On Thursday October 16th, the Parsons Housing Justice Lab and the MS Design and Urban Ecologies program hosted two events featuring the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing; Balakrishnan Rajagopal.

“Land and the Right to Adequate Housing” featured Jonathan Passmore, Counsellor of the Permanent Mission of South Africa to the United Nations, Michael Fakhri, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Ramya Jawahar Kudekallu, Human Rights and Atrocity Prevention Clinic at Cardozo School of Law, Grace Chikumo-Mtonga, President, Habitat International Coalition , Ombretta Tempra, Chief, Land, Housing and Shelter Section at UN-Habitat in conversation regarding the role of land and how it factors in the quest for a world-wide right to housing. The event was a prelude to the housing rapporteur who presented his thematic report on “Land and the Right to Adequate Housing” the following day to the UN General Assembly.

Later in the day Mr. Rajagopal was the featured speaker in an event titled “Ending Homeless Criminalization: Enforcing Human Rights.” The focus of the early evening event looked at how the criminalization of people who with no other alternative, sleep in places considered unfit for human habitat. In early June the Rapporteur heard from community members, advocates and people with lived experience how people were being targeted in cities across the US after the June 2024 supreme court decision in the City of Grants Pass vs Johnson case.

After the Rapporteur opened the conversation, he was followed by the Siya Hegde of the National Homeless Law Center who gave an update on the US removing itself from the scheduled November Universal Periodic Review. Ms. Hegde’s presentation was followed by a roundtable discussion moderated by former NYC Chief Housing Officer Jessica Katz which featured discussants Christine Quinn; C.E.O. of Women in Need, Leah Goodridge; a nationally renowned lawyer and Fitzroy Christian a leader of the tenant organizer community-based organization, Community Action for Safe Apartments. Photos: Sam Hozian.

Organized by MS Design and Urban Ecologies’ faculty member Rob Robinson.

Photos of the evening event can be found here. For video of the event click here.

With sincere gratitude for the photos to Sam Hozian and video Zane Elias.