Listed below, please find links to six (6) video clips that were recorded on Saturday, October 18, 2014 during the “DETROIT FACT-FINDING” Meeting segment of the Special Informal Visit to Detroit by U.N. Special Rapporteurs Catarina de Albuquerque (Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation) and Leilani Farha (Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living) of the “United Nations Human Rights / Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights” and held at Michigan AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) Council 25, located at 600 W. Lafayette Blvd., Detroit, MI.
Snippet (1/6) - (Approx 3 minutes)
https://youtu.be/...
Snippet (2/6) - (Approx 7 minutes)
https://youtu.be/...
Snippet (3/6) - (Approx 15 minutes)
https://youtu.be/...
Snippet (4/6) - (Approx 1 minute)
https://youtu.be/...
Snippet (5/6) -(Approx 39 minutes)
https://youtu.be/...
Snippet (6/6) - (Approx 24 minutes)
https://youtu.be/...
(FYI) ... A Joint Press Statement soon followed:
20 October 2014
Upon invitation from civil society organisations, we visited the city of Detroit (Michigan - USA) from 18 to 20 October 2014. The purpose of this informal visit was to learn more about the impact of water disconnections on the living conditions of individuals and households and on their human rights to water, sanitation and housing, and to discuss international standards on human rights.
During the visit, we went to different parts of Detroit and met with people whose water had been shut off and others who are struggling to pay expensive water bills to avoid shut-offs. We listened to stories from single mothers with low income, older persons, people with disabilities and chronic illnesses. We also discussed the situation with Mayor Duggan, City Council, Congressman Conyers, civil society organizations, Detroit water department workers, and with lawyers. ...
... Suggested recommendations:
We suggest that the City of Detroit restore water connections to residents unable to pay and vulnerable groups of people, stop further disconnections of water when residents are unable to pay, and provide them the opportunity to seek assistance that must be made available through social assistance schemes.
We also urge the City of Detroit, the state of Michigan and the national government to adopt a mandatory affordability threshold. In addition to this, specific policies should be adopted to ensure specific support to people who live in poverty.
We suggest that the City of Detroit provide urgent measures, including financial assistance, to ensure access to essential water and sanitation (minimum amount of water necessary for personal and domestic uses, which should be about 100 liters per person per day) and to housing when people are unable, for reasons beyond their control, to cover the costs themselves. In such measures, protection of vulnerable groups of people (those with disabilities, chronic illnesses, with children, etc) must be prioritized.
We recommend that the authorities make an urgent assessment of the public health consequences for the individual, schools and community of the water shut-offs, and take steps to mitigate adverse impacts.
We recommend Governments make every effort to ensure that the most vulnerable, including those who reside in Section.8 housing, are not evicted from or lose their housing as a result of water shut-offs or water bill arrears.
We recommend that the city of Detroit stop converting delinquent water bills to property liens for collection and enforcement through the tax foreclosure process. We further recommend that the Government advertise and make accessible property tax exemption programs for those living in low-income.
In the event that an individual or family is rendered homeless due to water shut-offs, the city of Detroit must have in place emergency services to ensure alternate accommodation with running water is available. Immediate and urgent steps must be taken to find long-term viable housing solutions for these residents.
We recommend that the Federal Government immediately undertake an investigation into the water shut-offs to determine if they are having a disproportionate impact on African Americans and other groups protected against discrimination.
Federal and state agencies with relevant authority should require water and sanitation utilities, as a condition for funding and permits, to collect data and report annually on water shut-offs by age, income level, disability, race, and chronic illness. This information should be made publically available. Any practice that has a discriminatory impact must be addressed and discontinued.
In our view, residents of Detroit should be ensured access to administrative and legal remedies, in particular those who are unable to pay current water bills and/or arrears or who want to challenge the amount of their water bills or the cutting-off of their water supply. These procedures must be made public and accessible, and adequately resourced.
Source: Joint Press Statement by Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living and to right to non-discrimination in this context, and Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation Visit to city of Detroit (United States of America) 18-20 October 2014.