UNITED NATIONS BODIES MEET TO MAKE ‘RIGHT TO HOUSING’ REALITY FOR ASIAN CITIZENS

United Nations bodies Meet to Make ‘Right to Housing’ Reality for asian citizens

(Reissued as received.)

BANGKOK, 25 June (UN Information Service) -- In an effort to make the right to housing a reality for all Asia’s citizens, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights will jointly convene a Regional Dialogue on Housing Rights starting on Sunday, 28 June to 29 June 2004.

Thirty participants will attend the meeting, including government representatives and civil society actors working on low-income housing issues in nine countries in the region.  The meeting signifies an important attempt by UNESCAP to mainstream human rights in their work, as mandated by the United Nations Secretary-General’s Agenda for Reform.

Innovative attempts at solving the housing needs of the region’s poor, including ways to ensure synergy between government and civil society actions for housing rights, will be presented from India, Thailand, Pakistan and the Philippines, amongst others.

Through the Dialogue, the organizers expect to facilitate dialogue between different disciplines and actors in operationalizing housing rights, and catalyse practical actions to put legal concepts into practice at the national and local levels.

Up to one third of the world’s urban population lives in slums and more than 500 million people in the Asia-Pacific region live in slums and squatter settlements.  Goal 7, Target 11 of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG 7-11) aims at a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020.  By dealing with the people living in the most difficult physical conditions of our cities, Target 11 is a direct recognition that slums are a development issue that needs a response.

To intensify this response, the Dialogue will aim to clarify the concept “right to adequate housing”, and to remove misconceptions and misinterpretations that hinder efforts to mainstream the right into ongoing development efforts.  These include the notion that housing rights imply that governments are required to build housing for an entire population, or provide housing free of charge.  Rather, governments need to be convinced of their own advantage in applying a rights-based approach, which also involves responsibilities by the public.

The beneficiaries of a rights-based approach will be another important focus, including how to better empower poor male and female slum dwellers to both effectively meet their responsibilities and protect their rights to housing.

Note to Editors:  You or your representatives are cordially invited to attend the Opening of the meeting on Sunday 27 June at 0900 hours at the Royal Princess Hotel.

For further information, please contact:  Asa Jonsson, Poverty Reduction Section, UNESCAP, tel.: (2) 288-1389, fax: (2) 288-1097, e-mail: jonsson.unescap@un.org.

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