Across the United States, municipalities have criminalized the basic human necessity of sleep by enacting ordinances that criminalize camping in public spaces—even when no shelter space is available.[1] As cities respond to houselessness with criminal sanctions, incarceration, and fines, these actions not only perpetuate cycles of socioeconomic stratification and discrimination, but also violate international human rights standards to which the United States is bound.[2] To comply with the standards set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)[3] and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)[4], the United States must transition to a humanitarian response to houselessness that prioritizes comprehensive support, housing access, and resource allocation over dehumanization, criminalization, and punishment.[5]
Several sources of international law and human rights standards establish clear guidelines for the treatment of unhoused individuals. The UDHR establishes the right to housing as a fundamental human right, as Article 25 declares:
Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age, or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.[6]
The ICCPR reinforces this protection through prohibitions on cruel and inhumane treatment or punishment, discrimination, and arbitrary depravations of liberty.[7] By signing and ratifying the UDHR and ICCPR, the United States is obligated to uphold these standards in its treatment of all citizens.[8]
The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, has gravely undermined the United States’ obligations established by the UDHR and ICCPR.[9] This decision upheld anti-camping laws as constitutionally permissible.[10] The ordinances in question prohibit sleeping with blankets and bedding in public spaces, and the laws impose criminal sanctions, including a $295 fine and up to thirty days in jail for repeat offenses.[11] The Court held that the city’s enforcement of these ordinances, even in the absence of available shelter beds, does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment.[12]
Grants Pass stands in stark contradiction to the principles and protections set forth in the ICCPR and UDHR.[13] The Human Rights Council (HRC) explicitly declared that “[l]aws criminalizing life-sustaining activities may result in a violation of Article 7 of the [ICCPR] prohibiting cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, in particular when… arrests or move-on orders result in a persistent state of fear or sleep deprivation; when personal belongings or merchandise are confiscated or destroyed; or when evictions from street encampments or squatted buildings are carried out without the provision of any adequate housing alternative.”[14]
Further, anti-camping bans violate the fundamental human right to liberty and security as set forth in Article 9 of the ICCPR due to the disproportionate and discriminatory application of laws based on class status.[15] Article 9 prohibits arbitrary arrests and detention, and the HRC notes that “the arrest and detention of persons in street situations for life-sustaining activities is disproportionate and unnecessary.”[16] By criminalizing the unavoidable consequences of surviving without shelter, anti-camping bans violate Article 25 of the UDHR, which proscribes an adequate standard of living as a fundamental human right.[17] Grants Pass permits cities to enforce anti-camping bans without providing alternative shelter or housing, which directly contradicts the principle of housing as a fundamental human right.[18]
The international legal community has repeatedly condemned the criminalization of houselessness as a violation of international human rights and standards.[19] In 2020, the HRC called on its members to “take all measures necessary to eliminate legislation that criminalizes homelessness, and to take positive measures with a view to prevent and eliminate homelessness by adopting and implementing laws… based on international human rights law.”[20] The United Nations has proposed multiple alternative legal and policy approaches to address houselessness based on a “housing first” model, rather than punitive and inhumane measures.[21] Such approaches include repealing laws that criminalize life-sustaining activities, ensuring access to public spaces for all, and addressing the systemic failures that lead to the loss of shelter, rather than criminalizing the life-sustaining acts of unsheltered individuals. Further, the HIC recommends that states address root causes of poverty through humanitarian approaches that prioritize access to affordable housing and the social services necessary to ensure an adequate standard of living.[22]
Grants Pass marks a significant failure in the United States’ commitment to international law, as well as to the nation’s own citizens. To fulfill its obligations under the UDHR and ICCR, the United States must not only abandon its policy of punishing poverty; it must also pursue a comprehensive humanitarian response that centers the fundamental rights and dignity of unhoused individuals.
[1] Andrew Chung, US Supreme Court Backs Anti-Camping Laws Used Against Homeless People, Reuters, June 28, 2024, https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-supreme-court-ruling-will-worsen-homelessness-crisis-groups-warn-2024-06-28/.
[2] UN Human Rights Committee Calls on US to End Criminalization of Homelessness, Whole Community News, Nov. 5, 2023, https://wholecommunity.news/2023/11/05/un-human-rights-committee-calls-on-us-to-end-criminalization-of-homelessness/.
[3] Universal Declaration of Human Rights, G.A. Res. 217A (III), U.N. Doc. A/810 (1948) [hereinafter UDHR].
[4] International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Sept. 8, 1992, 999 U.N.T.S. 171 [hereinafter ICCPR].
[5] See Jonathan Allen & Liya Cui, US Supreme Court Ruling Will Worsen Homelessness Crisis, Groups Warn, Reuters, June 28, 2024, https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-supreme-court-ruling-will-worsen-homelessness-crisis-groups-warn-2024-06-28/.
[6] UDHR, supra note 3, at 7.
[7] See ICCPR, supra note 4, at 5-6, 13-14.
[8] See A/HRC/56/61/Add.3 at 4-5.
[9] City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, 603 U. S. at — (2024).
[10] See Chung, supra note 1.
[11] Id.
[12] Grants Pass v. Johnson, 144 S. Ct. 2202 (2024).
[13] See UDHR, supra note 3; ICCPR, supra note 4.
[14] A/HRC/56/61/Add.3, supra note 8, at 5.
[15] ICCPR, supra note 4.
[16] A/HRC/56/61/Add.3, supra note 8, at 6.
[17] UDHR, supra note 3, at 13-14.
[18] Id.
[19] See A/HRC/56/61/Add.3, supra note 8.
[20] A/HRC/RES/43/14 at 3.
[21] See A/HRC/56/61/Add.3, supra note 8.
[22] Id.
