settlements and the forced
eviction of communities for development projects.
“I would like to learn more about
programmes and policies put in place to achieve the United Nations SustainableDevelopment Goal 11.1, which commits governments to ensuring access to safe,
affordable and adequate housing and basic services for all by 2030,” said
Farha.
“I am particularly interested to
learn more about the Government’s recent commitment to build one million homes
per year until 2033.”
“Housing affordability,
particularly in urban areas, has become an issue of concern worldwide. A
contributing factor is housing speculation, which serves to increase housing
prices and pushes residents out of their neighbourhoods and cities. I hope to
gain an understanding as to whether such trends are also present in Nigeria,”
the expert said.
The Special Rapporteur will also
examine issues including substandard housing conditions, forced evictions,
access to services and to justice for the right to housing and the conditions
of particular vulnerable groups including women, people living in informal
settlements and those who are homeless.
Farha will meet senior Government
officials from the Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, and
other ministries. She is also expected to have talks with governors,
state-level ministries, and public institutions responsible for human rights,
urban development and combating homelessness. The expert will also hold
meetings with people living in various neighbourhoods in and around Abuja,
Lagos and Port Harcourt, and representatives of civil society.
At the end of the visit, the
Special Rapporteur will hold a press conference to share her preliminary
findings and recommendations. It will be at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, 1 Aguiyi
Ironsi Street, Abuja at 16:00 local time on 23 September 2019. Access will be
strictly limited to journalists.
Farha will present a comprehensive
report of her visit to the UN Human Rights Council in March 2020.
ENDS
Ms Leilani Farha is the UN SpecialRapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate
standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context. She
took up her mandate in June 2014. Farha is the Executive Director of the NGO
Canada without Poverty, based in Ottawa. A lawyer by training, for the past 20
years Ms. Farha has worked both internationally and domestically on the
implementation of the right to adequate housing for the most marginalized
groups and on the situation of people living in poverty. Her most recent report
to the Human Rights Council focusses on access to justice for the right to
housing.
The Special Rapporteurs are part of
what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special
Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights
system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and
monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or
thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a
voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their
work. They are independent from any government or organisation and serve in
their individual capacity.
UN Human Rights, Country Page —
Nigeria
For more information and media
requests please contact:
Mr. Jon Izagirre Garcia during the
visit at: (+41-79 444-4078 / jizagirre@ohchr.org)
After the visit at: +41 22 917 9715
or write to srhousing@ohchr.org
For media inquiries related to
other UN independent experts:
Mr. Jeremy Laurence – Media Unit
(+41 22 917 9383 / jlaurence@ohchr.org)
Follow the SR’s work: Twitter:
@adequatehousing and Facebook: righttohousing
Follow news related to the UN’s
independent human rights experts on Twitter @UN_SPExperts.
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