HIC @ WUF13
The World Urban Forum (WUF) is the premier global event organized every other year by UN Habitat and a host city to provide promotional, networking and learning spaces for UN Habitat stakeholders to convene for a week of diverse events. This biennium, Baku, Azerbaijan was the host city for the 13th WUF, convened under the theme “Housing the world: Safe and resilient cities and communities,” 17–22 May 2026.
Over its iterations since 2001, WUF has demonstrated to be a strategic space for coordination and discussion of strategies among HIC members, friends and allies, but also such stakeholders such as local governments, UN Agencies, housing ministries, academia and others. At this 13th iteration, HIC and its Members used it as a proxy advocacy space also, at least until UN-Habitat allows for the General Assembly-mandated self-organized Stakeholder-engagement Mechanism. Together, HIC partners used key events and meetings to advocate respect, protection and fulfilment of habitat-related human rights, both those enshrined in binding treaties and related commitments in the New Urban Agenda (NUA) and the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Specifically, HIC participated under several priorities made urgent in the current global housing crisis:
(1) Denouncing and seeking remedy for mounting displacement and evictions, both due to conflict and process of financialization of housing;
(2) Reminding all parties of the international law prohibition against forced evictions, and promoting mechanisms to prevent and make reparations for victims of this gross violation;
(3) Promoting community-led problem solving in the land and housing sectors, especially through the social production of habitat;
(4) Advocating structural models and mechanisms for substantive collaboration with civil society organizations at the policy level.
Attending WUF13 was a HIC delegation including representatives to the Board, HIC’s President and Vice-President, as well as HIC regional coordinators, HLRN and the General Secretariat, among some 50 Member organization representatives.
Among the key events HIC participated in were the Women’s, Grassroots and Civil Society Assemblies; the HIC-HLRN side event on “Prioritising Forced Eviction on the Agenda: Getting Serious about Prevention and Remedy”; a Canada Pavilion session “Commemorating Habitat I: Legacy and Inspiration for Today” and “HIC’s 50th Birthday Party,” at the Habitat Village; with HIC delegates presenting on “green evictions,’ “environmental racism,” and upgrading of informal settlements. High-level meetings also involved HIC representatives in consultation with the new UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing Koldo Casla and a ceremony with the UN Habitat Executive Director Anaclaúdia Rossbach to sign the new HIC-UN Habitat Memorandum of Understanding.
Select events are reported in this issue of Land Times/أحوال الأرضand more activities are memorialized on the HIC general website.
Photo: Moment during HIC’s 50th Birthday Party in the Habitat Village, honoring Palestine and HIC’s Members in that country undergoing the gamut of habitat-related human rights violations by Israel and its imperial accomplices. Source: HIC-GS.
|
