Dear friends,
COHRE is pleased to announce that the UN Sub-Commission on the
Promotion and Protection of Human Rights recently endorsed
'Principles on Housing and Property Restitution for Refugees and
Displaced Persons' and encouraged their application and
implementation by States, intergovernmental organisations, and
other relevant actors. The Principles represent the culmination
of a four- year long study by the Sub-Commission, led by its
Special Rapporteur Mr Paulo Sergio Pinheiro.
The Principles provide important guidance to all relevant actors,
national and international, in addressing the legal and technical
issues surrounding housing, land and property restitution in
situations where displacement has led to persons being
arbitrarily or unlawfully deprived of their former homes, lands,
properties or places of habitual residence.
The Principles were developed in collaboration with international
organisations including the UN Office of the High Commissioner
for Human Rights, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for
Refugees, as well as non-governmental organisations such as the
Norwegian Refugee Council and the Centre on Housing Rights and
Evictions (COHRE).
The Principles are available at:
http://www.cohre.org/hprframe.htm
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"Ours is a battle not for wealth or for power.
It is a battle for freedom. It is a battle for the reclamation of human personality."
- Dr BR Ambedkar
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