Evictions and displacements are “quite common” in India and its legacy of discrimination against the SCs, women and Muslims is even apparent in the housing sector, UN special rapporteur Leilani Farha
Evictions and displacements are “quite common” in India and its legacy of discrimination against the SCs, women and Muslims is even apparent in the housing sector, UN special rapporteur Leilani Farha reportedly observed on Friday, irking the government. News agency PTI reported that after touring parts of India for 12 days to assess the status of housing, the UN special rapporteur had said that bias against Muslims “manifests” in different parts of the country in “different ways” in the housing sector and that government was not focused on addressing the problem of homelessness. A detailed report will be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council at its 34th session on March 2017 in Geneva. India’s “legacy of discrimination” against scheduled castes, women and religious minorities including Muslims remains “apparent” in the housing sector, she said, according to the news agency.
Concluding her 12-day visit to India, Mr Farha called for a “national housing law to effectively, and urgently address the implementation of the right to adequate housing”.
The MEA said the reports prepared by the special rapporteurs during such visits are their own work, suggesting perhaps that they were not reflective of the UN’s view on India. “The reports prepared by the rapporteurs during such visits are their own work based on their travel within the country and their interaction with government officials or both at Central and State levels, site visits and community interactions, meetings with non-governmental organisation and any others,” the MEA said.
