Right to housing for residents of informal settlements

This policy brief provides details of the United Nations Special Rapporteur recommendations regarding how governments can upgrade informal settlements within a human rights-based framework. A human rights-based approach will require that residents are ensured security of tenure over the land on which they live. States are legally required to set in motion policies and plans which have as their end goal the fulfilment of the right to adequate housing. Upgrading can reduce poverty, promote economic development and prosperity, and improve the health and well-being of residents. Whilst upgrading might pose significant challenges, improving the housing of informal settlement dwellers is not a choice.