UN upholds housing as a human right on World Habitat Day - Welcome to the United Nations

UN-HABITAT | Children play at the shaded community center in Gribble settlement for internally displaced people in Bosaso, Somalia 8 October 2026 - Representatives from governments, civil society and academia meeting in Muscat, Oman on Monday called for urgent action to address a global housing crisis affecting nearly 3.4 billion people. They gathered to commemorate World Habitat Day which this year focuses on the theme of Adequate Housing for All.

They gathered to commemorate World Habitat Day which this year focuses on the theme of Adequate Housing for All. “Adequate housing is not a luxury. It is a foundation for a dignified life and for sustainable cities,” said Anacláudia Rossbach, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, the agency that promotes sustainable urbanization. She stressed that “housing needs to be treated as a public priority alongside land and basic services”, underlining the need for greater investment in communities and cooperation across government, the private sector and civil society. Millions living in slumsIn his message for the day, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called adequate housing for all “the foundation of dignity, security, and opportunity.”He noted, however, that more than three billion people worldwide are denied this universal human right. “Over one billion live in informal settlements and slums, and many more experience homelessness or have been displaced by conflict, disasters, and climate change,” he added. Trapped in povertyThe President of the United Nations Habitat Assembly, Nga Kor Ming, reminded participants that behind the numbers are real people. Mr.

The right to adequate housing is recognized in international human rights instruments and is closely linked to progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda. Photo:©UNhabitat Access to adequate housing is a fundamental element of human dignity, safety and well-being, yet the world continues to face a severe housing crisis. More than 3 billion people lack access to adequate housing, more than 1.1 billion people live in informal settlements and hundreds of millions experience homelessness. These challenges are being intensified by conflict, disasters and climate change, with people in vulnerable situations often facing the greatest risks and the fewest resources to recover. The right to adequate housing is recognized in international human rights instruments and is closely linked to progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda.

Israeli settlers have attacked European diplomats, including a French mayor, near the Palestinian village of Taybeh in the occupied West Bank. The delegation was visiting Palestinian olive harvesters on Saturday when the Israeli attackers confronted the group. The attack comes a day after settlers assaulted a US journalist north of Ramallah. In Saturday’s incident, the settlers targeted Belgium’s consul general, French and Polish diplomats and Catholic representatives, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said. “A French mayor was assaulted and a Belgian vehicle damaged,” Prevot said, linking the attack to what he called Israel’s “illegal settlement policy” and pledging to push for further European Union sanctions. French mayor Bernard Baudoux, who was assaulted, told the AFP news agency that the violence suggests that “there is a tolerance on the part of the Israeli government” towards settler violence. Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Ramallah, said the settlers surrounded the diplomats’ vehicles, pelted them with stones and smashed their windows.

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