The United Nations General Assembly is always a major event. World leaders deliver speeches that make global headlines. This year was no different. Top of the leaders' agenda was the war in Ukraine, the war on Iran, the catastrophic situation in Gaza, climate change, and the rapid advance in artificial intelligence. On the sidelines of the leaders' speeches, the UN building in New York was buzzing with side meetings focused on key sectors - notably housing, which featured prominently at the 81st United Nations General Assembly last week.

A defining issue

The fact that housing featured prominently during the UN week-long General Assembly is deeply significant. It shows that housing has become one of the defining issues of our time. World leaders approach it differently, drawing on the situation within their countries; however, there is much common ground between them. As one of Europe's most densely populated countries with limited land, housing in Malta is a particularly delicate subject, but it is also a sensitive matter for large countries, mostly in terms of affordability and sustainability for future generations.

Stability

That is why, when I addressed the United Nations on the New Urban Agenda in July of this year, I described housing as more than a physical structure. I argued that a home is a foundation for dignity, well-being, and social cohesion. I have always maintained that affordable housing is not simply a matter of construction statistics but about whether people can build stable lives.

Mamdani

At the UN in New York, Mayor Zohran Mamdani placed housing affordability at the center of the Urban 20 discussions. The left-wing politician said, "When Barcelonians cannot afford a home in the city, when Torontonians cannot afford the cost of public transit, our cities no longer remain places where working people can live and shape them." Mamdani argued that cities are directly confronting the consequences of housing pressures and need greater resources and authority to respond. The New York Mayor linked affordability to the purpose of cities, saying: "The work of making our cities belong to everyone, no matter how much they earn or where they come from, is a shared purpose."

Sánchez

Spain's Pedro Sánchez focused on the relationship between social protection and housing affordability. The Spanish Prime Minister spoke about the challenges people face in finding a home and the need for public action to make housing a realistic aspiration. He acknowledged that the ability to afford housing has become one of the central social questions facing his country. The leftist PM also believes it is not only about building more units, important as that is, but also about the relationship between incomes, rents, and the wider economy. His comments came on the same day that an 87-year-old Spanish woman, Mari Carmen, was evicted from the Madrid home where she had lived for seven decades. The Spanish Prime Minister described it as a "social tragedy" that should not be allowed to happen.

Löfven

Stefan Löfven is the President of the Party of European Socialists (PES). At the UN, Löfven linked the ability to afford a home to the everyday questions that determine whether people feel secure. He said that democracy must respond to these material realities: whether people can afford a home, raise their children, and pay their bills. For the PES, of which the Malta Labour Party is a member, housing is a basic human right - not a commodity for profit or luxury. We consider it to be so as well. Last year, the PES Congress in Amsterdam passed a resolution calling for policies that support more construction and proposed that at least 30% of new housing be affordable for lower-income households and another 30% for middle-income households.

Malta

From a local perspective, our housing challenges require solutions that reflect our circumstances. We have a high population density, and our land is finite. However, we have an encouragingly high percentage of homeownership - 85% of Maltese people are homeowners, one of the highest homeownership rates in Europe. As a government, we are aware that more needs to be done to enable people, especially younger ones, to afford their own home. To this end, we are strengthening multiple schemes that enable first-time buyers to be in a better position to buy their first residence; enable families to buy their second residence; and enable individuals whose life circumstances have changed to buy their second residence and start afresh.

A priority

Our approach to housing is broad. The Labour Party 2026 electoral manifesto places special attention on the housing and affordable accommodation deliverables that need to be reached: 260 new affordable housing units in Kirkop, Fgura, Marsaskala and St Julian's, to be sold at 30% below market price, and 700 new social housing units to be completed over the next five years.

The New Urban Agenda reminds us that housing cannot be considered in isolation. It is connected to transportation, public spaces, employment, services, social inclusion, and the broader quality of urban life.

PM Abela

At the UN, Prime Minister Robert Abela delivered a powerful speech. He positioned Malta as a country that supports dialogue, cooperation, and peaceful solutions to international disputes. Zooming in on the West Bank, our Prime Minister boldly called for an end to settlement expansion and violent attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinian communities. He backed a negotiated, lasting two-state solution, saying this is ultimately the path for Israelis and Palestinians to live alongside one another in peace, prosperity, and stability.

AI

Drawing on the most recent debate in the US, following calls by artificial intelligence creators for a pause in the rapid development of AI, Robert Abela argued that governments should be honest that they are still figuring out how to govern advanced AI, but that they must have the will to act and clear values to guide them. It was an excellent speech that demonstrated leadership by the Prime Minister of one of the smallest countries at the UN in New York last week.