Framing the human right to adequate housing: an analysis of United Nations Special Rapporteur country reports

The United Nations Special Rapporteur (UNSR) for Housing is mandated to promote and protect the human right to housing at the international level. However, their work has received little academic attention. This paper investigates how the UNSR for Housing identifies human rights breaches and advocates for solutions across diverse contexts. We conceptualize these contributions using a framing analysis of 24 country reports published over 15 years (2007–2022). This dataset includes 12 high-income countries and 12 low- and middle-income countries, enabling a broad perspective on how housing problems and the right to housing are framed. We identify similarities across these reports that highlight internationally pervasive issues, such as the vulnerability of certain social groups to diverse housing problems, and inadequate housing conditions. We also find that some issues received greater emphasis among high-income countries, such as shortages of social housing, while in low/middle-income country reports, large-scale informal housing settlements were more commonly emphasized. Our analysis illuminates how the UNSR operationalizes the right to housing by setting international standards and promoting tangible improvements in housing conditions, both within and beyond the countries visited. We also demonstrate the utility of framing analysis as a method and conceptual approach in housing studies.