[{"command":"settings","settings":{"pluralDelimiter":"\u0003","suppressDeprecationErrors":true,"ajaxPageState":{"libraries":"eJxLzi9K1U8pKi1IzNFLyUzMyU_XS8xKrAAAajEI0Q","theme":"rimap","theme_token":null},"ajaxTrustedUrl":[],"csp":{"nonce":"cGcfSKQoQFWD4yukiIlCbw"},"user":{"uid":0,"permissionsHash":"aa71182581ac9d8b7fdf535efbd9231f2243f7dd74060a4c121bf6aa2541c2c5"}},"merge":true},{"command":"add_css","data":[{"rel":"stylesheet","media":"all","href":"\/sites\/default\/files\/css\/css_mC14btIbpvq2MlLlPcEiIIDwlT2D5Ahqs68qchaw-Ko.css?delta=0\u0026language=en\u0026theme=rimap\u0026include=eJxLzi9K1U8pKi1IzNFLzEqs0ElGEkjJTMzJTwcA8A8NXQ"}]},{"command":"add_js","selector":"body","data":[{"src":"\/sites\/default\/files\/js\/js_nNOCPZaYQr3UtoQvK7TKrDLq-pl2HrWIVsw0hc_h5CA.js?scope=footer\u0026delta=0\u0026language=en\u0026theme=rimap\u0026include=eJxLzi9K1U8pKi1IzNFLyUzMyU_XS8xKrAAAajEI0Q"}]},{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Ch5\u003EHousing, Land, and Property (HLP) Rights\u003C\/h5\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHousing, land and property (HLP) rights are fundamental to the protection and self-reliance of refugees and are guaranteed by complementary provisions under both refugee law and international human rights law. HLP rights not only ensure the right to live in security and dignity, but also to access employment opportunities, productive land or property-related revenues. Although commonly referred to by the umbrella term \u201cHLP\u201d, housing, land and property rights are differentiated in the international normative framework.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Right to Housing\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe right to housing is the right to obtain and occupy a safe and secure home in which to live in peace and dignity. The right to housing of every human person, including refugees, is recognized under international instruments. A seminal statement on the subject, Article 25 of the UDHR establishes the right of everyone to \u201ca standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including housing.\u201d The right to adequate housing is further articulated under article 11 of the ICESCR which provides that everyone has the right to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing\u003Cem\u003E. \u003C\/em\u003EIn a slightly different context, Article 17, the ICCPR prohibits arbitrary or unlawful interference with home and the right to protection of the law against such interference or attacks.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EArticle 14 (1) of CEDAW provides that states shall ensure women the right \u2018to enjoy adequate living conditions, particularly in relation to housing\u2026\u2019. CERD provides that States sold prohibit and eliminate racial discrimination in all its forms and to guarantee the right of everyone, without distinction as to race, color, or national or ethnic origin, to equality before the law, notably in the enjoyment of the \u2018right to housing\u2019. Article 21 of the Refugee Convention ensures that refugees lawfully staying in the country are treated as favorable as possible and in any event not less favorable than aliens generally in the same circumstances with regard to housing. This reference to housing covers policies or programmes, which regulate or control housing (such as rent controls, landlord and tenant laws, or housing schemes) and over which government exercises a level of authority. While this provides an important protection for refugees, the provision has certain limitations. It only guarantees a standard of treatment at a baseline level of assimilation to aliens generally; States are only required to grant these rights to refugees to the extent they have chosen to give such entitlements to other aliens admitted to the territory. Also, the Refugee Convention does not provide any content to the right to housing and provided refugees are treated the same as aliens, there is no violation of the Refugee Convention even in circumstances, for example, where refugees are living in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions.\u0026nbsp;International human rights laws, particularly the ICESCR, compensate for limitations in Article 21 of the Refugee Convention by establishing a minimum qualitative baseline to the right to housing. The Committee made it clear that the right to housing should not be interpreted in a narrow or restrictive sense which equates it with, for example, merely having a roof over one\u2019s head, or exclusively as a commodity. Rather it should be seen as the right to live in security, peace and dignity. It also held that the Convention\u2019s normative reference must be read as entailing not just housing but to adequate housing.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn relation to the effective protection of a person\u2019s right to housing, the concept of adequacy of housing was elaborately provided as encompassing the key elements of legal security of tenure; availability of services, materials, facilities, and infrastructure; affordability; habitability; accessibility; location; and cultural adequacy.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Right to Property\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe UDHR recognizes the right of everyone \u2018to own property alone as well as in association with others\u2019, and furthermore stipulated that \u2018no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property\u2019. The right to property is also recognized under article 5(d) (v) of ICERD and Article 15 of ICPMW) Other international instruments which affirm the right to property include CEDAW, CRPD and the African Charter on Human and Peoples\u2019 Rights.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe protection of refugees\u2019 property rights is presented in the Refugee Convention. Under Article 13 of the Refugee Convention, refugees are granted treatment no less favorable than that of non-nationals with respect to movable and immovable property. The provision specifies the rights covered by it, which is beyond the acquisition of movable and immovable property; include other rights deriving from these such as mortgaging, revenues, sale, administration of the property etc., as well as leases and other contracts relating to that property. The right to obtain compensation for property which has been nationalized or expropriated is also a right pertaining to the acquisition of movable and immovable property. Property refers to not only tangible property but also securities, monies, bank accounts, etc. Unlike the right to housing, property rights provided in Article 13 of the 1951 Refugee Convention should be guaranteed to all refugees regardless of their residential status in the Contracting State. The intention behind the provision in the Refugee Convention is to accord refugees all the rights related to ownership and conveyance of property such as the right to dispose (sell), earn an income from the property owned, restitution in the event of loss of property, and even access to mortgage bonds.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIntellectual property rights include rights over literary, artistic and scientific works and the protection of inventions, designs and models, trademarks and trade names.\u0026nbsp; Article 14 of the Refugees Convention imposes a higher and more elaborate protection of refugees\u2019 rights in relation to such types of property. In respect of the protection of industrial property, such as inventions, designs or models, trademarks, trade names, and of rights in literary, artistic, and scientific works, a refugee shall be accorded in the country of his habitual residence or any other Contracting State the same protection as is accorded to nationals of that country in which he has his habitual residence.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EArticle 29 of the Refugee Convention offers protection to refugees in relation to fiscal charges. It requires Contracting States not to impose duties, charges or taxes, including those relating to property, on refugees other or higher than those levied on nationals.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;Access to Land\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERefugee laws and international human rights law do not explicitly recognize a self-standing right to land. However, HLP rights are intertwined with the concept of property broadly conceived to include immovables like land. Hence, any discussion on property will interface with land related rights.\u0026nbsp;The term property, under article 13 of the 1951 Refugee Convention, includes both \u2018movable and immovable property\u2019. Even though the term \u2018property\u2019 was not defined during the negotiation of Article 13 of the 1951 Refugee Convention, representatives of countries viewed property as including \u2018property rights to land\u2019 evidenced by the use of references including \u2018real property, real estate or immovable property\u2019.1\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u003C\/strong\u003EUnder the Convention, this provision was proposed against the background of challenges encountered by foreigners (including refugees) living in other jurisdictions and to at least present certain levels of protection; these difficulties had related \u2018principally to the acquisition of immovable property and securities (stocks) and to the lease of dwelling accommodation or premises for the purposes of carrying on an occupation\u2019. The right to land \u0027affirms entitlements to land that are recognized socially or legally\u0027; while allowing for variations across jurisdictions, it generally includes various tiers of right such as the right to: occupy, enjoy and use land and resources; restrict or exclude the access of others to land; transfer, sell, purchase, grant or lend land; mortgage or secure credit with land; inherit and bequeath land; develop or improve land; rent or sublet land, and benefit from improved land values or rental income.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","dialogOptions":{"dialogClass":"general-guidance-popup","width":"50%","modal":true,"title":"General guidance related to this right category","classes":{"ui-dialog":"general-guidance-popup"}}}]