A/HRC/7/16 page 5 Introduction 1. The present report constitutes a review of the work and activities of the first Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living and on the right to non-discrimination in this context since his appointment by the Commission on Human Rights in 2000 in its resolution 2000/9, later extended by the Commission in its resolution 2003/27 and the Human Rights Council in its resolution 6/27. 2. The report mainly focuses on obstacles to the implementation of the right to adequate housing and issues that would require further attention of the Human Rights Council in order to achieve the realization of the right to adequate housing. In the last section, the Special Rapporteur makes recommendations to the Council and the next mandate holder. 3. Given that this is his final annual report to the Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur would like to gratefully acknowledge the extensive support given to his mandate by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), especially by all his assistants, since the inception of the mandate. I. APPROACH TO THE RIGHT TO ADEQUATE HOUSING 4. Since the beginning, the Special Rapporteur has advocated, through his reports1 and activities, a broad interpretation of the right to adequate housing. He has always adopted an approach stressing the indivisibility of human rights, without which the right to adequate housing loses its meaning. Through his work, the Special Rapporteur has demonstrated that existing interlinkages between the right to adequate housing and congruent human rights, such as the rights to food, water, health, work, land, livelihood, property, and security of person, as well as protection against inhuman and degrading treatment, non-discrimination and gender equality, are at the core of the realization of the right to adequate housing. His approach has been articulated in the definition that he has developed: “The human right to adequate housing is the right of every woman, man, youth and child to gain and sustain a safe and secure home and community in which to live in peace and dignity.” This definition, and the broad conception of the fundamental human right that it encompasses, has received validation from many different actors across the world. 5. The Special Rapporteur has worked on various elements of the right to adequate housing. He subscribes fully to the interpretation given to the right to adequate housing by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR).2 In his work, he has identified additional elements that provide a more complete conception of this right, also taking into account its civil and political rights dimension. Through consultations and studies, the Special Rapporteur has 1 See for instance his first report, E/CN.4/2001/51. The reports of the Special Rapporteur are available at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/housing/index.htm. 2 See in particular Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) general comments Nos. 4 (1991) on the right to adequate housing (article 11 (1) of the Covenant) and 7 (1997) on the right to adequate housing (article 11 (1) of the Covenant): forced evictions.