ATD Fourth World at the UN Commission on Social Development on Ending Homelessness
ATD Fourth World active at the UN Commission on Social Development 2020 on Ending Homelessness
From February 9th to 20th, 2020, the 58th edition of the Commission for Social Development (#CSocD58) focused - for the first time ever at the United Nations - on the crucial issues of affordable housing and homelessness, a human (rights) crisis affecting the Global North and the Global South in different ways. What is common though is the lived experience of homelessness and the sufferings and trauma that can be associated with a loss of a stable place to call home, both impacting single adults but also children and families.
This year again, ATD Fourth World was very engaged in CSocD58, whether at policy level engaging with Governments on the Commission’s political resolutions or by creating spaces for members and friends of the Movement to share their lived experience of homelessness and provide recommendations to bring back more humanity in policy-making and practice.
View of the plenary session of the Commission, from the balcony area open to Civil Society Representatives.
Engaging at policy level: a closer look at the CSocD58 Priority Theme Resolution on Homelessness
At policy level, the Priority Theme resolution on “Affordable housing and social protection systems for all to address homelessness" was adopted as the first UN intergovernmental body resolution on the issue of homelessness. Importantly, this resolution that will be officially adopted by the UN Economic and Social Council in June 2020, offers language elements around the definition and measurement of homelessness.
The definition is included in paragraph 7 noting that
“homelessness is not merely a lack of physical housing, but is often interrelated with poverty, lack of productive employment and access to infrastructure, as well as other social issues that may constitute a loss of family, community and a sense of belonging, and, depending on national context, can be described as a condition where a person or household lacks habitable space, which may compromise their ability to enjoy social relations, and includes people living on the streets, in other open spaces or in buildings not intended for human habitation, people living in temporary accommodation or shelters for the homeless, and, in accordance with national legislation, may include, among others, people living in severely inadequate accommodation without security of tenure and access to basic services.”
Though the definition has not kept language that many NGOs pushed for (namely that homelessness is a failure of social protection systems and a failure to implement human rights), this paragraph is nonetheless a first attempt at describing homelessness and its categories, and as such should be positively welcomed as it offers a solid basis to continue advocating on these issues.
The resolution further encourages Member States to harmonize the measurement and collection of data on homelessness to enable national and global policymaking (paragraph 12), and calls upon Member States to combat discrimination and negative stereotypes against people experiencing homelessness, including by strengthening anti-discrimination laws, advocacy and awareness-raising (paragraph 34).
In line with ATD Fourth World’s message, the resolution in its paragraph 4 recognizes that homelessness constitutes a violation of human dignity and may be an obstacle to the fulfillment of all human rights and that urgent national and international action is therefore required to address it. The resolution further encourages these actions to follow a multidimensional approach to tackling poverty, homelessness and social exclusion from paragraph 8 to 35, “cutting across fiscal, economic, labour, housing, health, social protection, urban development, environmental and population policies, and emphasiz(ing) the need to take whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches to address and prevent homelessness, by adopting policies that are inclusive of and responsive to the needs and aspirations of individuals, especially those in disadvantaged or vulnerable situations” (paragraph 9).
Before and during the Commission, ATD Fourth World worked alongside the NGO Committee on Social Development and the UN NGO Working Group to End Homelessness to influence the text of this Resolution by presenting language elements to various Member States. As a member of the Executive of the NGO Committee on Social Development, ATD Fourth World will continue advocating at policy level to bring the interests, concerns and recommendations of the most marginalized communities on the issues they are directly affected by.
ATD Fourth World Volunteer Corps Member Herman Van Breen delivering an Oral Statement at CSocD58 on behalf of the International Movement ATD Fourth World
Additionally, ATD Fourth World was able to take the floor to deliver an Oral Statement at the Plenary Session of the Commission. This was the opportunity to recall how our Movement started in France with homeless families in an emergency camp and to share these following policy recommendations based on our sixty years of experiences running grassroots projects and advocating for change with people living in poverty:
Solutions to end homelessness should be fully integrated with global, sustainable strategies to eradicate chronic, multidimensional poverty. These strategies should be based on social protection floors and on policies allowing for a sense of dignity and community, crucial to reach those furthest behind first and to leave no one behind.
Mechanisms should be created allowing for the input of homeless people to be taken into account in regional, national, and local agencies working on housing.
Legislation should be adapted so that people who are homeless or at risk of being homeless do not lose their legal existence — the basis for their civil and political rights — or their access to social protection systems, which often requires an address or a birth certificate.
Public awareness should be raised to remove the shame and stigma of homelessness, and laws should be implemented or reinforced to prevent discrimination against homeless people. Click here to read the full Oral Statement or watch it here!
Conclusion
Recognizing the topic of homelessness as the priority theme of this UN Commission, on the year of the 25th anniversary of the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and 75th anniversary of the United Nations, was a powerful way to acknowledge the lives of people experiencing homelessness, the efforts they put forth every day to change their situation, and the rights they are entitled to, including the right to social protection and to adequate housing. This resolution is just the beginning of civil society advocacy on homelessness and affordable housing. Much remains to be done to allow every individual and every family, to flourish and live in dignity, with a roof over their head and control over their own lives.