PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS: A HUMAN RIGHTS PERSPECTIVE AND STATE ACTION IN MUNICIPALITIES OF THE SERIDÓ POTIGUAR REGION

Abstract

This article addresses the situation of people experiencing homelessness from a human rights perspective, highlighting the difficulty of making these rights effective in practice, with the aim of analyzing state action regarding the realization of these rights in municipalities of the Seridó Potiguar region, in Brazil. Several norms guarantee the rights of this population, such as the 1988 Federal Constitution and various international treaties, all of which provide for essential rights such as housing, health, food, education and work, which are nonetheless constantly violated. The article also analyzes the state and social violence experienced by this population, with emphasis on practices such as hostile architecture, police repression and state neglect. Law No. 14,821/2024 and the Federal Supreme Court’s decision in ADPF 976 are presented as important advances, though still insufficient given the complexity of the problem. Methodologically, the research combined bibliographic and documentary review with requests for access to information submitted to the municipalities of Caicó, Parelhas and Currais Novos and to the Civil Police Station of Caicó. The results indicate the absence of an official count, of specific services and of records of the violence suffered by this group, in addition to the lack of response from Currais Novos. It is concluded that the lack of data and specific services prevents the very assessment of whether these rights are being realized, which in itself constitutes a form of institutional invisibility and a violation of human rights.