According to a new report from the National Homelessness Law Center and the University of Miami Law School Human Rights Clinic, the U.S. is failing to meet several internationally accepted standards for providing adequate and affordable housing.
Both groups graded the U.S. in seven elements of the international human right to housing developed under the International Covenant of Social, Economic, and Cultural Rights, a treaty the U.S. signed in 1976 but never fully ratified. The seven standards include: security of tenure; accessibility; affordability; availability of services; habitability; location; and cultural adequacy. Each standard was assigned a letter grade, with A representing the highest grade and F representing the lowest. Overall, the 2023 U.S. report card had mixed results.
The country received passing grades for location (B-), accessibility (B-), and cultural adequacy (B-). However, it also received low marks for legal security of tenure (C-), availability of services (D), and habitability (C-). However, the U.S. also received a failing grade for affordability (F).
To advocates like Tamar Ezer, the acting director of the University of Miami Law School’s Human Rights Clinic, the 2023 report card shows that gaps still need to be filled before the U.S. can begin meeting the international standards for affordable and attainable housing.
“The right to housing is a basic human right recognized around the world and essential for a life with dignity,” Ezer said. “This report assesses current gaps in realizing this right in the U.S. and sets out a roadmap for progress. The hope is to thus support vibrant national, state, and local movements for the right to housing, holding the U.S. accountable for each of seven dimensions of this right.”
Read full article: U.S. Fails to Meet International Human Right to Housing Standards
