Baku Call To Action Backs Intersectional Frameworks For Global Housing Policy

(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) 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.

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