The urgency to tackle the escalating global housing crisis took center stage as the resumed second session of the United Nations (UN) Habitat Assembly went on Thursday and Friday in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital.
More than 1,000 delegates, including ministers, city mayors, diplomats and representatives of industry, multilateral agencies, civil society and academia, attended the two-day meeting.
Nearly three billion people globally lack access to adequate housing, secure land tenure, and basic services such as clean drinking water and sanitation, according to Annaclaudia Rossbach, executive director of UN-Habitat.
She stressed that addressing the housing crisis is crucial to advancing global sustainable development.
Rossbach noted that over 1.1 billion people live in informal settlements worldwide, while more than 300 million are homeless.
The crisis is particularly acute in rapidly urbanizing regions such as Africa and the Asia-Pacific. As cities in these areas expand, housing development and infrastructure are struggling to keep up, leading to a sharp rise in informal and inadequate living conditions.
In Africa, 62 percent of urban dwellings are informal, while in the Asia-Pacific region, over 500 million people lack access to basic water services, and more than a billion live without adequate sanitation, she said.
The UN-Habitat Assembly, which serves as the highest global decision-making body on sustainable urbanization and human settlements, brings together all 193 UN member states and key stakeholders every four years.
UN-Habitat Assembly held in Nairobi calls for tackling global housing crisis
China is willing to provide humanitarian assistance to Cambodia to help resettle displaced people in border areas, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Sunday in Yuxi, southwest China's Yunnan Province.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during a meeting with Prak Sokhonn, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
Following the signing of a joint statement agreeing to a ceasefire, the Cambodian and Thai foreign ministers are leading delegations meeting in Yunnan from Dec. 28 to 29 at Wang's invitation.
China has been closely following the tense situation on the Cambodia-Thailand border and remains committed to facilitating peace through talks, Wang said, adding that China congratulates both sides on reaching a ceasefire agreement.
The ceasefire marks the beginning of peacebuilding, Wang said, calling on the two sides to proceed in a phased and measured approach to promote a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire, restore normal interactions, rebuild mutual trust, achieve turnaround in bilateral relations, and uphold peace and stability in the region.
He said that both countries can make good use of this face-to-face opportunity for diplomatic and military representatives to engage in dialogue and communication in a flexible manner, enhance mutual understanding, and build mutual trust. He also expressed hope that all sides would jointly send a message of peace from Yunnan, reach a consensus on peace, and demonstrate prospects for peace.
China supports ASEAN in playing its due role and stands ready to provide assistance to the ASEAN observation mission in monitoring the ceasefire, Wang said.
He added that China also hopes Cambodia will continue to enhance protection for Chinese citizens and projects in the country.
Cambodia highly values China's positive role in mediating the conflict, said Prak Sokhonn, citing the informal tea gathering among the foreign ministers of Cambodia, China and Thailand in Anning, Yunnan Province, as well as shuttle diplomacy conducted by China's special envoy.
Thanks to the joint efforts of China and other parties, Cambodia and Thailand were able to convene a meeting of the Joint Boundary Commission, and their militaries signed a ceasefire agreement, he said.
Sokhonn said Cambodia is ready to work with Thailand to fully implement the ceasefire agreement, make full use of existing dialogue mechanisms, and steadily build mutual trust between the two countries and their armed forces.
These steps, he noted, are vital to restoring bilateral exchanges, normalizing relations, and resolving the boundary issue at an early date.
Cambodia hopes for the early arrival of peace and expects the trilateral meeting to help rebuild lasting stability, he said.
The two sides also exchanged views on China-Cambodia relations, agreeing that under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, positive progress has been made in building an all-weather Cambodia-China community with a shared future in the new era.
The Cambodian side expressed gratitude for China's support and assistance to its development, describing China as its most reliable and trusted partner. It reaffirmed its adherence to the one-China principle, its opposition to Taiwan secessionism, and its support for China's reunification cause.
China will deliver humanitarian aid to Cambodia for displaced people along border: Chinese FM
