The Human Dimension of "Home"

All societies provide a legal framework that protects the pivotal functions of home and family. None provide a clear legal definition of “home”. Nor, this article argues, can they. “Home” is a concept rooted in the lived experience of human persons.

In this article, the second in a series, the author employs the “human dimension” [HDIM] concept, initially developed by the U.S. military and later adopted by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, as the lens through which one can examine the “human element” of human rights. The framework for this analysis is the “four clusters of value-types” described by Professor Lorna Fox O’Mahoney: home as a physical structure, home as a center for self-identity, home as a social and cultural unit, and home as a territory. It concludes by observing that unpacking the concept of “home” is the logical starting point for a much broader effort to examine the “human dimension” of human rights law and policy in general.