A/HRC/43/43/Add.2 required claimants to show proof of additional medical, psychological or social distress. 67 In some decisions, it was argued that the State was incapable of ensuring emergency shelter or adequate housing because of a lack of financial means. The Special Rapporteur reminds authorities that human rights are generally not subject to derogation based on availability of funds or means. Homelessness threatens the right to life, health and physical integrity and must be accorded the utmost priority, even in times of fiscal pressures. 86. The Special Rapporteur applauds the Defender of Rights, which receives claims related to the right to housing and provides support to victims whose right has been or is at risk of being violated. The Defender also submits legal opinions to courts in judicial decisions, and issues recommendations on draft legislation. The Defender also undertakes official inquiries into alleged violations of human rights, including the right to housing.68 87. France enjoys functioning monitoring and advisory mechanisms for the implementation of the right to housing. Both the National Consultative Commission for Human Rights and the High-level Committee on Housing of Disadvantaged Persons have monitored the implementation of the right to housing.69 Their work is complemented by civil society organizations such as the Foundation Abbé Pierre, which issues an annual report on housing.70 88. The Special Rapporteur commends France for accepting collective complaints procedures before the European Committee of Social Rights. The Committee has heard several complaints against France, regarding eviction, the allocation of social housing, and the insufficient progress made towards the elimination of homelessness and substandard housing in both quantitative and qualitative terms (complaints No. 33/2006, No. 39/2006, No. 51/2008, No. 63/2010, No. 64/2011, No. 67/2011 and No. 119/2015). It also ruled (decision No. 114/2015) that leaving unaccompanied foreign minors on the street violates the rights of children and that accommodating unaccompanied foreign minors in hotels for weeks or months cannot be considered appropriate accommodation. In December 2018, the Committee reviewed implementation by France of its decisions and noted various efforts to improve the housing situation of homeless persons, Roma and travellers, but found that violations relating to the right to housing had not been adequately addressed.71 89. In Winterstein and Others v. France, the European Court of Human Rights held that the eviction of a number of traveller families in Val d’Oise had constituted a violation of article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights.72 In Tchokontio Happi v. France, the Court held that the Government had violated the claimant’s right to a fair trial by failing to rehouse her under the act establishing the enforceable right to housing for over three years after she had been deemed eligible, and that the Government could not cite lack of resources as an excuse for the delay. 73 VI. Conclusion and recommendations 90. The housing conditions experienced by vulnerable and marginalized persons in France stand in contradiction of a nation that has a long tradition of the promotion of human rights and is now the seventh wealthiest on the planet. Housing affordability has become a significant problem, with housing prices and rental costs on the rise. There is an insufficient supply of social housing in metropolitan areas for those in need. Those in informal settlements are often denied basic services and regularly subjected to forced 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 16 High-level Committee on Housing of Disadvantaged Persons, 5 conditions nécessaires à la mise en œuvre du « Logement d’abord », pp. 69–78. See, for example, decisions No. 2019-259, No. 2019-068 and No. MLD-MSP-2015-291. See National Consultative Commission for Human Rights, “Avis « Logement: un droit pour tous? » : permettre un accès effectif et non discriminatoire au logement”, 16 June 2016, and “Avis sur le respect des droits fondamentaux des populations vivant en bidonvilles”, 20 November 2014. See www.fondation-abbe-pierre.fr. European Committee of Social Rights, Follow-up to Decisions on the Merits of Collective Complaints, paras. 244, 246 and 249. European Court of Human Rights, Case of Winterstein and others v. France, Application No. 27013/07, Judgment (Merits), 17 October 2013. European Court of Human Rights, Case of Tchokontio Happi v. France, Application No. 65829/12, Judgment, 9 April 2015.