Euronews: WUF13 in Baku focuses on migration, housing, sustainable development

Euronews has prepared a story on the key themes of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) taking place in Baku: migration, post-conflict urban reconstruction, and addressing the housing crisis, Report informs.

The story features statements from experts from various countries unanimously calling on governments to radically rethink their approach to migration-to view it not as an emergency, but as a permanent and integral element of urban planning.

The story also quotes IOM Deputy Director General Ugochi Daniels in an interview with the channel, stating that migration is directly shaping the face of cities today.

"Migration is now shaping cities," Ugochi Daniels said. "Migration, when it is well managed, is part of the solution."

She said displaced people and migrants cannot be seen as a drain on cities. "There are lots of migrants who can contribute to recovery and to the growth and economic prosperity of cities," Daniels said.

Dr Lucy Earle of the International Institute for Environment and Development warned against leaving displaced people in temporary shelter indefinitely. "We have to get out of this temporary mindset," she said.

The article notes that the topic of post-conflict reconstruction was central to the panel discussion moderated by Euronews. Representatives from UN-Habitat, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the World Bank, as well as officials from Azerbaijan, Syria, and Ukraine participated.

In an exclusive interview with Euronews, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev said the country had built "a unique experience of how to build cities and villages from scratch," with 85,000 people having returned to post-conflict areas. He cited 307 megawatts of commissioned electricity, 435 of 500 bridges completed and 70 kilometres of tunnels in service.

Aydin Karimov, Azerbaijan's president's special representative in Shusha, said the city's public transport was now fully electric and that its waste management system had been built from scratch.

"We were the first city where we introduced 100% electrical public transport," he said. "Our public buses are 100% electrical, they don't use fuel."

The channel also drew attention to the active discussions that unfolded within the WUF13 forum regarding the financing of housing projects.

"No country has been able to address housing in a sustainable, long-term way with international finance. It requires domestic finance," UN-Habitat Executive Director Anacláudia Rossbach told delegates.

"I'm sure that $1 billion can become many billions if we are able to establish this social contract," Rossbach explained.

Uruguay's Housing Minister Tamara Paseyro put the challenge in plain terms. "Building houses also means building a habitat," she said, meaning the roads, services and social infrastructure without which housing does not become a community.