Ministry representatives from Western Balkan countries signed a declaration yesterday, reaffirming their commitment to formalising existing informal settlements.

Government officials from Albania, fYR of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro signed the so called "Vienna Declaration" during the first Ministerial Conference on Informal Settlements in South Eastern Europe, which was organised by the Stability Pact, and hosted by the OSCE and the Vienna municipality.

Among others, the declaration states that inhabitants of informal settlements have the right to be treated as equal members of the community, and underlines that these inhabitants should be given equal rights in their communities regarding access to education, health care and infrastructure services.

Beyond examining common problems and challenges, conference participants — representing governments, NGOs, practitioners, and academics — also discussed the development and implementation of new policies, and used the opportunity to exchange ideas with the European Commission and donor countries.

Last night, the conference also hosted the presentation of the first "Erhard Busek Award for Housing Research". Funded by two Austrian non-profit housing associations, the award wishes to promote housing policy research in Central and Eastern as well as South-East Europe.