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[Insert statement of urgency and significance for why this right relates to AI.]
Sectors #
The contributors of the AI & Human Rights Index have identified the following sectors as responsible for both using AI to protect and advance this human right.
- BUS: Business Sectors
- ENV: Environmental and Energy
- FIN: Financial Services
- GOV: Government and Public Sector
- HLTH: Healthcare and Public Health
- INTL: International Organizations and Relations
- REG: Regulatory and Oversight Bodies
- SOC: Social Services and Housing
- WORK: Employment and Labor
AI’s Potential Violations #
[Insert 300- to 500-word analysis of how AI could violate this human right.]
AI’s Potential Benefits #
[Insert 300- to 500-word analysis of how AI could advance this human right.]
Human Rights Instruments #
U.N. Charter (1945) #
1 U.N.T.S. XVI, U.N. Charter (June 26, 1945)
Preamble
WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED
to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and
to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the Dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and
to establish conditions under which Justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and
to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger Freedom,
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) #
G.A. Res. 217 (III) A, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, U.N. Doc. A/RES/217(III) (Dec. 10, 1948)
Article 25
1. 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.
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1965) #
G.A. Res. 2106 A (XX), International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, U.N. Doc. A/RES/2106 A(XX) (Dec. 21, 1965)
Article 5
In compliance with the fundamental obligations laid down in article 2 of this Convention, States Parties
undertake to prohibit and to eliminate racial discrimination in all its forms and to guarantee the right of
everyone, without distinction as to race, colour, or national or ethnic origin, to Equality before the law,
notably in the enjoyment of the following rights:(e) Economic, social and cultural rights, in particular:
(iii) The right to housing;
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) #
G.A. Res. 2200A (XXI), International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966), 993 U.N.T.S. 3 (Dec. 16, 1966)
Article 11
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions. The States Parties will take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right, recognizing to this effect the essential importance of international cooperation based on free Consent.
2. The States Parties to the present Covenant, recognizing the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger, shall take, individually and through international co-operation, the measures, including specific programmes, which are needed:
(a) To improve methods of production, conservation and distribution of food by making full use of technical and scientific knowledge, by disseminating knowledge of the principles of nutrition and by developing or reforming agrarian systems in such a way as to achieve the most efficient development and utilization of natural resources;
(b) Taking into account the problems of both food-importing and food-exporting countries, to ensure an equitable distribution of world food supplies in relation to need.
Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) #
G.A. Res. 44/25, Convention on the Rights of the Child, U.N. Doc. A/RES/44/25 (Nov. 20, 1989)
Article 27
3. States Parties, in accordance with national conditions and within their means, shall take appropriate measures to assist parents and others responsible for the child to implement this right and shall in case of need provide material assistance and support programmes, particularly with regard to nutrition, clothing and housing.
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) #
G.A. Res. 61/106, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, U.N. Doc. A/RES/61/106 (Dec. 13, 2006)
Article 28
Adequate standard of living and social protections
1. States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to an adequate standard of living for themselves and their families, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions, and shall take appropriate steps to safeguard and promote the realization of this right without discrimination on the basis of disability.
Last Updated: April 29, 2025
Research Assistant: Laiba Mehmood
Contributor: To Be Determined
Reviewer: Laiba Mehmood
Editor: Caitlin Corrigan
Subject: Human Right
Edition: Edition 1.0 Research
Recommended Citation: "XI.I. Right to Food, Clothing, and Housing, Edition 1.0 Research." In AI & Human Rights Index, edited by Nathan C. Walker, Dirk Brand, Caitlin Corrigan, Georgina Curto Rex, Alexander Kriebitz, John Maldonado, Kanshukan Rajaratnam, and Tanya de Villiers-Botha. New York: All Tech is Human; Camden, NJ: AI Ethics Lab at Rutgers University, 2025. Accessed December 13, 2025. https://aiethicslab.rutgers.edu/Docs/xi-i-food-clothing-housing/.