10 December 2014
Mr Chander Khera, ACT ACHRE Committee Member, attended the International Human Rights Day forum organised by the ACT Human Rights Commission in Canberra. The forum was chaired by the ACT Human Rights and Disability Commissioner, Helen Watchir. The main message from the keynote speaker, Leilani Farha, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, was that nations, states and local governments have the responsibility and obligation to provide adequate housing as part of human rights. The housing has to be affordable and needs to take cultural sensitivities into account. Adequate housing means that states have to take reasonable steps to the maximum of available resources to provide housing. The steps are to include measurable goals that reflect reduction in homelessness, said Ms Farha. The forum was well attended and was an opportunity to hear progress of the ACT Human Rights Act that was enacted a decade ago. As part of human rights day celebrations, a display of a decade of human rights in the ACT is at the Canberra Museum and Gallery.