Call for international solidarity: eliminate global debt to house the world's poor

In the run-up to the G8 summit on debt (Edinburgh, July 2005), inhabitants' associations and urban social movements, NGOs, volunteers, anti-debt movements, local bodies the world over are saying: enough is enough!

This debt is illegitimate, unfair and unpayable!
However, governments have an obligation to pay social debt!
It is possible to house the world's poor!

Please, read and sign the appeal!

In the run-up to the G8 summit on debt (Edinburgh, July 2005), inhabitants' associations and urban social movements, NGOs, volunteers, anti-debt movements, local bodies the world over are saying: enough is enough!

This debt is illegitimate, unfair and unpayable!
However, governments have an obligation to pay social debt!
It is possible to house the world's poor!

Please, read and sign the appeal!

One thousand million people the world over suffer from the lack of housing or poor housing due to major financial and real estate investments, social, economic and racial discrimination, war and natural disasters. This figure, instead of falling by one hundred million by 2015 as set out in Goal No. 7 of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), will actually increase by 700 million by 2020 because of neo-liberal rules dictated by the IMF and the World Bank, which impose a scaling-down of social policy and privatization of the sector. Often, evictions are the consequence of major investments by rich countries, the IMF and the World Bank in roads, railways, service centres, tourism, shopping malls, etc.; they are rarely occasioned by the primary needs of local populations, as they are instead a means of servicing the external debt. What is more, poor countries reject the rights-friendly urban and housing policy proposals of housing associations because they allocate resources to the payment of foreign debt, which currently stands at 2.597 thousand million USD, of which 523 million are owed by the poorest countries.

To improve the living conditions of 100 million slum dwellers, some 92.4 thousand million USD, or about 3.5% of debt, are required. To house one thousand million homeless and poorly-housed people requires some 924 thousand million, or about 35% of total debt.

Consequently, we support the struggle of the Zero Eviction Campaign and hereby issue a strong call to:

The rich countries, the IMF and the World Bank:

• Immediately cancel debt and rapidly increase Official development co-operation assistance to 0.7% of GDP to enable poor countries to comply with the terms of International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), beginning with MDGs, especially Goal 7, Target 11.
• Block any investment in poor countries if its effects violate ICESCR, and especially if they violate the right to housing as set out in Article 11.

• Channel the resources freed from debt servicing and development assistance into People's Funds managed by all the stakeholders, including inhabitants and organized civil society, with well-established transparent management mechanisms.
• Allocate these funds primarily to the People's Housing and Land Trust Fund, to provide assistance to public housing and social policies so as to effect an immediate improvement in the housing conditions of 100 million slum dwellers.
• To also direct these funds to allow the inhabitants of the slums the access to the basic social services (water, electricity, health, education, etc.).
• Comply with ICESCR obligations by blocking first and foremost all demolitions and forced evictions, developing public urban and housing policies based on the right to housing and to occupation of urban areas for all people (security of tenure, participatory urban development and rehabilitation, revival).

• Set up a framework for discussion between governments of rich and poor countries, known representatives of slum dwellers, international networks, NGOs and local authorities to ensure secure tenure, the creation of People's Housing and Land Trust Funds, land reform and redistribution and the access to the public services.