Research On The Right To Adequate Housing After Natural Disasters

The right to adequate housing is the right of every woman, man, youth and child to gain and sustain a safe and secure home and security in which to live in peace and dignity. In the course of the study on the protection of the right to adequate housing after natural disaster, the " appropriate " and " sufficient" rights is particularly important, and compared with "housing rights"," the right to adequate housing " is more vivid and appropriate, and therefore we use the expression of " the right to adequate housing ". At the same time, we can not be one-sided and stationary understanding of the right to adequate housing in the concept of " appropriate " and " sufficient", we should proceed from reality, according to the different development level of productivity in different countries and regions, the different historical periods in society, to provide corresponding adequate housing for people.Along with the development of social industrialization, urbanization, and marketization, the inherent weakness and gradually of the market itself exposed, which caused the income distribution inequality in society, and the housing problem of low-income and vulnerable groups. Then the housing problem gradually developed a social problem. In1948, the United Nations General Assembly enacted the " Universal Declaration of Human Rights " in order to protect the fundamental rights of human life, including civil, political, economic and cultural rights, since then the right to housing as a human rights concept is proposed. In recent years it has received more and more attention, since it has been confirmed by many international treaties and other international documents. For legally binding international treaties, the contracting parties shall strictly abide by the relevant provisions; and for other international documents, although not legally binding, but they guide the practice operation and decision-making, legislation and policy reform and project strategy, which have the important significance and reference value. At the same time, countries have also taken legal, policy and other measures, to protect the right by the provision of public housing, government subsidies. So that the citizen’s right consciousness is strengthened and low-income and vulnerable groups hope through the national obligations to protect their adequate housing rights effectively.Based on the study of the right to adequate housing, it is not difficult to find that the condition after natural disaster is different from the general situation. In case of emergency, in order to reduce and prevent the victims’rights violations, to return the former residence where is security, to recover and rebuild their homes as soon as possible in order to protect the right to adequate housing is very necessary. In the aspect of right subject, it is important to protect homeless people who escape across national borders after natural disasters and vulnerable groups. In the aspect of duty subject, it plays a significant role in promoting the protection of the rights to adequate housing to pay attention to international cooperation and accept the relief from other countries, regions, international organizations. In the aspect of relief measures, it is including the protection of emergency situations and housing permanent solutions, which are both very significant to victims. And in the concrete implementation process, we should pay special attention to protect the related human rights of victims, especially the vulnerable groups’, to make them enjoy their rights to adequate housing with equality and non-discrimination, to some extend to give priority to their house placement and try to meet their special housing needs.Through summing up experience and lessons of the practice on protection the rights to adequate housing rights after the Pakistan earthquake in2005, the United States of America " Katrina" hurricane in2005, and Wenchuan earthquake in2008, we find that there still have many points should be improved continuously. For our country, on the one hand, we should improve the domestic legal system and strengthen the application of international laws to provide legal basis on the protection of the rights to adequate housing after natural disasters; on the other hand, we should also establish judicial relief mechanism and rapidly recovery court trial work after natural disasters to make the victims get fast and efficient relief on the rights to adequate housing. All these will be conductive to the full realization of the rights to adequate housing for victims, and will also be conducive to the progress and development of human rights in our country.