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609. The Programme of Action recognized causes of displacement ranging from environmental degradation to natural disasters and internal conflicts that destroy human settlements and force people to flee from one area of a country to another. It focused on women’s increasing vulnerability to violence in situations of displacement, as well as the heightened risk of displacement for indigenous peoples. The right of voluntary and safe return was a key focus, as were basic services, including sexual and reproductive health services, during displacement. 610. Across the spectrum of land and housing insecurity, invisibility in the eyes of the State is a common challenge owing to a severe lack of data, which hinders both estimates of the scale of those impacted and the implementation of effective measures to assist them. One of the challenges for the next 5-10 years is to understand the scale and characteristics of populations facing such vulnerabilities, and to craft more humane programmes of support. Human rights elaborations since the International Conference on Population and Development Box 22 Housing Other soft law. The right to adequate housing is enshrined in article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966; entry into force 1967) and further elaborated in general comment No. 4 on the right to adequate housing (1991) adopted by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The first Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living was appointed by the Commission on Human Rights in resolution 2000/9. The Special Rapporteur defined “the human right to adequate housing [as] the right of every woman, man, youth and child to gain and sustain a safe and secure home and community in which to live in peace and dignity” (E/CN.4/2001/51, para. 8). Numerous international human rights instruments adopted after 1993, as well as general comments and recommendations of the treaty monitoring bodies, have emphasized the right to housing and the interrelationship of housing with other basic human rights. 452
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Women’s access to land 611. One of the most widespread forms of land insecurity is lack of ownership rights. While most countries allow widespread property ownership, and many do not legally differentiate between men and women as property owners, in practice enormous numbers of women are denied their right to land ownership. Whether in rural areas of developing countries, where they produce most of the food but hold
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See, for example, article 28 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2515, No. 44910), and general comments No. 7 (1997), No. 14 (2000) and No. 15 (2002) of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (see E/1998/22, E/2001/22 and E/2003/22).
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