Housing and property restitution for refugees and displaced persons

Implementing the ‘Pinheiro Principles’

A Handbook

This Handbook is intended to practically assist a variety of actors and institutions, including headquarters and field staff, to secure protection and durable solutions for refugees and other displaced persons through the application of the Principles on Housing and Property Restitution to various situations of displacement.

The Handbook is organised on a principle-by-principle basis. Coverage of each of the 23 principles begins with a brief description of the rationale and legal basis for including the principle in question within the text. This is followed by ‘typical scenarios’ in which each principle could be applicable. These scenarios provide practical examples on how the contents of each principle have been addressed previously in restitution processes, and how practitioners can most effectively benefit from best practices and lessons learned over the past decades in addressing restitution questions.

These examples are then followed by ‘common questions’ that restitution practitioners may confront in applying the Principles, and which are intended to assist in clarifying many of the most frequent restitution challenges. Both the ‘typical scenarios’ and ‘common questions’ sections in the Handbook have been purposely kept concise, with only limited reference to legalistic language, and without reference to footnotes. Housing and property restitution practitioners who are interested in accessing more detailed information about the legal basis of each of the Principles and how these may have already been applied in the field, are invited to review the various materials listed under the ‘useful guidance’ section which conclude the analysis of each Principle.

The very broad nature of the Principles and their comprehensive contents need to be borne in mind by users of the Handbook. The Principles seek to achieve many things: Namely, they assert specific rights to housing and property restitution, re-affirm a range of related rights, outline in detail a range of legal, policy, procedural and institutional arrangements which are vital for the achievement of restitution rights and conclude by outlining an ideal role for international organisations in securing these rights. While there are exceptions, generally these issues arise at different stages of the displacement cycle. For instance, the recognition of restitution rights necessarily precedes the establishment of specialised restitution procedures and institutions, just as questions surrounding the enforcement of judicial decisions confirming restitution rights necessarily precede the organised re-possession of homes and lands by returning refugees and IDPs by refugees and displaced persons, who may then choose either to return to their original residence or to use restitution as a means for supporting and alternative choice of resettlement or local integration. Restitution, thus, is very much of a step-by-step process and those involved in applying the Principles need to take this into account in using the Handbook.

The text of the Principles should be treated as a unified whole and every effort should be made by those using the Handbook to ensure that all of the issues addressed within the text are treated with the requisite seriousness. Handbook users should note that no guidance is offered on the application of the preamble of the Principles. A full text of the Principles on Housing and Property Restitution for Refugees and Displaced Persons is contained near the end of the Handbook.

Those using the Handbook will frequently be working in positions requiring them to advocate for the enforcement of the housing and property restitution rights of refugees and displaced persons. In this regard, they should familiarise themselves thoroughly with the human rights re-affirmed in the preamble of the Principles and Principles 1-10 with a view to ensuring that these rights are adequately respected and protected throughout all stages of the restitution process. This would apply to a wide range of settings; from advocacy efforts during peace negotiations to ensure the inclusion of restitution rights within any eventual agreement, to the assertion of restitution rights within established restitution procedures on behalf of an individual refugee or IDP within post-conflict or post-disaster settings. Indeed, the housing and property restitution rights held by all refugees and displaced persons should guide the efforts of all those responsible for return, repatriation and other durable solutions, be they policy-makers, lawyers, NGOs, UN staff members or others.

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