IAI to participate in the International Week of Action against Debt and International Financial Institutions (IFIs)

(14 to 21 October 2007)


The International Alliance of Inhabitants (IAI), an international network of urban social movements fighting for the boundless right to housing, land, the city and basic services., wish to underline our conviction that debt cancellation should also represent a means for governments in poor countries to harness resources for paying the social debt.

In concrete terms, IAI is promoting the creation of People’s Funds for Land and Housing, controlled by inhabitants organizations, with the aim of guaranteeing secure housing and the social and urban rehabilitation of working-class areas and slums.
We are inspired by the first results of the W Nairobi W Campaign, part of the Zero Evictions Campaign, which saw the complete cancellation of the “debt” owed to Italy and funnelling of most of the 44 million euros into rehabilitation of the Korogocho slum.
This is an initiative that we would like to see adopted in other countries, as demonstrated by the proposed People’s Funds, discussed at the Workshop organized in Santo Domingo on 3 and 4 October 2007 as part of the International Zero Evictions Days, an initiative that can be seen as preparatory to the International Week of Action Against Debt and IFIs from 14 to 21 October 2007.

For these reasons IAI is committed to supporting this action and to strengthening its alliance with the anti-debt movement and social movements that fight for human rights and work towards building another possible world.

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