A/HRC/43/43/Add.1 Rapporteur was appalled that the construction of luxury homes would deprive some of the poorest communities in the country from their ancestral economic activity, absurdly forcing them to buy frozen fish imported from one of the richest countries in Europe. This demonstrates the critical need for consultation with communities on any project that may affect their human rights, before the projects are approved, and to ensure that any adverse impacts on their rights are prevented and mitigated. 38. In her meetings with government officials, the Special Rapporteur noted that incremental in-situ upgrades – now fairly standard in other jurisdictions – are not seen as a viable option for improving the lives of the inhabitants of informal settlements no matter how vibrant, organized and well-structured their community is. Many officials claimed that Nigeria lacked the resources for improving the material conditions of those communities. However, such a position fails to acknowledge the human capital at hand. Residents of informal settlements who met with the Special Rapporteur said they were willing and able to take up the task themselves if provided with modest materials, or even loans to help finance upgrading and a guarantee of security of tenure from the Government. This option, which would prevent forced evictions, offers an opportunity to improve living conditions in informal settlements and, generally, would ensure that affected residents have improved access to housing, water and sanitation, health, education and other services, and thus be able to enjoy a life of dignity and in conformity with the right to adequate housing and other fundamental human rights. D. Homelessness 39. During the Special Rapporteur’s visit, government officials and civil society organizations acknowledged homelessness as a growing problem, although no statistics had been collected to quantify its extent. The Special Rapporteur observed people living under bridges in Lagos and many in informal settlements in conditions equivalent to homelessness. In most cities, few or no emergency shelters were available. Homelessness is the failure of the State to implement the right to housing and is considered an egregious violation. The Human Rights Committee has acknowledged that failing to address the problem of homelessness can amount to a violation of the right to life. 40 40. The Government is failing to uphold its human rights obligations in relation to homeless persons. 41 First, it does not have any information on the number of homeless persons in Nigeria and, second, it lacks a strategy to eliminate homelessness, with clear goals, targets and timelines. 41. By failing to prevent forced evictions, the Government is directly contributing to homelessness. Although in their meetings with the Special Rapporteur government officials generally rejected the notion that they engaged in forced evictions, many communities were under threat of forced eviction because the fundamental legislative and policy reforms that are required to prevent them did not exist. 42. As discussed below (see paras. 45–50), homeless persons and other persons in poverty suffer discrimination, stigma, criminalization and negative stereotyping in Nigeria. 43. The capacity of homeless persons to seek remedies for the human rights violations they suffer is hindered by the right to housing not being fully justiciable in court, and also by the lack of legal aid that could assist them in protecting their rights. 44. The Government is also failing to prevent abuses by third-party actors rendering persons homeless: in many forced evictions, the Nigerian security forces cooperate with groups of armed men in brutal attacks against residents, and public institutions fail to hold them accountable.42 40 41 42 10 CCPR/C/79/Add.105, para. 12. A/HRC/31/54. Amnesty International, The Human Cost of a Megacity, pp. 7–8, 24–25, 27, 43 and 53–54.