DETROIT, October 21 (RIA Novosti) - All government levels are responsible for the current human rights violations in Detroit, UN Special rapporteur on the right to adequate housing Leilani Farha told RIA Novosti.
“There are a lot of actors, involved in creating the situation that exists in Detroit. It’s the combination of entities,” Farha told RIA Novosti on Monday.
“But where international human rights laws concerned, governments are responsible, all levels of government, the federal, the state, and the local city government. That is who is ultimately responsible.”
Farha and her colleague, UN Special rapporteur on the human right to water and sanitation Catarina de Albuquerque spent three days in Detroit observing the impact of water shutoffs on the residents and their human rights, as well as the need for adequate housing. The authorities have allegedly been turning the water services off to those who are more than 60 days behind on their bill and have not entered into a payment arrangement.
During their visit the UN rapporteurs have met with lawyers, laborers, residents, and city officials, including congressman Congressman John Conyers, Detroit’s mayor Mike Duggan and members of the Detroit City Council.
“Today we had meetings with the mayor and his staff as well as the Department of Water and Sewage,” Farha said. “We had two hours with them, and I thought it was a constructive meeting. It was an exchange of information, insights and perceptions. It was, what I would call an initial conversation.”
She added that the organization will keep an eye on what’s going on in Detroit, and hopes that the authorities will take their suggested recommendations regarding the water shutoffs and the human rights into consideration.
“Certainly, the individuals and the governments are welcome to provide us with an ongoing information, and we hope to receive such ongoing information so we can monitor the human rights situation here,” the rapporteur noted. “We are very concerned, but this is the beginning and we hope to carry on.”
Farha said that they are in contact with the authorities at the federal level as well.
“We have had written correspondence with the State Department and with the United States mission to Geneva, and anticipate having a meeting with them sometime after we leave Detroit,” she explained, adding that the exact date has not been arranged yet.
“They have indicated an interest and we are definitely interested,” she concluded.
The UN experts stressed, however, that although they will give their recommendations to the city officials, they cannot force them to make any changes.
