E/CN.4/Sub.2/2005/17 page 2 Introduction 1. At its fifty-sixth session, the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, in its resolution 2004/2, welcomed the progress report of the Special Rapporteur on housing and property restitution in the context of the return of refugees and internally displaced persons, which contained draft principles on housing and property restitution for refugees and displaced persons (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2004/22) (hereinafter “Draft Principles”), as well as a supplementary draft commentary on the draft principles themselves (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2004/22/Add.1). 2. In resolution 2004/2 the Sub-Commission requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to circulate the Draft Principles widely among non-governmental organizations, Governments, specialized agencies and other interested parties for comment, and requested the Special Rapporteur to take those comments into account in the preparation of his final report to be considered by the Sub-Commission at its fifty-seventh session. In addition, over the last year, the Special Rapporteur has similarly solicited comments from various agencies and experts, in order to invite a wide range of views, comments and input on the Draft Principles. 3. Since the Sub-Commission’s fifty-sixth session, the Special Rapporteur has received many thoughtful and detailed written comments on the Draft Principles from non-governmental organizations, Governments, specialized agencies and other interested parties. The Special Rapporteur was extremely gratified by the careful and kind attention focused on the Draft Principles by so many interested parties, and wishes to gratefully acknowledge each contribution offered towards the development of this important work. 4. In order to further facilitate dialogue on the Draft Principles, an Expert Consultation on the Draft Principles on Housing and Property Restitution was held at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America, on 21 and 22 April 2005. The Expert Consultation allowed the Special Rapporteur to discuss the development of the Draft Principles in partnership with a broad range of international experts. The participants at the Expert Consultation brought to the forum a diverse and impressive range of expertise, including proficiency in the areas of refugee assistance and refugee law, internally displaced persons, restitution programme development and implementation, conflict and post-conflict situations, peace-building and peace negotiations, international housing rights, gender equality in situations of displacement and, of course, commendable expertise in the areas of international humanitarian law, and international human rights law.1 5. The Expert Consultation was coordinated jointly by the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University and the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE), with the generous support of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). The Special Rapporteur would like also to take this opportunity to gratefully acknowledge each of these agencies for its very kind and generous support. 6. The Expert Consultation invited participants to comment on the substantive and technical content of the Draft Principles, thereby ensuring that the final articulation of the Principles themselves address, as clearly and concisely as possible, real-world obstacles which may be