Baku Call to Action proposes turning next decade into Decade of Action

The global housing crisis requires an urgent and coordinated response based on comprehensive housing policy, multilateral stakeholder engagement, sustainable financing, and strengthened accountability mechanisms, as stated in the Baku Call to Action, adopted following the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13).

According to Report, the document emphasizes that, despite common features of the housing crisis, each region, city, country, and locality has its own specific context, making local and national perspectives essential for fully understanding the scale of the problem.

At the core of the Call to Action is a renewed push to prioritize housing through integrated housing policies supported by structured multistakeholder action, long-term context-sensitive financing, strengthened implementation capacity, multilevel governance, sustainable public investment, and measurable accountability mechanisms.

The authors underline the need to shift "from diagnosis to action," recalling international housing commitments ranging from recognizing adequate housing as a fundamental human right to implementing the Habitat processes, the 2030 Agenda, and the Pact for the Future.

Marking the decade of the New Urban Agenda, the document calls on member states to accelerate its implementation and strengthen the coordinating role of UN-Habitat in addressing the global housing crisis.

The Baku Call to Action also states that the UN-Habitat Strategic Plan for 2026–2029 could serve as a foundation for accelerating housing-related action, including through the Open-Ended Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on Adequate Housing for All (OEWG-H).

Member states and stakeholders are encouraged to actively participate in this group, nominate experts and practitioners, and ensure inclusive participation of underrepresented populations.