Geneva, 9 December:

The Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) today announced the winners of its annual Housing Rights Awards for 2008. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Governments of Israel and Italy received Housing Rights Violator Awards for their demonstrated failure to protect and implement housing rights. The Constitutional Assembly of Ecuador was presented with 2008’s Housing Rights Protector Award for its role in making Ecuador the first country in the world to explicitly recognise in its Constitution a range of key housing and habitat-related rights. Ms Pia Ndayiragije of Burundi, Mr Ken Fernandes of Australia and the Chicago, USA-based Coalition to Protect Public Housing each received a 2008 Housing Rights Defender Award in recognition of their outstanding commitments to the defence of housing rights.

Download the 2008 Awards media kit below

ABOUT COHRE'S HOUSING RIGHTS AWARDS

Despite the widespread recognition of housing rights under international human rights law, violations of housing rights continue to occur on a massive scale. Today over one billion people live in inadequate housing and a further 100 million are homeless on any given night. Millions more are forcibly evicted from their homes every year. Proper implementation of housing rights standards also remains a key challenge.

COHRE’s annual Housing Rights Awards draw attention to some of the world’s worst violators of housing rights and – on a more positive note – to governments, civil society groups and individuals who have shown exceptional commitment to enforcing and securing housing rights for everyone, everywhere.

Each year COHRE presents three types of Housing Rights Award: the Housing Rights Violator Awards, the Housing Rights Protector Award (presented to a government or institution) and the Housing Rights Defender Awards (presented to individuals or groups).