A/HRC/37/53 right to housing defines obligations of States both in the present and over time; it commands a vision and a process through which the right to housing is realized. Human rights are necessary to achieve the change that is necessary for goals such as those in the 2030 Agenda to be achieved. IV. Key principles of a rights-based housing strategy A. Principle 1: based in law and legal standards 16. The right to housing should be recognized within housing strategies as a legal right, subject to effective remedies. Rights-based housing strategies should be based in legislation that recognizes the right to adequate housing in all of its dimensions. In addition to relying on constitutional or legislative recognition of the right to housing, strategies should reference and adhere to the right to housing as it is guaranteed in international human rights law. 17. Strategies must map a process through which the right to housing will be fulfilled within a reasonable time frame. Provisions are required to ensure not only entitlements in the present (immediate obligations) but also action-oriented obligations over time (progressive realization obligations). 18. Strategies must eliminate homelessness. A State is seen to be in violation of international human rights law if any significant portion of the population is deprived of access to basic shelter or housing. Addressing homelessness is therefore an immediate obligation. A State must make every effort to use all available resources to satisfy the obligation to eliminate homelessness as a priority. 4 19. Forced evictions constitute a gross violation of human rights. Preventing and halting them must be considered an immediate and prioritized obligation. Only in the most exceptional circumstances and after all alternatives have been explored can forced evictions be carried out. In these circumstances, relevant principles of international law must be strictly followed, including by ensuring that adequate alternative housing is chosen freely by affected communities. The Basic principles and guidelines on development-based evictions and displacement clarify these obligations.5 20. The obligation to progressively realize the right to housing is found in article 2 (1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has stated in paragraph 14 of its general comment No. 4 (1991) on the right to adequate housing that, for a State to meet this obligation, it must demonstrate that, in aggregate, the measures being taken are sufficient to realize the right for every individual in the shortest possible time in accordance with the maximum of available resources. In rights-based housing strategies, States are obliged to ensure that measures taken to implement the right to housing are deliberate, concrete and targeted towards the fulfilment of the right; that policy options are consistent with the right; and that the maximum available resources have been allocated to those ends. Housing strategies should establish which obligations are achievable in the present and which can only be implemented within a reasonable period of time. Differences in capacity between States means that a future obligation in some might be an immediate obligation in others. 21. Strategies must outline the obligations concerning the right to housing. These include the obligations of States to respect (not to encroach), protect (prevent interference by third parties) and fulfil (promote and facilitate access to and provide housing or assistance where needed). Because the obligation to fulfil is assessed relative to available resources and other factors, it is the most difficult to define in universal terms. However, it 4 5 See Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights general comment No. 3 (1990) on the nature of States parties’ obligations, para. 10. See A/HRC/4/18, annex I. 5