Event: Town Hall Meeting with the United Nations Special Rapporteur On Adequate Housing
Come out and support housing as a Human Right in New York City. Voice your concerns about the foreclosure crisis, growing homelessness and inadequate public housing and section 8.
Time: 6:30
Day & Date: Thursday, October 22, 2009
Flyer:- Poster/Flyer may be downloaded from the CSH Flyer Depot here
- Flyer (1/2 Page) may be downloaded from the CSH Flyer Depot here
Note: NESRI and NLCHP will collect testimony (both written and video) from communities where the Special Rapporteur is unable to visit.
Location:
Union Theological Seminary
3041 Broadway at 121st Street
New York, NY 10027
Twitter: @NESRIorg [Hashtag #housingmission]
Contact: (To be involved in the Town Hall)
Meredith Vatsek
National Economic and Social Rights Initiative [NESRI]
Telephone: 212-253-1710 Ext. 307
Background:
The Special Rapporteur is appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council to examine and report back on the housing situation of a given country. This is the first official visit to the United States by a United Nations Special Rapporteur on Housing.
Sponsors:
- Picture the Homeless
- Good Old Lower East Side [GOLES]/[PHROLES]
- Organizing Asian Communities [CAAAV]
- Fifth Avenue Committee
- Families United for Racial and Economic Equality [FUREE]
- Make the Road
- Coalition to Save Harlem [CSH]
- Concerned Citizens of Greater Harlem
- East Harlem Anti-Displacement Taskforce
- Partnership for the Homeless
- Tenants and Neighbors
- Urban Justice Center
- Mothers on the Move
- Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Program [NEDAP]
- The Urban Homesteading Assistance Board [UHAB]
- National Economic and Social Rights Initiative [NESRI]
- Poverty Initiative
- and more .....
... And More Information ...:
The UN Special Rapporteur on Housing Raquel Rolnik will be making an official visit to the United States – October 23rd through November 6th. This is the first official mission to the United States by a Special Rapporteur on Housing. The Special Rapporteur will primarily focus on concerns around public housing and Section 8 (social housing), homelessness and the foreclosure crisis. She will make official visits to Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC. During her time in Washington, DC she will meet with federal officials including individuals from the Obama administration and congressional members. After her visit, she will draft a report of findings.
The Special Rapporteur is appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on the housing situation of a given country. The general objectives of this visit will be:
- to examine and report on the status of the realization of housing rights in the United States, with particular attention to aspects of gender equality, non-discrimination and the protection of the poor, the vulnerable and minorities;
- to engage in dialogues with the U.S. government, United Nations and intergovernmental agencies and civil society in their efforts to secure these rights;
- to identify practical solutions and best practices in the realization of rights relevant to the mandate; and
- to follow up on relevant concluding observations made by treaty bodies and other international bodies and assess their impacts on policies adopted by the U.S.
The visit will focus on social housing (public housing and Section 8), homelessness and the foreclosure crisis. Her office has selected Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans, New York and a rural community as the locations of her site visits. The New Orleans visit will be a follow-up to the recent International Advisory Group on Forced Evictions fact-finding mission there.
Additionally, the Special Rapporteur will have official meetings in Washington D.C., as well as meet with national housing rights groups. NESRI and the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty will be coordinating the visit. NESRI will facilitate planning of the site visits and NLCHP will facilitate the meeting in Washington, D.C.
Post Event Report: Town Hall Meeting with the United Nations Special Rapporteur On Adequate Housing 
