World Habitat Day 2014: voices from slums

October 6, 2014 was World Habitat Day. This day is held by the United Nations to attract attention to the problem of homeless people and fight against poverty, its “companion” insanitariness and diseases of specific lifestyle.

World Habitat Day was established in 1985 and is celebrated on the first Monday in October. Every year on this day the United Nations and the UN-Habitat have official events in one of the cities in the world.

In 1985 the public debates about the homeless citizens were formed in the status of “homeless” and continued at the meetings of the UN General Assembly Commission on Human Settlements. At the same time adopted a program to provide housing for all homeless of the planet until 2000.

However, the problem turned out to be deeper and more serious, and the program – to a dream. Since then the burning issue continues in the context of human rights: everyone has the right to live there, where he wants, including in slums. Therefore, in 2014 the United Nations held the World Habitat Day under the theme “Voices from slums”.

Many of the people who inhabit slums regularly lack basic services such as water, sanitation, electricity and street lighting. Crime is often endemic. Unemployment, under-employment and the cost of transport to distant places of work add further hardship.

The Secretary General of the United Nations Mr. Ban Ki-moon appealed to the international community with the Message for World Habitat Day 2014, urging the government and the business community to hear slum dwellers: “…Often, people in the slums live in near-anonymity – no address, no census and no idea when their living conditions will improve. By learning from their experiences, city planners and policy makers can enhance the well-being of a significant portion of the human family. […] To achieve sustainable development and a life of dignity for all, we must address these issues”.

09.10.2014

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