The first Geneva UN Charter Centre was established in Estonia in cooperation with the Estonian Union of Co-operative Housing Associations

20.09.2016

The 2008 global financial and economic crisis underscored the vital role that stable and transparent housing markets play in a country’s economy. As a result of the crisis, some countries have experienced disturbing imbalances in their housing markets with foreclosures, homelessness, excess housing stock and a lack of affordable housing. There are more than 100 million people in the UNECE region currently spending more than 40% of their income on housing. Especially vulnerable to the current housing situation are young people with 48% of people aged 18-29 still living with their parents.

Albania, Estonia and the United Kingdom are announcing an initiative to tackle this problem with the creation of Geneva UN Charter Centres in Tirana, Tallinn and Glasgow. The Geneva UN Charter on Sustainable Housing, endorsed by the UNECE Committee of Housing and Land Management in 2014, supports countries in their efforts to ensure access to decent, adequate, affordable and healthy housing for all.

These three Centres will play a crucial role in promoting the four principles of the Charter: environmental protection, economic effectiveness, social inclusion and participation, and cultural adequacy, depending on their specialization and available expertise at host institutions, the Centres will work at national and/or international level and on topics covered by the Charter.