A/HRC/16/42 approach to development, which “describes situations not simply in terms of human needs, or of developmental requirements, but in terms of society's obligation to respond to the inalienable rights of individuals. It empowers people to demand justice as a right, not as charity, and gives communities a moral basis from which to claim international assistance where needed7 ”. He then issued guidelines to his Special Representatives on how human rights standards should guide peace negotiations8 . In 2000 the Report on the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations (the “Brahimi Report”) emphasized the importance of incorporating human rights into the work of peace missions. The Panel’s key recommendations on a peacebuilding strategy for the United Nations included “a doctrinal shift in the use of civilian police, other rule of law elements and human rights experts in complex peace operations to reflect an increased focus on strengthening rule of law institutions and improving respect for human rights in post-conflict environments9 ”. It also recommended that “the ability of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to plan and support the human rights components of peace operations needs to be reinforced10 ”. 11. Another important development was the formulation of the Principles on Housing and Property Restitution for Refugees and Displaced Persons, generally known as the “Pinheiro Principles11 ”. These were the culmination of a shift that commenced in the early 1990s “from what were essentially humanitarian-driven responses to voluntary repatriation to more rights-based approaches to return […] increasingly grounded in the principle of restorative justice and of restitution as a legal remedy which can support refugees and internally displaced persons in their choice of a durable solution (whether return, resettlement or local integration)12 ”. 12. It has taken longer for the human rights implications of post-disaster responses to be clearly recognized. According to the United Nations Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), natural disasters have traditionally “been seen as situations that create challenges and problems mainly of a humanitarian nature13”. although the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in its general comment No. 4 had explicitly included victims of natural disasters and people living in disaster-prone areas among a list of disadvantaged groups that “should be ensured some degree of priority consideration in the housing sphere14 ”. During the past decade there have been important and welcome shifts in this approach. According to IASC: “Increasingly, it has come to be recognized that human rights protection also needs to be provided in these contexts. The tsunamis, hurricanes and earthquakes, which hit parts of Asia and the Americas in 2004/2005, highlighted the need to be attentive to the multiple human rights challenges victims of such disasters may face. 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Ibid., para. 174 International Council on Human Rights Policy, Negotiating Justice? Human Rights and Peace Agreements. International Council on Human Rights Policy, 2006, p. 18. A/55/305, para. 47. Ibid. para. 234. Sub-Commission on Human Rights, “Final report of the Special Rapporteur, Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro. Principles on housing and property restitution for refugees and displaced persons”, E/CN.4/Sub.2/2005/17. FAO, IDMC, OCHA, OHCHR, UN-Habitat and UNHCR, Handbook on Housing and Property Restitution for refugees and displaced persons: implementing the ‘Pinheiro Principles’ (2007), p. 10. See also General Assembly resolution 60/147 of 16 December 2005: Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law. IASC, Human Rights and Natural Disasters: Operational Guidelines and Field Manual on Human Rights Protection in Situations of Natural Disaster, Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement (Washington, D.C., 2008), p. 1. United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights CESCR, General Comment 4: The right to adequate housing (Art. 11 (1) of the Covenant) (Sixth session, 1991), para. 8(e). 5