UN - Shelter for the Homeless

Thank you Merja for this FDC dated 13^th March 1987 with the two very subjective stamps on it - as it is about a very important aspect of human life. The Economic and Social Council, recalling General Assembly resolution 37/221 of 20 December 1982, in which the Assembly proclaimed the year 1987 International Year of Shelter for the Homeless; recognizing the objectives of the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless; Recognizing that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provide that all persons have the right to an adequate standard of living for themselves and their families, including adequate housing, and that States should take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of that right.

Recognizing that the provision of housing for the homeless is an integral part of national economic and social development and represents an important step towards the realization of the right to development. Noting that the objectives of the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless are closely related to the realization of the economic, social and cultural rights set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

The UN resolution was in 1987. Now I quote from the Times of  India a daily newspaper in India. It published on 9^th January 2012 that, “At least 3 million homeless people across the country are having to sleep outdoors in the bitter winter this year and state governments have done scant little to provide shelters for them, the Supreme Court commissioners have said in their 'National Report on Homelessness' “.  It thus appears that many countries are giving mere lip service to UN resolutions.