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Committee, fully aware that ratification obliged them to take immediate
measures to promote the right to housing and, where necessary, to seek
international cooperation, in accordance with articles 11, 22 and 23 of the
Covenant.
11.
The Committee’s recommendations in this respect have encouraged States
parties, regardless of their economic situation, to establish a national
housing strategy, formulated to the fullest extent possible after thorough
consultations and with the participation of all concerned, notably the
homeless, persons with inadequate housing and their representatives, and
regularly to monitor the development of the housing situation. In both cases,
this is an obligation with immediate effect, especially as regards the
situation of vulnerable groups: persons or families who are homeless or
living in inadequate housing or in "illegal" settlement areas, persons who
have been forcibly evicted and low-income groups.
12.
The measures that must be taken by States may combine measures
originating from the public sector and from the private sector, but States
must above all be encouraged to support self-sufficiency strategies, while
fulfilling their own obligations to guarantee respect for the rights of each
individual, as soon as possible and in the light of available resources. In
many countries, experience has shown that organized vulnerable groups have
been able, with minimum State assistance, to undertake construction better
suited to their needs and less costly than construction directly undertaken by
the public sector.
13.
The question of the "enforceability" of the right to adequate housing is
beyond doubt, and many elements constituting this right are already the
subject of domestic remedies in most of the States parties to the Covenant:
this is notably the case with judicial remedies against evictions or
demolition; applications for compensation or rehousing following illegal
eviction; complaints against illegal measures taken by owners, whether public
or private, or with their support; judicial actions against discriminatory
measures in the area of housing; complaints against owners concerning health
hazards or the inadequacy of housing, or excessive rent; and judicial actions
concerning land ownership.
14.
This list is not exhaustive, and assertion of the right to housing in the
courts, based on the implementation of domestic legislation or the Covenant,
has assumed considerable importance in many countries. In the light of the
substantial increase in the number of homeless persons, collective action is
growing steadily, not only in the developing countries, where it often
manifests itself through the occupation of undeveloped land, but also in the
rich countries, where it takes the form of occupation of public or private
premises which have been kept empty with the sole aim of speculating on the
value of the buildings in question.
15.
In this connection, the Committee considers that instances of forced
eviction are, prima facie, incompatible with the requirements of the Covenant
and can be justified only in the most exceptional situations and in accordance
with the relevant principles of international law.
16.
On the occasion of its examination of reports, the Committee has
recommended to all States parties that they should avoid unjustified mass