In May Amnesty International published a new report[1] assessing the impact of pandemic restrictions across the globe: ‘There is no help for our community: The impact of States’ Covid-19 responses on groups affected by unjust criminalization’. The report is based on an online survey of 54 civil society organizations in 28 countries, FEANTSA being one of them.
Amnesty report on the impact of Covid-19 restrictions
The European contribution to the right to housing: Standards, litigation and advocacy
The Fondation Abbé Pierre and FEANTSA/ Housing Rights Watch organised a joint seminar on the "European contribution to the right to housing: Standards, Litigation & Advocacy", which took place in Brussels on 16 May 2022.
The full programme can be found here.
Conclusions 2021 of the European Committee of Social Rights on Health, Social Security and Social Protection
The Committee has examined both the country reports on the thematic group of provisions related to health, social security and social protection and the information on follow-up to collective complaints. The reference period for the reporting system is 01/01/2016- 31/12/2019 so the period immediately before the Covid 2019 pandemic, a period of the greatest importance for the shaping of responses during the COVID-19 crisis.
New UK policing bill could have detrimental impact on the rights of people that are rough sleeping and of nomadic communities
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill 2021 is a piece of legislation which proposes an overhaul of current policing, criminal justice and sentencing laws in England and Wales. Several human rights actors have raised concerns regarding the bill's compatibility with international human rights obligations.
UK law criminalizing rough sleeping and begging, the Vagrancy act, is finally being scrapped
The Vagrancy Act 1824[1] has been in place in the United Kingdom for almost 200 years, making it a criminal offence to rough sleep and beg. In February 2022, UK Ministers finally confirmed that the Vagrancy Act will be repealed as part of a government amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill 2021[2].
The UN has found the Netherlands to be in violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child
El Ayoubi and El Azouan Azouz v. Spain. (Communication No. 54/2018) [19 February 2021]
Date of the decision: 19 February 2021
Country: Spain
Jurisdiction: Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Relevance of the Right to Housing in Europe and Poland
The problem of "financialization" is a threat awaiting the largest Polish cities, both due to the accumulation of apartments as capital investment, and for the needs of tourism. In the near future, this threat could become as serious a problem as the infamous re-privatization, warn Maria J. Aldanas and Jakub Wilczek of FEANTSA.
L. J. W. v. Belgium. (Communication No. 61/2018) [23.11.2021]
Rethinking rent control in Europe
For the first time, Housing Rights Watch and the Housing Solutions platform organized a joint webinar on the theme "Rethinking rent control in Europe".