A/HRC/7/16 page 9 evictions; increased focus by treaty monitoring bodies on issues related to forced evictions; integration of work on forced evictions into the mandates of United Nations agencies and bodies and bilateral and multilateral initiatives.11 19. In order to give States and the international community practical tools to prevent the violation of the right to adequate housing as a consequence of forced evictions due to development projects, the Special Rapporteur presented a set of Basic principles and guidelines on development-based evictions and displacement to the Human Rights Council in his preceding report.12 These guidelines address various situations including evictions planned or conducted in apparent pursuit of the “public good”, such as those linked to development and infrastructure projects (including large dams, large-scale industrial or energy projects, or mining and other extractive industries); land acquisition measures associated with urban renewal, slum upgrades, housing renovation, city beautification, or other land-use programmes (including for agricultural purposes); property, real estate and land disputes; major international business or sporting events; and, ostensibly, environmental purposes, as well as activities supported by international development assistance. 20. The guidelines offer several new prescriptions, based on information gathered worldwide since 1997, which render more clearly the obligations of States in this context. These include: the need for States to conduct comprehensive impact assessments in advance of evictions that take into account their differential impact on women, children and other vulnerable groups; calling for States to take intervening measures to ensure that market forces do not increase the vulnerability of low-income and marginalized groups to forced eviction; affirming the obligation of States to recognize the fundamental human rights of forcibly evicted persons to return, resettlement, and fair and just compensation; and the requirement that all affected persons be notified in writing and sufficiently in advance with a view to minimizing the adverse impact of evictions; the enumeration of detailed steps to be taken by States to protect human rights prior to, during and after evictions; and the establishment of stringent criteria for initiating and carrying out unavoidable evictions in exceptional circumstances. 21. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the consideration of and decisions on forced evictions from various treaty bodies, including the link made by the Committee against Torture (CAT) between forced evictions and breaches of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.13 11 Ibid. See also E/CN.4/2003/5/Add.3 and E/CN.4/2005/48/Add.3, paras. 70-72. 12 A/HRC/4/18, annex I. See also the Special Rapporteur’s web page on forced evictions available at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/housing/evictions.htm. 13 The Committee against Torture (CAT) has considered that burning or demolishing houses may, in certain instances, amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (article 16 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment). See for instance communication No. 161/2000, Hajrizi Dzemajl et al. v. Yugoslavia, para. 9.2 and CAT/C/XXVII/Concl.5, Conclusions and Recommendations of the Committee against Torture: Israel, para. 6 (j).