Noting Almost 3 Billion People Lack Safe Place to Live, Deputy Secretary-General Urges Investment in Adequate Housing as Both Development, Peace Infrastructure

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed's remarks, as prepared for delivery, at the joint Economic and Social Council and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) high-level dialogue on adequate housing, today:

It is a privilege to join you today for this important dialogue. I thank the President of the Economic and Social Council and UN-Habitat for convening us at such a critical moment.

Let me begin with a simple question: What did it take for us to be here today? We woke up somewhere safe. We had an address where documents could reach us, where our families knew to find us. We had a place to eat a meal, charge our phones and prepare for this day. For almost 3 billion people on our planet, none of that is guaranteed.

This is why today's dialogue - at this critical moment during the High-Level Political Forum - matters so urgently. Housing is not simply about a roof over one's head. It is a fundamental human right and the foundation upon which peace itself rests. Sustainable development and sustainable peace are inseparable.

Today, in an increasingly urbanized world, almost 3 billion people still live in inadequate conditions, in informal settlements, overcrowded housing or with no shelter at all. Among them are more than 120 million refugees and internally displaced persons - families torn from their homes by conflict, persecution and violence.

When homes are destroyed, when families are forced to flee, when communities are uprooted, we witness how housing becomes both a casualty and weapon of war. In Gaza, in Ukraine, in Sudan, in Yemen, in Myanmar and beyond, we have seen this time and again.

There is no safe housing in rubble, and without shelter, we lose the very basis of social cohesion and stability that makes peace possible. This crisis touches every Sustainable Development Goal we've committed to achieving by 2030.

We often say that home is where the heart is. Our work on housing sits at the very heart of the Sustainable Development Goals, and when we secure adequate housing for all, we nurture the conditions where every other goal can flourish.

We know that when people have access to safe, adequate, and affordable housing, children perform better in school. Workers are more productive. Health outcomes improve dramatically. Decent work becomes accessible. Communities become more resilient to the forces that fuel conflict and division. And while adequate housing cannot eliminate gender-based violence within the home, it reduces women and girls' exposure to violence in public spaces.

So, the reality is that the ambition of the 2030 Agenda to leave no one behind begins with something as fundamental as a safe place to call home. By 2030, 60 per cent of the world's population will live in cities, rising to nearly 70 per cent by 2050.

We have the tools and the commitment to grow cities, not slums, guided by the New Urban Agenda's call for planned, inclusive urbanization that ensures housing, services and dignity for all. Success or failure to deliver on our commitments will depend on our ability to act urgently and work together.

At the Financing for Development Forum, Member States rightly called for bold reforms and investments to strengthen the social contract. That must include housing, not as a stand-alone project, but as a driver of inclusive development.

The Pact for the Future reaffirmed the 2030 Agenda and gave us a mandate to make multilateralism deliver in the lives of people, in the neighbourhoods where they live. It also gave us a mandate to prevent conflict and sustain peace - and housing sits at the intersection of both.

Later this year, the Second World Social Summit offers us an opportunity to reaffirm that housing is critical for social protection, decent work, access to services, and essential to building a just and cohesive society. It is also an opportunity to recognize housing as a pillar of conflict prevention and peacebuilding.

As Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Group, I see how country teams are working every day with governments, civil society and local and regional governments to advance these goals.

But we need to do more. Concretely, that means aligning political commitment and financing with the urgency and scale of the challenge. It means investing in adequate housing, not just as development infrastructure, but peace infrastructure.

We also need to bring to the centre those who are too often pushed to the margins: women, young people, older persons, persons with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples, displaced populations and people living in homelessness.

Their voices and experiences must inform the policies and solutions because they know what works, what's missing, and they can inform the solutions we need to scale. They also know intimately the connections between displacement, insecurity and conflict. Their involvement is the best measure of our commitment to equity, dignity and human rights.

The first place where opportunity begins or where it is denied is not an office building or a school - it's a home. Together, let's deliver not only shelter, but lasting solutions that offer security and a path to prosperity. Not only four walls and a roof, but the opportunity to live in dignity.