"We [the Heads of State or Government] reaffirm our commitment to the full and progressive realization of the right to adequate housing, as provided for in international instruments." Istanbul Declaration (paragraph 8) and the Habitat Agenda (paragraph 39).

Housing rights is a major element of the mandate of HPDS and permeates most of its activities. In response to commitments made in the Habitat Agenda and requests from the United Nations Commissions on Human Settlements (1997) and Human Rights (2001), UN-HABITAT and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) launched the joint United Nations Housing Rights Programme (UNHRP) in April 2002. The Chief of HPDS is at the same time the Co-ordinator of UNHRP.

The UNHRP provides a programmatic approach to addressing housing rights, drawing on the mandates of both UN-HABITAT and OHCHR. The main activities of the UNHRP are:

• Advocacy, outreach and learning from partners;
• Support for United Nations human rights mechanisms on housing rights;
• Monitoring and evaluation of progress of realisation of housing rights (including development of housing rights indicators);
• Research and analysis on housing rights (promotion and development of relevant norms,
standards and guidelines as well as thematic research on housing rights); and
• Capacity-building and technical co-operation (assistance to States and other stakeholders in building capacities for implementation and monitoring of housing rights).

Visit the UNHRP website for more information about the programme.