Sem-teto

Shitanda launches slum upgrading programme in Nairobi

Published in Friday December 21st, 2012 In In the media

Housing Minister Soita Shitanda has asked slum dwellers to be ready for the upcoming slum upgrading programme in Nairobi. Speaking in Kibera Soweto Slums yesterday during the groundbreaking ceremony of Seefar Apartments located within Highrise Estate in the area, the minister noted that it will take collective responsibility to see Kenya’s Vision 2030 dream of having cheap and decent affordable housing for all achieved.

Tags ,

UNHCR attacks on Hungarian homeless law

Published in Friday December 21st, 2012 In In the media

Two rapporteurs of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations called on the Hungarian government this week to respect the ruling of the country’s Constitutional Court and refrain from criminalising homelessness. In November the Constitutional Court found as unconstitutional the law adopted last year that set fines or prison sentences on those sleeping rough in public areas for the second time in six months. The UN Special Rapporteurs on extreme poverty and human rights, Magdalena Sepúlveda, and on adequate housing, Raquel Rolnik, stressed that Hungary is required to align its national legislation with its international human rights obligations.

Tags ,

Kenya’s decision to confine refugees and asylum-seekers in camps is unlawful

Published in Friday December 21st, 2012 In Social movement news

Kenya’s decision to place refugees and asylum seekers in camps away from urban centres is a discriminatory and unlawful restriction on freedom of movement, Amnesty International said. The government stated the policy is a reaction to security concerns in the country.
“This restriction on freedom of movement is likely to lead to other serious human rights abuses in already overcrowded, insecure refugee camps,” said Kathryn Achilles, Amnesty International’s East Africa expert.

Tags , , ,

‘Squatters are not home stealers’

Published in Friday December 14th, 2012 In Opinion

On 26 September, Alex Haigh became the first person to be jailed under section 144 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act. His crime was one of which countless thousands of people could now be guilty: squatting. A 21-year-old from Plymouth, Haigh was arrested for living in a house in Pimlico that had been empty for over a year. He had come to London seeking work as a bricklayer; now he has a criminal record.
When section 144, which makes it an offence to squat in a residential building in England and Wales, came into effect at the beginning of September, many people agreed with it, including 52% of Guardian readers in an online poll. But is squatting really a menace or a burden to society? Might it even be beneficial? And when we talk about squatting, what do we really mean anyway?

Tags

When Low-Income Tenants Face Eviction

Published in Wednesday December 12th, 2012 In Opinion

In “Tipping the Scales in Housing Court” (Op-Ed, Nov. 30), Matthew Desmond makes a compelling case for assisting low-income tenants facing eviction by providing them with lawyers. It’s sound social policy and a strong showing of decent morality. The issue of evictions is embedded within the context of a broader goal: ensuring and increasing housing stability.

Tags ,

UN experts urge Hungary to uphold Constitutional Court decision to decriminalize homelessness

Published in Wednesday December 12th, 2012 In News on the Rapporteurs

Two United Nations experts on extreme poverty and housing today urged the Government of Hungary to uphold the recent Constitutional Court decision decriminalizing homelessness, to amend the anti-homeless legislation and to adopt a national housing strategy, which will take into account the needs and views of the homeless and those inadequately housed, in conformity with international human rights obligations.

Tags , ,

A battle for social justice in South African townships

Published in Friday December 7th, 2012 In In the media

International gatherings of the great and the good often proclaim their commitment to poor people, but then end with the powerful maintaining profits before people. But, with the poor actually getting a say for a change at a cities summit this week in the Senegalese capital Dakar, their aim will be to ensure the urban needs of Africans are addressed. Nearly 5,000 participants, representing the public and private sectors, including ministers for local government and sustainable progress, will share their experiences and ideas at the summit. It makes the event, Africities, the most important forum on the continent for dialogue on decentralisation, governance and development.

Tags , , ,

The Affordable Housing Crisis in the US

Published in Thursday December 6th, 2012 In In the media

December 04, 2012 New York Times Editorial The precious few federal programs that provide rental assistance to the nation’s poorest and most vulnerable families are already underfinanced. These programs provide decent housing for about only a quarter of the low-income families who qualify for them. And with nearly nine million households teetering on the verge of […]

Tags , ,

London councils face questions for housing families outside the capital

Published in Wednesday December 5th, 2012 In In the media

The government has called in London councils over concerns that homelessness numbers are soaring, after research revealed the scale of plans being drawn up to send families to live in temporary housing outside the capital.
As cuts shrink the number of properties affordable to people on benefits, more than 20 London local councils have rented properties as far as Corby, Cornwall, Blackpool, Southampton and Newcastle to house families that could end up on the streets in London.

Tags

Free Webinar: “The Human Right to Housing: A Report Card on U.S. Policy”

Published in Tuesday December 4th, 2012 In Mobilisation and agenda

FREE WEBINAR  The Human Right to Housing: A Report Card on U.S. Policy Monday, December 10 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. EST On Monday, December 10, in commemoration of Human Rights Day, the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty will be hosting a free webinar on U.S. compliance with the human right to housing. In June 2011, the […]

Tags ,