31 July 2015
The German Forum
on Environment & Development was
founded in 1992 after the UN conference in Rio on environment and development.
Its purpose is to coordinate German NGOs in international political processes
on sustainable development. It was strongly involved in the preparation and the
civil society processes of the Habitat III Conference in 1996 in Istanbul. The
Forum is closely linked to environmental and developmental organizations in
Europe and is aiming at a change of the current wasteful economy and lifestyle
of industrial countries.
We welcome …
- … the organization of a further global Habitat
conference of United Nations, because it may help to remind governments
and societies to keep their Habitat II promises by realizing the goals of
adequate shelter for all and sustainable urban settlements in our
urbanizing world. - … the interest to actualize and concretize the
urban dimensions of the post-2015 development goals. - … the opportunity for a critical review of the
1996 Habitat Agenda, for a global reflection on the reasons of its
(non)implementation and for a shared analysis of new challenges and forces
towards just and liveable cities for all. - … the many ideas and views already expressed
in 22 draft issue papers presented in six policy areas, because this
productivity may encourage urban social movements across the world to
raise their own voices and propose their own goals, visions and proposals
for a sustainable development of settlements aiming to defend and realize
human rights, justice and equality.
From our point of view, there are some
missing points in the papers and debates: We miss …
- …a clear commitment to the achieved agreements
on main goals of the 1996 Habitat Agenda, especially the commitment to the
realization of the right to adequate shelter and to equitable human
settlements as principles of sustainable development. - … a serious reference to the practice of
forced evictions and the destruction of people’s settlements. These
inhuman practices increasingly impact millions of people in African and
Asian cities, and are strongly present in other continents, including
Europe and North America. Forced evictions are serious violations of Human
Rights and a constant threat for all inhabitants of self-built settlements
as well as for low-income tenants. - … policy proposals to stop and revert growing
social inequalities which are the main reasons for urban poverty and
social exclusion, for autocratic governance and insecurity, for
unsustainable urban growth and transformations, for real estate speculation
and economic instability. - … specific attention on gender discrimination
as well as on the exclusion of disabled, elderly and other groups. All
these problems need specific approaches and should not be mixed under one
umbrella of “inclusion”. - … a reference to the negative role of
austerity policies (for instance as elements of structural adjustment
policies) imposed on many countries and cities by governments,
international agencies, supranational institutions and international
treaties, which substantially reduced the provision of decent housing and
other basic services and had an extremely negative impact on equity and
liveability of human settlements. - … the issues of privatization and deregulation
of social and public rental housing and its consequences on exclusion and
the access to housing. - … a critical review of impacts of public
private partnership (PPP) agreements – as recommended at Habitat II – and
of the privatisation of essential public services like water, transport
and electricity on service quality, costs, municipal finances and the
living conditions of citizens, specifically those with lower income. - … an adequate reflection on the disastrous
consequences of subprime lending, mortgage securitisation and private
equity or hedge funds on housing and land markets. The 2008 crisis showed
to which extend that can dramatically influence the security of tenure of
millions, private and public debt, urban economy, employment, and
municipal finances. - … reporting on the consequences and risks of
existing and planned international free trade agreements (like TTIP) on
housing and cities.
We have serious concern …
- … that Habitat III might forget many of the
international agreements on a human rights orientated urban development,
on equitable human settlements, on local participation and social
sustainability which had been achieved at Habitat II, and that Human
Rights obligations of governments might be neglected and substituted by
technocratic approaches to reshape the cities for future challenges, middle
class needs and business opportunities. - … that the “New Urban Agenda” could put a
strong focus on the restructuring of cities in view of climate changes,
but might not seek sufficiently for solutions which combine that focus
with the big social and economic questions like poverty and inequality,
homelessness and insecurity of tenure, discrimination and social
exclusion, expropriation and expulsion. - … that climate adaption could become a pretext
for anti-social legislations, urban transformations and profitable
business strategies. - … that elements of the New Urban Agenda
arguing for the need of restructuring the cities for climate adaptation
might be misused by governments to justify evictions. - … the world community will fail to discuss the
urban roots of the 2007 ff. crashes and will do nothing to correct the
destructive path of commodification, privatisation and deregulation of our
urban commons, of land, housing and infrastructure. - … that public and social housing, social
control of urban land use and the public provision of basic services –
measures which could reduce the growing social inequalities in cities and
societies – will not play a serious role at Habitat III. - … that “inclusion” and cohesion without
presenting instruments and policies on how to substantially reduce social
inequalities will remain symbolic. - …that the reality of urban poverty could be
merged and forgotten under the inclusion
We propose that the Habitat III conference in its
final declaration …
- … takes up the legacy of the Habitat Agenda
and reaffirms the importance of the Right to Housing, as it is put down in
the International Covenant on ESC Rights from 1966, including all aspects
as “security of tenure; availability of services and infrastructure;
affordability; habitability; accessibility, especially for disadvantaged
groups; adequate location and cultural adequacy.” States are obliged to protect, respect and
fulfil this right with appropriate state budgets (or development funds)
sufficient to address urgent housing problems. A thorough survey of the
housing situation of all population groups is required as well as the
participative development of short and long term strategies for overcoming
specific housing deficits. - … confirms that sustainable urban development
is an approach towards the realization of human rights, equity and
justice; that it depends on the active participation of all inhabitants
and cannot be achieved without seriously addressing the reality of lower
income citizens. - … clarifies that technical solutions for urban
resilience and smart cities can never replace the holistic approach of
sustainable development and social human rights and that the adaption of
cities to climate change shall never serve as a pretext for anti-social
urban developments, - … includes a clear statement in favour of the
urgent need to democratically control the use of urban land and to provide
sufficient land for social housing purposes in city centres, close to job
opportunities and to social, cultural and recreational facilities. - … discusses the options of democratically
organized public and social housing models at broad scale – including
rental, cooperative and collective tenure – as a fundamental instrument of
a rights based housing provision for all, defining production pattern,
management models, funding needs and roles of state, cities and civil
society in that social production of habitat. - … includes in its discussions the necessity to
regulate mortgage, real estate investments and financial industries. - … considers the need to overcome the austerity
dogma and to allow social and poverty oriented public investment
strategies in housing, services and infrastructure. - …reviews the impact of free trade and workfare
on cities. - … recognizes the big number of tenants
inmost kinds of settlements, including informal settlements, and supports
measures to improve their legal security of tenancy. - … questions the idea that private property
deeds are always the best solution and strengthens the development of
alternatives – also in regard to the regularisation of informal
settlements. - … sends a strong worldwide signal condemning
the inhuman practice of forced evictions as a serious violation of Human
Rights.