Homelessness: Global Perspective
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Homelessness: Global Perspective Report of the International Conference on Homelessness India Habitat Centre, New Delhi India January 9th – 13th 2006 Acknowledgements We are extremely grateful to a number of institutions and individuals for their support and assistance in the development and delivery of this conference. In particular the following people and institutions were instrumental in the success of the event: Department for International Development - Britain Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) – India Farouk Tebbal – UN Habitat Secure Tenure Campaign – Nairobi Kenya A. K. Jain - Delhi Development Authority – India Dr. P. S. Rana – HUDCO, India Miloon Kothari – UN Special Reporter on Housing Aashray Adhikar Abhiyan Peu Banerjee - TVB School of Habitat Subhashchand Jankalyan Awas Vikas Society Introduction This report details the proceedings of the international conference on Homelessness: A Global Perspective, held in New Delhi 9th – 13th January 2006. The report is in 2 parts. Part one discusses the background to the conference, its aims and the experiences of those who took part. Part 2 presents the majority of the formal papers presented at the conference. Further details about the conference or the study of homelessness which led to it can be obtained from Suzanne Speak, at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne Background In 2000 Dr Graham Tipple, from the Centre for Architectural Research and Development Overseas (CARDO), produced the draft text for the UN-HABITAT publication Strategies to Combat Homelessness. Following this publication, a successful application was made, by Dr Tipple, to the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID) for funding to undertake an in-depth study of homelessness in nine developing countries1. The main aims of this study were to explore the nature and extent of homelessness and interventions to address it in each of the countries. The study was managed by Dr Graham Tipple and Suzanne Speak from Newcastle University. A researcher was commissioned in each of the nine countries to undertake detailed research in accordance with a carefully developed Terms of Reference. A list of the researchers is provided in the appendix. Each researcher submitted a report and all but 2 of the countries were visited during the project by one of the two Newcastle researcher. The nine countries chosen for the study presented a range of housing and homelessness situation and degrees of poverty. They gave a range of different cultural experiences and understanding of housing and homelessness. For example, cultures around property ownership differ greatly between Ghana and China. China also offered the opportunity to explore the effects of new population mobility and an emerging market economy on housing and homelessness. Since the completion of the research a number of academic publication have been produced and this is likely to continue. However, it is clear that our understanding of homelessness in a global context is still in its infancy. The conference on Homelessness: A Global 1 Peru; South Africa; Zimbabwe; Ghana; Egypt; India; Bangladesh; Indonesia; China Perspective was developed not only as a way of dissemination current findings but also to identify ways to take the work forward. Acknowledgement of UN Habitat The conference was acknowledged by UN Habitat and was attended by Dr Farouk Tebbal, head of UN Habitat Secure Tenure Campaign. Dr Tebbal read a statement from Mrs Anna Tibaijuka, Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of UN-HABITAT. Mrs Tibaijuka’s statement is presented on the following pages Dr Farouk Tebbal reading the statement of Mrs Anna Tibaijuka at the opening session The Statement of Mrs Anna Tibaijuka Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of UN-HABITAT: Dear Participants and Friends, I wish, first of all, to congratulate the organizers of this Conference on Homelessness, especially the Global urban Research Unit, for providing us the opportunity to discuss such an important matter, which is unfortunately not always given the attention it deserves. I would very much liked to have be with you today and to participate in your deliberations because the theme of your conference lies at the core of UN-Habitat’s mission. As many of you are well aware, the mandate of UN-Habitat derives from the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements – also known as Habitat II. This Conference, held in Istanbul in 1996, culminated with the adoption, by all nations, of the Habitat Agenda and its twin goals of “Shelter for All” and “Sustainable Urbanisation”. There is no doubt in my mind that both these goals can only be achieved if we eradicate the root causes of homelessness. Homelessness serves as a reminder that “Humanity is still falling woefully short of putting its universal declarations and principles into practice”. Holding this conference in one of the most populous countries of the world also serves as a reminder that the inexorable process of urbanisation will soon turn our planet into a predominantly urban world. Indeed, and according to most experts, 2006 will mark the turning point in demographic history as more than half of humanity will live in towns and cities. While urbanisation brings many benefits to society, it is unfortunately synonymous, in many developing countries, with poverty and social exclusion, the most extreme form of which is homelessness. The facts and figures that are facing us do not call for optimism. Today more than 1 billion people are living in substandard and inhuman shelter conditions. And this figure does not include transient populations who do not have even a roof to protect them from the hardships of nature. They number in the millions and are ignored by statistics simply because they are not identified as citizens. Many of them are in the prime of their youth. More than half of them are women or girls, often in charge of younger children and siblings. They wander our streets. They are among us. They live with us. And, they form part of our social fabric. Homelessness has always been a “natural” concern for UN-HABITAT since its inception. This concern was further confirmed by Habitat Agenda which dedidates at least 7 articles directly to homelessness. More recently, in 2000 a report titled “Strategies to Combat Homelessness” was published by UN-HABITAT as a part of its Global Campaign for Secure Tenure. This report is still considered as a reference and I wish here to acknowledge the excellent contribution of Prof. Graham Tipple to the preparation of this report. At the Millennium Summit in September 2000, the world’s leaders decided to recognize the living conditions of slum dwellers as one of the major issues facing humanity. They resolved to “improve significantly the living conditions of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020”. While this goal, in and of itself, is a positive step because it puts the urban poor at the forefront of poverty reduction strategies, as a target it is much too modest considering the scope of the problem. It also obfuscates the issue of the homeless. I believe that we need to raise our sights higher and set more ambitious objectives. We need to achieve much more than just improving the living conditions of 10 percent of the people who are currently living in slums. We need to mobilize our efforts and resources to see that all those who are suffering from homelessness today, as well as those who are at risk of becoming homeless, are offered decent alternatives. This is why UN-Habitat has pleaded for a broader scope of the slum-upgrading target of the Millennium Development Goals. I am pleased to inform you that the Millennium Summit Outcome adopted by the world’s leaders last September identified slum prevention as a priority along with slum upgrading. Paragraph 56 (m) of the final document calls upon governments to provide alternatives to the formation of new slums. In my understanding, this paragraph calls for nothing less than a concerted approach to deal effectively with the root causes of slum formation and homelessness by combating urban poverty as well as recognising people’s “right to the city”. Our strategy and the policies we are advocating are embodied in the principles of our global campaigns for Secure Tenure and Urban Governance. In terms of combating urban poverty, UN-Habitat works with governments, local authorities and civil society to find effective ways and means of providing affordable and suitably located land for the urban poor. This includes technical assistance and seed capital, provided by our Slum Upgrading Facility, for devising and implementing innovative financing mechanisms that combine public resources, community-based micro-credit schemes and private sector investments in pro-poor urban land development. Another key area of intervention is to facilitate access by the urban poor to basic infrastructure and services, primarily safe water and sanitation. This includes the leveraging of international assistance with domestic capital through community-owned and community- led initiatives to provide, manage and maintain sustainable sources of drinking water supply and affordable sanitation. Our activities under this rubric currently include the Water for African Cities and Water for Asian Cities programmes. Last but not least, UN-Habitat actively promotes the inclusive city where the urban poor are able to have an effective voice in decisions affecting their livelihoods. This includes the effective participation of the urban poor, and of youth and of women in particular, in the decision making process regarding issues such as access to health care, education, vocational training and job creation, transport, and facilitating rather than inhibiting the informal sector. In terms of the “right to the city”, UN-Habitat works closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and a wide range of advocacy groups. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the immense task carried out by the Special rapporteur on Housing Rights, Miloon Kothari.