3.4 Billion People Worldwide Lack Adequate Housing
A UN Deputy Secretary-General, speaking at a World Habitat Day ceremony in Iran, said about 3.4 billion people worldwide lack adequate housing and one billion live in informal settlements.
According to Ambassador Arjan, today the commemoration ceremony of World Human Settlement Day was held at the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development. In this ceremony, Farzaneh Sadegh, Minister of Roads and Urban Development, referring to the experience of reconstruction after the 12-day war, stated: Reconstruction in the country began with the focus of structural repair, retrofitting and improvement, and less than 10% of cases led to renovation.
Stating that more than 400 urban and rural areas were hit during the attacks, he said: the destruction of vital infrastructure and public spaces, in addition to damage to buildings, affected parts of public spaces that are the place of social solidarity and the formation of local communities.
The Minister of Roads and Urban Development emphasized the necessity of reconstruction in proportion to the dimensions of the damages and added: In the face of such crises, one should pay attention to the concept of "better reconstruction than before"; This means that the reconstruction is not only limited to repairing the damaged buildings, but also to improve the safety and quality of living.
Sadiq raised the question of how should the right to development be redefined in the context of human rights and the right to adequate housing in the international law system in the context of the deliberate targeting of settlements, urban arteries and human shelters, and said: When a house is destroyed, not only a building has been destroyed, but residential rights have been violated and the basic core of human identity and peace has been disintegrated. In such a situation, suitable housing is no longer measured by stability and physical strength, but must be resilient and rebuildable.
He added: Its physical structure should provide the possibility of debris removal and emergency relief in the neighborhood network, protect the remaining assets, facilitate the social and psychological rehabilitation of the victims, and enable the chain of transitional accommodation to permanent accommodation based on the model of reconstruction better than before.
The Minister of Roads and Urban Development emphasized: In this century, proper housing is more than a physical shelter that guarantees human survival against crises. Cities should not be a defenseless scene of urbanization and house demolitions, but should become a center of life, local solidarity and the regeneration of hope. Our mission in national policy-making and the collective responsibility of the global community is to free the concepts of housing from coercive measures and biased statistics and move towards realizing biological sustainability and preserving human dignity against man-made disasters and unilateral approaches.
Suitable housing beyond the construction of a residential unit
Referring to the concept of the right to adequate housing in international documents, Sadegh stated: housing cannot be considered simply as a structure consisting of materials or a unit with a specific size; Suitability of housing is a dynamic concept that is related to changes in human life and economic, social and environmental conditions. A building may seem suitable under normal conditions, but when war or disasters occur, it can no longer play the role of a safe haven due to the interruption of accesses, the difficulty of emergency evacuation or the loss of place attachment.
Referring to the indicators of suitable housing, the Minister of Roads and Urban Development listed the right of occupation, access to water and energy, infrastructure and services, physical and mental health, security, efficient transportation, economic affordability, climatic comfort, universal accessibility, suitable location and cultural fit as important aspects of this concept.
He also pointed to the experience of housing support schemes and Mehr housing and said: Past experience has shown that the separation of housing from residential services, amenities and biological links can lead to the formation of satellite and dormitory settlements; Areas that will face social problems if there are not enough facilities.
Changing the government's approach from building a unit to providing decent housing
Emphasizing the change in the direction of housing policy in the 14th government, Sadegh stated: We are trying to direct the policies of this area from the mere production of a residential unit to the provision of decent residences that match the real needs of the society.
He also pointed to the bill for organizing occupied lands and said: A bill has been submitted to the parliament to determine the status of the settlements that people have built by themselves, through recognition, documenting and paying attention to the required services, and to return peace and security to more than half a million low-income households.
Araghchi: Protection of residential areas is one of the fundamental principles of international law
Abbas Araghchi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, in a message on the occasion of the World Human Settlements Day, considered the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructures necessary in armed conflicts and emphasized: the protection of residential areas, schools, medical centers and other civilian facilities is one of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.
It is stated in this message that achieving sustainable cities and having proper housing will not be possible without respect for international law, effective protection of civilians and condemnation of attacks on residential areas and civilian infrastructure by international institutions and countries.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs also pointed to unilateral sanctions and the experience of devastating wars in the past decades, emphasizing Iran's progress in areas such as improving the resilience of cities and developing villages.
Warning about the deprivation of billions of people from proper housing
Anaclaudia Rosbach, Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Human Settlements Program, also warned about the global housing crisis in a message on the occasion of this day and called for housing to be placed at the top of public priorities.
He announced that about 3.4 billion people in the world are deprived of proper housing and more than one billion people live in informal settlements; A situation that affects the economy, social justice and sustainability of cities.
Rosbach continued: In this regard, the development of the country's road and urban planning policies in line with international standards to improve the quality of settlements is focused on completing the chain of infrastructure services. The implementation of large-scale road and rail transportation projects in the provinces as part of the infrastructure service network plays a central role in connecting residential areas to activity centers and increasing the resilience of communities against crises in order to provide the necessary platform for sustainable living.
Adequate housing is the foundation of human dignity
Christian Wiegand, the resident coordinator of the United Nations in Tehran, also considered suitable housing to be one of the foundations of dignity, security and human opportunities and emphasized the necessity of data-based policy, strengthening national cooperation and increasing the resilience of urban infrastructure.
Pointing out that 78% of Iran's population lives in urban areas, he listed the lack of affordable housing, the expansion of informal settlements, land subsidence, and climate risks among the challenges facing the country's cities.
Pointing to the damage to around 100 thousand residential units and service and educational centers, Weygand called the reconstruction of these areas and ensuring the safety of shelter for households an important priority. In this regard, strengthening the resilience of transportation and infrastructure projects in the country's provinces, including the completion of road and rail arteries, has been considered as a prerequisite for access to services and crisis management in residential areas in order to establish a safe connection between settlements and employment centers.
The Executive Secretary of the United Nations Human Settlements Program emphasized the need for action at all levels, from decisions based on reliable data to the provision of sustainable financial resources, and added that the United Nations is committed to strengthening cooperation with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Roads and Urban Development. Weygand called housing a public good and called for a common vision to realize the right to proper housing for all citizens.
The comprehensive housing plan pays attention to rental housing
Habibullah Taherkhani, Deputy Minister for Housing and Construction, Minister of Roads and Urban Development, also emphasized the need to review housing policies and said: "The challenge of this area is not only due to the lack of supply, and turning housing into a tool for speculation has made it difficult for the low-income and middle class to access proper shelter."
He added: In the new comprehensive housing plan, rental housing is considered as one of the key axes; Because focusing solely on ownership in the past years, along with other factors, has led to the expansion of speculation and the difficulty of access to housing for some households.
The Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development also emphasized the necessity of changing the government's role from direct undertaking to regulation and providing a platform for the private sector's activities and said: Field experiences show that the government's direct involvement in construction and location has, in some cases, caused a waste of resources, lengthening the implementation time, and reducing the efficiency of projects.
Taherkhani considered the development of infrastructure projects and transportation arteries in the provinces as one of the factors affecting the stability of settlements and emphasized the need to strengthen the connection of population centers with services and activity centers.
Parliament's emphasis on creating safe places and increasing urban resilience
Mojtaba Yousefi, a member of the Civil Commission of the Islamic Council, also pointed to the experience of recent wars and emphasized the need to strengthen the resilience of housing and cities, create shelters and safe places, and review urban planning policies.
He considered the attack on residential houses, hospitals, schools and other civilian places as a reason for the necessity of pursuing people's rights through international institutions and demanded that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the President's Legal Assistant use the capacities of international law more actively to follow up on attacks and damages.
Yousefi also considered the protection of historical and heritage places necessary because of their place in the civilizational and human heritage.
In another part of the ceremony, Mahmoud Razjoyan, a university professor in the field of housing design, emphasized the need for a multifaceted approach to housing issues, housing security, and increasing the resilience of buildings, and called for the provision of effective participation of the young generation in the development of the country.
Mahmoud Olad, an expert in the field of housing and the director of the Comprehensive Housing Plan, also emphasized the need to pay attention to the economic power of households and safety and health standards, saying: Policy making should be such that low-income households do not leave the official housing market due to their inability to meet their expenses, and do not turn to unsafe housing or informal settlements for shelter.