Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Decision adopted by the Committee under the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, concerning communication No. 236/2021 * , **

Communication submitted by:M.S.P. and D.V.

Alleged victims:The authors

State party:Portugal

Date of communications:25 October 2021 (initial submission)

Subject matter:Eviction of an elderly person and a person with a disability by new owner

Substantive issue:Right to adequate housing

Article of the Covenant:11 (1)

1. The authors of the communication allege that the State party has violated their rights under article 11 (1) of the Covenant by evicting them without providing them with alternative housing.

2. The Committee, acting through its working group on communications, registered the communication and requested the State party to take interim measures to suspend the authors’ eviction pending consideration of the communication or to provide them with adequate alternative housing, in genuine and effective consultation with them.

3. The State party submitted its observations on the communication, which were transmitted to the authors for comments.

4. At its meeting on 14 February 2025, the Committee, having taken note of the State party’s request for discontinuance on the grounds that the order for the authors’ eviction became statute-barred in June 2022 and is no longer enforceable and that, should a new eviction order be issued, the authors could submit a new communication to the Committee with a request for interim measures, decided to discontinue the consideration of communication No. 236/2021, in accordance with article 18 of its rules of procedure under the Optional Protocol.