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A number of institutions and agencies operate at the international level seeking to promote and protect HLP rights around the world.
This section lists and provides contact details for relevant international agencies and institutions, providing a brief description of some of their work on HLP rights.
This section also provides details of international criminal courts and tribunals whose jurisdiction includes the prosecution of HLP rights violations.
Amnesty International (Amnesty and AI) is an international non-governmental organisation which defines its mission as “to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated.” Founded in London in 1961, AI draws attention to human rights abuses and campaigns for compliance with international standards. It works to mobilise public opinion which exerts pressure on individuals who perpetrate abuses.
Amnesty recently began a campaign on slums worldwide “calling on governments to end forced evictions, ensure equal access to public services for people living in slums, and ensure their active participation in all plans directed at slum upgrading”.
http://demanddignity.amnesty.org/en-gb/campaign/slums
Contact information:
International Secretariat
1 Easton Street
London
WC1X 0DW, UK
Telephone: +44-20-74135500
Fax number: +44-20-79561157
Link:
The Project on Internal Displacement was created to promote a more effective national, regional, and international response to the global problem of internally displaced persons and to support the work of the Representative of the UN Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons in carrying out the responsibilities of the mandate.
The Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement monitors displacement problems worldwide, promotes the dissemination and application of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, works with governments, regional bodies, international organizations and civil society to create more effective policies and institutional arrangements for IDPs, convenes international seminars on internal displacement, and publishes studies, articles and reports.
Contact Information:
Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement
The Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
USA
Tel: +1 (202) 797-6168
Fax: +1 (202) 797-2970
brookings-bern@brookings.edu
Link:
http://www.brookings.edu/projects/idp.aspx
The Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) is an independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit human rights organisation. COHRE campaigns for the protection of housing rights and the prevention of forced evictions.
Contact Information:
COHRE
83 rue de Montbrillant
1202 Geneva
Switzerland
Email: cohre@cohre.org
Link:
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN–HABITAT) is the United Nations agency for human settlements. It was established in 1978 and has its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. It is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all.
Contact Information:
UN-HABITAT
P.O. Box 30030, GPO,
Nairobi, 00100, Kenya
Tel: (254-20) 7621234 (Operator)
Fax: (254-20) 7624266
E-mail: infohabitat@unhabitat.org
Link:
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was established on December 14, 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country. It also has a mandate to help stateless people.
Contact Information:
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Case Postale 2500
CH-1211 Genève 2 Dépôt
Suisse.
Tel: +41 22 739 8111.
Link:
http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home
Asian Coalition for Housing Rights
http://www.achr.net/
Australian Council of Social Service
Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute
Center for Equality Rights in Accommodation
http://www.equalityrights.org/cera/
Centre for Housing Policy
http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/chp/
Centre for Urban and Community Studies
http://www.urbancentre.utoronto.ca/
Cities Alliance
http://www.citiesalliance.org/ca/
Egyptian Center for Housing Rights
http://www.echr.org/en/
European Network for Housing Research
http://www.enhr.ibf.uu.se/
European Roma Rights Center
http://www.errc.org/
FoodFirst Information and Action Network (FIAN)
http://www.fian.org/
Habitat International Coalition (HIC)
http://www.hic-net.org/
Homeless International
http://www.homeless-international.org/Home_1.aspx?id=0:907
Human Development Foundation
Human Rights Watch
Inner City Community Resource Centre
http://www.informalberta.ca/public/service/serviceProfileStyled.do?serviceQueryId=1006309
The Institute for Palestine Studies
http://www.palestine-studies.org/
Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
http://www.internal-displacement.org/
International Institute for Environment and Development
http://www.iied.org/
International Rivers
http://www.internationalrivers.org/
International Union of Tenants
http://www.iut.nu/
Kensington Welfare Rights Union
The Korea Centre for City and Environment Research
http://www.kocer.re.kr/eng.htm
Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
http://www.lincolninst.edu/
Lumanti: Support Group for Shelter
http://www.lumanti.com.np/
Mines and Communities
http://www.minesandcommunities.org/
National Coalition for the Homeless
http://www.nationalhomeless.org/
National Law Centre on Homelessness and Poverty
http://www.nlchp.org/
Norwegian Refugee Council
http://www.nrc.no/
Ontario Tenants
http://www.ontariotenants.ca/
OXFAM
http://www.oxfam.org/
Poverty & Race Research Action Council
http://www.prrac.org/
Rights Action
Shack/Slum Dwellers International
http://www.sdinet.co.za/
StreetNet International
http://www.streetnet.org.za/
Urban Institute: Research of Record
http://www.urckarachi.org/
US Committee for Refugees
http://www.refugees.org/
World Organization against Torture
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court (ICC), governed by the Rome Statute, is the first permanent, treaty based, international criminal court established to help end impunity for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community.
The crimes of concern to the ICC include a number of international crimes that encompass HLP rights violations.
Link:
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is a United Nations court of law dealing with war crimes that took place during the conflicts in the Balkans in the 1990’s.
The jurisdiction and jurisprudence of the ICTY includes crimes that encompass violations of HLP rights.
Link:
Recognizing that serious violations of humanitarian law were committed in Rwanda, and acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, the Security Council created the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) by resolution 955 of 8 November 1994. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda was established for the prosecution of persons responsible for genocide and other serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of Rwanda between 1 January 1994 and 31 December 1994. It may also deal with the prosecution of Rwandan citizens responsible for genocide and other such violations of international law committed in the territory of neighbouring States during the same period.
The jurisdiction and jurisprudence of the ICTR include crimes encompassing violations of HLP rights.
Link:
