This briefing paper is submitted to the Advisory Group on Forced Evictions for the mission its experts are conducting to provide an overview of the international human rights principles’ application to the forced eviction and homelessness crisis in the Gulf Coast region.

Human rights instruments offer a framework for developing an approach to resettlement and reconstruction that is capable of meeting the needs of the impacted communities. The submission is divided in three parts:

• An international human rights background;
• Review of the various international mechanisms’ treatment of the right to housing for Hurricane Katrina victims; and
• Documentation and human rights analysis of the current crisis in New Orleans.

This submission provides extensive documentation supporting a finding that in mid-2009 the United States continues to grossly disregard international human rights standards in its treatment of survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast and forever changed the lives of tens of thousands of residents. Four years after the storm, thousands face the prospect of permanent displacement due to problematic redevelopment plans, prolonged delays in rebuilding, unfair redevelopment policies and demolitions of public housing communities. Federal, state and local government agencies and officials have caused and exacerbated the forced evictions and instability in the region.

In the housing policies and practices following the disasters of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the glaring disregard for international human rights values and obligations has shamed the nation. The human rights violations described in this report document another bitter episode in the ongoing tragic embrace of racism, poverty and gender discrimination in the United States. One million people were displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Tens of thousands never returned. Who made it home after the disaster? Race, income and gender combined to inhibit the ability of victims to return to their homes. Unfortunately, as this report shows, these human rights violations, especially in the area of housing, continue despite repeated criticism by the international community.

In the context of internally displaced persons, the right to housing (including residential stability and security of tenure) is best articulated within the United Nations Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (U.N. Guiding Principles). The 30 Guiding Principles have been affirmed repeatedly by Member nations of the United Nations and integrated into the treaty bodies’ interpretation of State parties’ obligations. The United States has embraced the Guiding Principles in its policies toward other nations.  In co-sponsoring two relevant resolutions, the U.S. Government recognized the U.N. Guiding Principles as “an important tool for dealing with situations of internal displacement” and welcomed “the fact that an increasing number of States. . . are applying [the U.N. Guiding Principles] as a standard.”  Despite a call from human rights and environmental advocates for the incorporation of the Guiding Principles into U.S. policies regarding housing, humanitarian relief, and assistance in the Gulf Coast,  the U.S. Government has continued the troubling practice of American exceptionalism  and thoroughly ignored this framework in its redevelopment plans for the Gulf Coast. Recently, in response to these calls, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development replied that it would take these suggestions into consideration in future policy planning.  The positive response may provide the international community an opportunity to engage and educate government officials on the human right to housing.

The human right to housing, enumerated in multiple international human rights instruments, is fundamental to the principle of human dignity and equitable development. As recognized by the Governing Council of UN-HABITAT in creating the Advisory Group on Forced Evictions, a fundamental component in the realization of this right is residential stability and the security of tenure.  The ability to realize these rights is extremely limited for thousands of men, women and children impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita due to U.S. Government policies following the storms. Given the local, state and federal governments’ failure to adhere to human rights principles regarding the right to return, the right to meaningful participation in re-development decisions, and the right to adequate housing and shelter, the Technical Experts to the Advisory Group on Forced Evictions’ visit to New Orleans comes at a critical time.

This briefing paper is submitted to the Advisory Group on Forced Evictions for the mission its experts are conducting to provide an overview of the international human rights principles’ application to the forced eviction and homelessness crisis in the Gulf Coast region. Human rights instruments offer a framework for developing an approach to resettlement and reconstruction that is capable of meeting the needs of the impacted communities. The submission is divided in three parts: an international human rights background; review of the various international mechanisms’ treatment of the right to housing for Hurricane Katrina victims; and documentation and human rights analysis of the current crisis in New Orleans. This submission provides extensive documentation supporting a finding that in mid-2009 the United States continues to grossly disregard international human rights standards in its treatment of survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Download the entire report below.