Geneva, March 6 — At the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Neha, a social activist representing Rajasthan Samgrah Kalyan Sansthan (RSKS), urged governments and international agencies to take immediate, inclusive steps to tackle the global housing crisis. Speaking during an interactive dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing, she insisted that secure housing must be treated as a fundamental human right rather than a policy objective.
Welcoming the Special Rapporteur’s report, Neha underscored the magnitude of the problem, noting that more than 1.6 billion people worldwide live in inadequate or insecure housing. She said the burden falls heaviest on vulnerable populations—women, persons with disabilities, migrants and marginalized communities—whose access to stable housing is limited by intersecting forms of discrimination.
Neha warned that insecure housing perpetuates poverty and restricts access to health care, education and economic opportunity, reinforcing structural inequality and undermining dignity. She called on states to adopt rights-based housing frameworks that ensure affordability, security of tenure, accessibility and resilience to climate-related hazards.
With rapid urbanization and growing environmental threats, Neha stressed that disadvantaged communities are often the first to be displaced and the last to receive support. She urged stronger international cooperation, the use of robust data to inform policy, and meaningful participation by affected communities in designing housing solutions.
Highlighting India’s efforts, Neha pointed to the country’s constitutional commitment to social justice and large-scale housing schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, which has sanctioned more than 50 million affordable homes for economically weaker and disadvantaged groups. She noted the program’s focus on women’s empowerment—over 70 percent of rural houses under the scheme are registered in women’s names—and praised efforts to link housing with essential services such as water, sanitation, electricity and digital connectivity.
Neha concluded by urging the international community to work together to make the right to adequate housing a universal reality, not a privilege.
