PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON HUMAN SETTLEMENTS CONCLUDES FINAL SESSION

20 February 1996

Press Release
HAB/110

PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON HUMAN SETTLEMENTS CONCLUDES FINAL SESSION

19960220 Approves Major Portions of Statement of Principles, Global Plan of Action; Secretary-General of Conference Expresses Confidence in Negotiating Process

The Preparatory Committee for the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) concluded its third and final session on Friday evening, 16 February, with the conditional approval of major portions of a proposed statement of principles and global plan of action to be submitted to the Conference, which will take place in Istanbul from 3 to 14 June.

The Preparatory Committee noted that, due to time constraints, portions of the final document would be submitted to the Conference as having been informally negotiated during the preparatory process, but not formally approved.

The proposed final document, "The Habitat Agenda", is intended as a global call to action at all levels and a guide towards the achievement of the sustainable development of the world's cities, towns and villages into the first two decades of the next century.

Following extended negotiations during the session, a number of issues remained unresolved in the proposed text, including the right to adequate housing, an institutional arrangement for follow-up to the plan of action and financial resources needed for implementation.

One area of progress during the third session, as reflected in the proposed text, concerned the idea of partnerships, which would be based on the willingness of national governments to work with local authorities on the Agenda. All partners would be encouraged to work with non-governmental organizations and the private sector.

Wally N'Dow, Secretary-General of the Conference, in a closing statement, said that the negotiations over the Agenda "have been long and hard, but we leave here with many brackets on issues and phraseology that have, thus far, defied our most intense efforts". He expressed confidence that, in spite of the difficulties, the negotiating process now under way

would succeed, and when it was over -- "and that may not be until Istanbul itself -- we will have a Global Plan of Action that reflects a global consensus".

He went on to say that enormous progress had been made in the evaluation and understanding of the notion of the right to housing. Gains had also been made in agreement on the affirmative obligations of government to help make housing habitable, affordable and accessible. He stressed that partnership had become a compelling theme for the conference.

Noting that some 1,200 non-governmental representatives from nearly 400 organizations had been part of the Committee's third session, Mr. N'Dow highlighted the important role played in the preparatory process by women's groups and by young people. He stressed that there would be no retreat in Istanbul from the commitments made in Beijing, Cairo, Rio and at other world conferences.

Mr. N'Dow also pointed out that the crucial issue of financial resources had also been widely discussed during the preparatory process in connection with the need for alternative tools to implement the Habitat Agenda. "We should not hesitate if innovation and diversification of financial sources is needed." Controversy should not prevent a continuing debate on the financial issue.

According to the Chairman of the Preparatory Committee, Martti Lujanen (Finland), the unresolved issues would be the subject of informal negotiations in the period leading up to Istanbul, and would be taken up again formally during pre-Conference consultations. In closing the session, he stated that the question of what was meant by good or sustainable development was, in essence, political. The Istanbul Conference would have to decide on the development paradigm for the towns and cities in the next century.

The Habitat Agenda contains a preamble, a nine-part statement of goals and principles, and set of six commitments to be undertaken by governments in support of the objectives of Habitat II. The fourth part contains strategies for implementation of the global plan of action.

According to the Agenda's preamble, the Conference is to focus on two global themes: "Adequate shelter for all"; and "Sustainable human settlements development in an urbanizing world". The Agenda offers a positive vision of sustainable human settlements -- where all have adequate shelter, a healthy and safe environment, basic services, and productive and freely chosen employment.

The preamble to the Agenda, acknowledging that many countries lacked resources to respond to rapid urbanization, called for the promotion of enabling structures that facilitate independent initiative and creativity, and

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that encourage the wide range of partnerships, including with the private sector, and within and between countries. National authorities should facilitate the empowerment of all people, especially vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, to participate equally in all activities related to human settlements.

A primary objective of the plan of action is the achievement of adequate shelter for all and especially for the deprived urban and rural poor. The achievement of that objective required a shelter strategy based on an enabling approach, with particular emphasis on enabling markets, as the primary housing delivery mechanism.

The implementation strategies in the "Agenda" describe means to ensure market efficiency, promote efficient land markets and sustainable land use, and facilitate access to land and security of tenure. It also proposes ways in which governments could integrate shelter policies with macroeconomic, social, demographic and environmental policies, as well as improve shelter delivery systems.

Also during its final meeting, the Committee recommended to the General Assembly that it refer to the Economic and Social Council for a decision, at its resumed organizational session in May 1996, on the accreditation of three non-governmental organizations whose status remained undecided -- Taiwan International Alliance, Canada Tibet Committee, and Tibetan Rights Campaign.

Following a decision to reopen consideration of the first list of non- governmental organizations approved for accreditation on 5 February, the Committee decided to remove the International Energy Foundation and Ananda Marga Universal Relief Team from the list of non-governmental organizations recommended for accreditation to the Conference. The decisions were taken in response to motions made by the United States and India, respectively. The Committee decided to postpone consideration of the issue of accreditation of the Federation of Westtrace Turks in Europe.

Also addressing the closing of the session, James Gustave Speth, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), welcomed the progress made by the Preparatory Committee. He said that Habitat II provided an unparalleled opportunity to integrate a range of goals related to such issues as sustainable development, human rights, social development, and population control. The success of the entire continuum of world conferences, including Habitat II, would depend on whether the words were translated into action and on what efforts were made to follow up on the conferences.

The UNDP had produced a document on the United Nations integrated approach to follow up to the world conferences, he continued. That document, detailed how the World Bank, the UNDP and the other United Nations agencies

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were working together on the follow-up to those conferences. The UNDP awaited the Habitat II results, so that it could be integrated into that approach.

Also during its third session, the Preparatory Committee approved the list of non-governmental organizations and local authorities recommended for accreditation to the Conference, as well as the provisional agenda for the Conference and the report of the Committee on the session. The Committee also heard presentations of "best practices" in addressing urban problems, as well as reports from mayors on regional meetings, which dealt with the growing responsibilities of municipalities in an era of decentralized government and diminished resources.

The representative of Costa Rica, on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, raised objections about some of the procedures used during the session of the Preparatory Committee, as well as the role of the Bureau in the preparatory process, and called for greater transparency in the Istanbul Conference.

Background on Conference

The aim of the first United Nations Conference on Human Settlements in 1976 was to develop strategies to mitigate the effects of rapid urbanization. In the two decades since then, urbanization and the growth of mega-cities have continued relentlessly. Recognition of the urgency of the problem led participants at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development to request the convening of a second Conference on Human Settlements to address problems of housing, shelter and urbanization.

In 1992, the Assembly decided to convene Habitat II in 1996 and established a Preparatory Committee for the Conference. At its first session in Geneva, the Committee recommended that the Conference aim to increase awareness of the problems and potentials of human settlements, and commit the world's leaders to making cities, towns and villages healthy, safe, just and sustainable.

The second session of the Committee, which met last year in Nairobi, concentrated on elaborating the draft statement of principles and commitments and the global plan of action. Also during the session, the Committee recommended that the Assembly authorize -- as a departure for normal procedure -- representatives of local authorities to participate without the right to vote in the deliberations of the Conference.

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