UN upholds housing as a human right on World Habitat Day

Representatives from governments, civil society and academia meeting in Muscat, Oman on Monday called for urgent action to address a global housing crisis affecting nearly 3.4 billion people.They gathered to commemorate World Habitat Day which this year focuses on the theme of Adequate Housing for All.“Adequate housing is not a luxury. It is a foundation for a dignified life and for sustainable cities,” said Anacláudia Rossbach, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, the agency that promotes sustainable urbanization.She stressed that “housing needs to be treated as a public priority alongside land and basic services”, underlining the need for greater investment in communities and cooperation across government, the private sector and civil society.Millions living in slumsIn his message for the day, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called adequate housing for all “the foundation of dignity, security, and opportunity.”He noted, however, that more than three billion people worldwide are denied this universal human right.“Over one billion live in informal settlements and slums, and many more experience homelessness or have been displaced by conflict, disasters, and climate change,” he a...