UN human rights report details lack of adequate housing in the US

This week, the US State Department released its annual report on human rights in countries across the world. It covers 194 nations and reports on issues such as the LGBT community in Uganda, refugees in the Middle East and government crackdowns in Iran and China. Speaking yesterday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noted the role that the US can play in human rights.

"Assessing opportunities for progress and soliciting citizen engagement is one way that we demonstrate our commitment, in word and deed, to the basic principles that guide us toward a more perfect union and a more peaceful world. As we work to protect human rights both at home and abroad, we remember that human rights begin, as Eleanor Roosevelt said, in small places close to home."

Well, nothing is closer to home than the issue of housing - and while much of the attention is on human rights in foreign countries, a different report from the UN has found that housing and human rights are a very serious issue right here in the US.
The UN Special Rapporteur on Housing visited cities across the US last Fall. It was the first such mission to the US. At the time, we spoke with UN Special Rapporteur Raquel Rolnik, just after she had shared some preliminary findings with US lawmakers. Now, she has released final results in a report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. She joins us from Sao Paulo to discuss her findings.

You can find the full report and more information on the UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing here: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/housing/documents.htm