Commentary: Some Thoughts on Field Experiments on Housing Discrimination From a European View

Ali M. Ahmed
Linköping University

Discrimination violates the basic human right of equal treatment, adopted, for example, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations in 1948. Discrimination is without doubt a threat against the cohesion in a society and leads to the exclusion of people. The international human rights law also recognizes everyone’s right to adequate housing and standard of living. Furthermore, having a home is a fundamental need, which is necessary to be an integrated part of society on equal terms. Housing discrimination, therefore, concurrently violates two fundamental human rights and is a severe problem for any society.