Shelter for the Homeless

United Arab Emirates21 November 1987Draft

"Shelter for the Homeless" is the theme for the observance of WORLD HABITAT DAY this year. The occasion and the theme should serve the focus attention on the gravity of the problem of homelessness or inadequate shelter for a great number of human beings. Most of us take for granted an adequate roof over our heads, and provision of water, sanitation drainage and waste removal and services such as education, health, transportation and recreation. But for nearly a quarter of our fellow inhabitants of this planet, all these necessities are yet only a dream. They live under conditions wholly incompatible with their human status it is ironic and intolerable that such conditions persist in an age which has brought great improvement in living standards and witnessed unprecedented advanced in science, technology and culture. The United Nations through the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) and other agencies, has been working with Member States to ensure that our knowledge of human settlements techniques and the available resources are dynamically harnessed and used to provide shelter to the poor, the homeless and the disadvantaged.