A/HRC/43/43 encampments, to replace existing lower-cost housing with luxury housing or commercial developments or ostensibly for public order, safety and city beautification. In some contexts, they involve brutal violence, including gender-based violence and deaths. Evictions have also become a more frequent response to rent or mortgage arrears in the context of rising housing costs, and in many cases national law governing such evictions is not compliant with international human rights. 37. States must prohibit forced evictions and ensure that any evictions under domestic law are fully compliant with international law. Meaningful engagement with communities should ensure the development of plans that respect the rights of residents and can be implemented cooperatively, without the need for eviction procedures or police enforcement.29 38. Implementation measures: (a) Forced evictions as defined under international human rights law must be prohibited in all circumstances, regardless of ownership or tenure status of those affected. Victims of forced evictions must receive adequate compensation, reparation and access to housing or productive land as appropriate;30 (b) National laws governing evictions must be compliant with human rights norms, including the principle of respect for human dignity and the general principles of reasonableness, proportionality and due process, and should equally apply to those living in homeless encampments. Access to justice must be ensured throughout the process and not just when eviction is imminent. All feasible alternatives to eviction must be explored, in consultation with affected persons. If, after meaningful engagement with those affected, relocation is deemed necessary and/or desired by the community, adequate alternative housing of similar size, quality and cost must be provided in close proximity to the original place of residence and source of livelihood. 31 Evictions must not render people homeless. 32 Access to justice must be ensured throughout the process and not just when eviction is imminent; (c) In instances of mortgage foreclosure or rent arrears, evictions should only occur as a last resort and after a full exploration of alternative means to resolve outstanding debt, such as through emergency housing benefits, debt rescheduling or, if required, relocation to more affordable housing units meeting adequacy standards; (d) States should implement programmes to prevent evictions through measures such as rent stabilization and controls, rental assistance, land reform and other initiatives to promote land and tenure security in urban and rural settings. Preventive measures should also be adopted to eliminate the underlying causes of eviction and displacement, such as speculation in land, real estate and housing. No relocation of indigenous peoples is permitted without their free, prior and informed consent. 33 Guideline No. 7. Upgrade informal settlements incorporating a human rights-based approach 39. Nearly one quarter of the world’s urban population live in informal settlements, which means they are often denied basic services and compelled to live in disaster-prone areas and on the worst lands, often subject to forced eviction. 34 Grossly inadequate housing in informal settlements is one of the most pervasive violations of the human right to 29 30 31 32 33 34 A/HRC/40/61, para. 38. See the basic principles and guidelines on development-based evictions and displacement (A/HRC/4/18, annex I, paras. 23–27) and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas, arts. 17 and 24. Basic principles and guidelines on development-based evictions and displacement (A/HRC/4/18, annex I, para. 60). Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 7, paras. 10 and 13. United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, art. 10. See also A/73/310/Rev.1. 9