BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 22. The Baku Call to Action, which serves as the final document of the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku, supports intersectional approaches to housing policy, Trend reports.
"Housing systems continue to overlook the local contexts and the intersection of gender, ethnicity, culture, age, disability, legal status and citizenship that foster exclusion and unequal access to land and housing. We call for intergenerational, and intersectional approaches to housing that place people at the centre of policy and delivery, recognizing diverse groups as co-creators. Civil society and grassroots movements must lead together with government, private sector and professionals embedding and protecting diversity in housing policies," the document states.
In addition, the Baku Call to Action notes that in many contexts, housing continues to be treated as a commodity rather than a right, with evictions, demolitions, conflicts, and population displacement undermining people's dignity, security, and livelihoods.
"We call for the full adoption and enforcement of a human rights approach to housing, including safeguards against forced evictions, stronger tenure and tenant protections, as well as access to justice. With support from international organizations, national and local governments must embed this call into legal, policy, land use planning and institutional frameworks that recognize and protect the social and environmental function of housing. We call for institutionalizing community-led and participatory approaches within regional, national and local housing systems," the document says.
As noted, families, individuals, and internally displaced persons often find themselves in insecure or inadequate housing, exposing them to further risk of displacement, insecurity, and exclusion.
"We call for integrated housing approaches that link humanitarian response, recovery and long-term development, advancing climateresilient and people-centred urban recovery in fragile and post-conflict settings and facilitating their access to development and climate finance. National and local governments, humanitarian and development actors, and international institutions must protect housing and essential civilian infrastructure, strengthen safeguards against displacement and destruction, and uphold mechanisms that ensure these protections are effectively enforced. There are significant global precedents for post-conflict reconstruction including from host government of Azerbaijan. We urge a coordinated approach to prioritise reconstruction and recovery efforts and ultimately the return of internally displaced people (IDPs) to their homes. Free and prior informed consent should be guaranteed by all national governments," the document reads.
The thirteenth session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) was held in Baku from May 17 to May 22.
Convened by UN-Habitat and co-organized with the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan, WUF13 was held under the theme “Housing the world: Safe and resilient cities and communities”.
The Forum hosted 579 sessions throughout the week, while the Urban Expo brought together 260 exhibitors, innovators and solution providers. WUF13 featured 11 heads of state, 9 high-level guests, 88 ministers and 76 deputy ministers, and 130 mayors, alongside representatives of international organizations, financial institutions, academia, civil society and grassroots organizations.
