Report

The Importance of addressing Housing, Land and Property (HLP) Challenges in Humanitarian Response

NRC|Published 29. Apr 2016
This paper was published by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to inform the round table talks on ‘the importance of housing, land and property (HLP) rights in humanitarian response’ held in Geneva.

The NRC and IFRC are the global focal point agencies within the HLP Area of Responsibility under the Global Protection Cluster, a collaboration between NGOs, UN agencies, and academic institutions. The statement of the Global Protection Cluster provides the basis for this paper to develop a deeper understanding of how a human rights framework, specifically the right to adequate housing, can inform responses to disasters and conflict and promote protection within humanitarian operations. This paper aims to present that HLP rights is a cross-sectoral issue, and although this manifestation is acknowledged by some, it still represents a barrier to operations.

Assistance for this report was provided by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NMFA).