CRUCIAL ROLE OF WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS, STRESSED AT HABITAT II
Press Release
HAB/128
CRUCIAL ROLE OF WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS, STRESSED AT HABITAT II
19960607 (Received from a UN Information Officer.)ISTANBUL, 7 June -- The crucial role of women in the sustainable development of human settlements was emphasized this afternoon as the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) continued its general exchange of views on the state of human settlements, including strategies for improving them.
Speakers asked the Conference to seek commitments to change conditions which keep women powerless and poor. Women constitute 70 per cent of the world's 1.3 billion absolute poor; the number of rural women living in absolute poverty has risen by some 50 per cent in the last two decades; and 50,000 women and children die daily due to poor shelter, water or sanitation. Women should be ensured equal participation in elaborating housing policies and projects.
The Conference heard statements from the Minister for Public Works and Housing of Jordan; the Minister for Lands and Physical Planning of Papua New Guinea; Minister for Women's Affairs and Rights of Haiti; the Senior Minister for Labour, Human Services and Social Security of Guyana; and the Minister for Lands, Housing, Town and Country Planning of Sierra Leone. The Assistant Minister for Housing and Physical Planning of Nepal also spoke.
The representatives of Guatemala, Niger, Portugal and Bangladesh also made statements. A representative of the British Virgin Islands also spoke.
Representatives of the following intergovernmental bodies and agencies also addressed the Conference: the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC); the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); Shelter-Afrique; the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women; and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).
Statements were made by representatives of the following non- governmental organizations: the Commonwealth Humane Ecology Council; Bahai'i International Community; the Centre for Human Settlements International; and
the Conference on Non-Governmental Organizations. A representative of Touba, a local authority from Senegal, also spoke.
General Exchange of Views
JACQUES FORSTER, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC): In times of war, cities are seriously affected by dramatic problems resulting from the destruction of housing and food and water supplies. The ICRC activities on behalf of victims of internal and international conflicts have grown considerably in recent years. Cities are increasingly becoming the scenes of violence, a phenomenon that needs joint solutions. Efforts must be focused on the political level; the international community must not be allowed to abdicate its responsibility and dump the inconvenient into the lap of humanitarian organizations. Humanitarian law prohibits attacks on the civilian population, any indiscriminate attacks and the use of starvation as a means of warfare. The ICRC condemns the disregard for the Red Cross emblem.
FEDERICO MAYOR, Director-General of the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO): To inhabit means to occupy one's place on this earth harmoniously and to the fullest. The question of human settlements concerns both urban and rural areas. The quality of life must be improved in rural areas, which will contribute to limiting urban growth. One of the main imperatives of the twenty-first century will be to restore "the link between the spatial and the social, the shell of the city and its soul". UNESCO's message is summed up in a single concern: humanizing the city. That means guaranteeing the right to proper housing. To that end, political decision makers and citizens must show the will and provide the means to do so. There is need to restore to citizens the feeling of belonging to the city which would eliminate some of the causes of violence. UNESCO is active in the urban and socio-cultural fields.
MERCEDES ARZU DE WILSON (Guatemala): Many countries have to sell their national heritage to feed their hungry masses. The Conference should mobilize unconditional help for needy countries and their peoples. It should help the weak and protect people from the vices of the cities and from the effects of the media, which teach the values of violence and immorality, especially to the young. The international community should assist developing countries to provide their citizens with such services as health care. The recommendations of the Conference should be designed to serve man, not the law. The rights of the family and its importance in society should be highlighted. There should be more consciousness from the media, which should refrain from promoting the culture of violence and immorality and promote peace. The Conference should provide a renewed impetus in the search for solutions to the problems of human settlements.
HAMIDOU ABOUBACAR, Director, Ministry for Urbanization and Habitat of Niger: The improvement of settlements requires several policies like
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financing for housing, the decentralization of decision-making, the reduction of poverty and the protection of the environment. The decentralization of management must be improved by granting resources to local authorities. Poverty affects about 60 per cent of the people of Niger. The need for schools and attention to the concerns of women should be considered.
The plan of action to be adopted at the Conference should elaborate concrete and realistic solutions that can be followed through. All States should accede to it in the spirit of partnership and cooperation. The members of the international community should continue assisting Niger's efforts to improve its settlements. The plan of action should be followed-up and evaluated frequently so as to prevent it from becoming a dead letter. The United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) should play a crucial in that regard.
PAPA MAMADOU, Managing Director of the Company for Habitat and Housing in Africa of Shelter-Afrique: The Habitat Agenda must work for Africa by ensuring the implementation of the Plan of Action at all levels. The Agenda is a powerful document and contains goals that all participants share. Among its strengths are its commitment to adequate shelter for all and the recognition of the need to combat all forms of discrimination in the availability of shelter. Shelter Afrique has opened up a dialogue with its shareholders for the development of human settlements in Africa. It will use its funds to generate resources which will then be invested in housing and infrastructure. Thousands of families have already been assisted by the organization. Modest progress has been made in mobilizing resources for housing.
African Governments should strengthen regional institutions to assist in mobilizing resources and implementing programmes for improving human settlements. All available resources must be harnessed, including those in the informal sectors. African Governments should accord higher priority to human settlements and champion land reform.
JOSE DA COSTA PEREIRA (Portugal): The contributions of local authorities and non-governmental organizations to the development of human settlements have reinforced the concept of partnerships as being essential in the search for solutions and the implementation of appropriate measures to promote a better environment for human settlements in the next decades.
The right to housing is important to Portugal, which has enshrined it in its constitution. The Government is trying to enact that right. National measures are needed to prevent social exclusions, ghettoes and the occurrence of xenophobia. The Conference should adopt a global plan of action, containing a bold and balanced set of measures that may be understood and enacted by all actors. In this respect and regarding the role of the United Nations, the Conference must take account of the Organization's ongoing
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institutional reforms in order to make the most efficient use of available resources. An extra effort should be made to ensure better coordination among its different agencies.
H. W. HJORT, Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO): Habitat II and the FAO's World Food summit, to be convened in November, have the same goals -- to improve standards of living. FAO's primary concern is adequate supplies of food. That goal and that of adequate shelter for all are far from being realized. Over 800 million people in developing countries alone live in a state of chronic undernutrition. Food aid supplies have declined sharply over the past three years from 15.2 million tons to 7.6 million. The key task is to find the set of appropriate and realistic policies and actions that will ensure sustained progress towards universal food security. That task is being pursued. As a society becomes more urbanized the food system must adapt. A larger share of the food must move from where it is produced to where it is consumed. Controlling food quality is another important factor.
LOUIS POTTER, Chief Physical Planning officer, Capacity Building and Institutional Development of the British Virgin Islands: As a small open economy, the British Virgin islands is vulnerable to external forces, particularly hurricanes and the uncertainties of the world economy. About 25 per cent of the country's land area is utilized for settlement. Approximately 40 per cent of the land is environmentally sensitive. The development of such land can have a significant impact on the environment which sustains much of the country's economic development. For that reason, the Government has taken land management very seriously and has begun several initiatives which include disaster preparedness, the development of a tourist plan, a physical development plan and an integrated development strategy.
ABDELHADI AL MAJALE, Minister for Public Works and Housing of Jordan: Jordan has adopted policies to ensure that all people contribute to development of human settlements. Both the public and the private sectors are encouraged to do so. The human being has the right to be guaranteed appropriate shelter to ensure appropriate stability in the family. A parallel approach should be created to ensure sustainable and balanced development which should be helped by the industrialized nations. Refugees and minorities should be provided adequate housing. Jordan has developed parameters that will allow everyone to obtain housing. The role of the private sector is being promoted and town councils have been empowered to take some decisions on their own. The Government is planning programmes to ensure housing for low- income people. Mortgage institutions are being developed to provide flexible loans.
There should be more cooperation, with the United Nations agencies, intergovernmental- and non-governmental organizations, to promote housing.
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More cooperation should be ensured with the Centre for Human Settlements. The Amman office should be upgraded.
SHANTI SHAMSHER J.B.RANA, Assistant Minister for Housing and Physical Planning of Nepal: Nepal has put in a lot of effort to prepare its national plan of action. Its national plan of action shall incorporate the essence of the human settlement especially in the following sectors: shelter, urban poverty, urban planning and development, environment, disaster prevention, local governance and cultural heritage. With a deteriorating urban environment in developing countries, Nepal has made efforts to envisage broader participation of central and local governments, non-governmental organizations, youth, the private sector and academicians. Translating the message of the Conference should be a collective responsibility for all participants. The international community should help and cooperate with Nepal to make cities, towns and villages healthy, safe, equitable and sustainable.
Sir ALBERT AANGO KIPALAN, Minister for Lands and Physical Planning of Papua New Guinea: The Conference should endorse the enabling approach, together with the parallel concept of partnership, as a key to achieving its aims. All actors in the society can be mobilized to solve settlements problems. Rural development is the core of its national development strategy. One must pay attention to improving rural conditions while improving the urban centres. Only equal emphasis on urban and rural developments can ensure overall and balanced improvement in settlements. The State recently passed a law to create local-level governments in order to improve social and economic services in the rural areas.
The Government is de-emphasizing the role of central governance to enable local governments, non-governmental organizations and the private sector to play greater roles in urbanization plans.
MARTHA DUENAS-LOZA, Acting Director of the United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women: The women's agenda has now been more clearly articulated and integrated into the world development priorities through the recent series of international conferences. For women to be agents of change in a sustainable development process, at least a minimum level of social and economic security is needed. An adequate habitat provides that minimum level of security. The denial of the right to an adequate habitat constitutes an obstacle to sustainable development itself. Women constitute more than 70 per cent of the world's poor and the number of rural women living in absolute poverty has risen by nearly 50 per cent during the last two decades.
Women fulfil a crucial role as contributors to the solutions of human settlements problems. That should be fully recognized and reflected in their equal participation in the elaboration of housing policies, programmes and
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projects and in the incorporation of their specific interests and capabilities in human settlements policy formulation. There is a need for a "vision" of gender sensitive human settlements.
HASINUR RAHMAN (Bangladesh): Bangladesh has 522 urban centres, and 85,500 rural villages in an area of 147,570 square kilometres. Dhaka, with a population of 9 million, has already become one of the world's megacities, posing a formidable challenge to a least developed country. Bangladesh has prepared a national plan of action to address its problems of human settlement development. The Conference must reiterate its trust in international cooperation in its statement of principles and commitments. The global plan of action should vigorously tackle issues like trade, aid, debt, investment and the enabling environment in a concrete manner. The issue of international cooperation is very important for Bangladesh.
The Conference must act and not be stymied by any future debate on reform or restructuring of the United Nations system. The course of international cooperation is flexible enough to accommodate any agreed future action in stride without changing the basic objectives and purpose of the United Nations Charter.
GINETTE CHERUBIN, Minister for Women Affairs of Haiti: Habitat II should bring together the various sectors of society to tackle the urban problems. World solidarity, international cooperation and various sectors of all nations should be involved in those efforts. The potential of women should be considered and they should not simply be regarded as vulnerable groups. They should be asked to design settlements to ensure that their needs are considered.
Haiti's economic stagnation is reflected in the rural and urban conditions of overcrowding and lack of decent housing. Even though some rehabilitation projects have been started, they have not stopped migration to cities. Efforts should continue to combat poverty, to guarantee the rights of women, health and other amenities in order to improve the overall conditions of settlements. The new constitution guarantees the right to decent housing and decentralization. That is the first step towards grass-roots participation, including that of women. Haiti is determined to change the situation of women. Solidarity from the international community is needed to improve settlements in developing nations.
HENRY JEFFERY, Senior Minister for Labour, Human Services and Social Security of Guyana: President Cheddi Jagan has called for a regional development fund, development experts and debt service reduction to help Guyana acquire adequate resources for settlements. Since Guyana is open to the vicissitudes of globalization and to natural disasters, the international community should take note of its needs. With the lowest per capita income
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and the highest level of poverty in South America, Guyana's roads, schools, water, electricity and housing stock have been severely compromised.
Lack of affordable housing gives rise to the growth of slums and squatter settlements. With the aid of the international community, the government has started programmes to ease those problems. It has introduced a universal housing programme to tackle the shelter problem by the year 2000. State land is being allocated to landless persons at nominal cost to make housing affordable.
ABDUL RAHMAN KAMARA, Minister for Lands, Housing, Town and Country Planning of Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone's population grew from 2.2 millon to 4.5 million between 1963 and 1995, during which time its urban population doubled. Fifty per cent of city dwellers live in Freetown. The rebel war has compounded the country's problems. The proliferation of refugee- and displaced-person camps exacerbates shelter needs and poor housing conditions. The Government is rebuilding settlements destroyed by war and has created a ministry to coordinate assistance to the displaced, returnees and war-ravaged areas.
The Government, appreciating the private sector's role in settlement development, has become a facilitator or enabler. It has created an environment to encourage the participation of the private sector in settlement development. The role of women in producing and using local building materials underscores the significance of capacity building for effective housing delivery.
ACHOLA PALA OKEYO, Chief, Communications and External Relations Section of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM): The women's agenda adopted in Beijing "must now engender the Habitat II Agenda". Women now constitute 70 per cent of the world's 1.3 billion poor living in absolute poverty. Some 50,000 women and children die daily from the consequences of poor shelter, polluted water or poor sanitation. Large numbers live in conditions of endemic violence. In Istanbul, women have come to seek deeper commitments from the international community to change the condition that keep the majority of women powerless and poor. Many of them are from the grassroots level.
By ensuring that womens' perspectives are central in development planning and practice, women's lives and those of their families can be significantly improved. UNIFEM supports the establishment of the Huairou Commission and endorses its call for women to play a central role in meeting the shelter and habitat needs for themselves and their families.
ZENA DAYSH, Executive Vice-Chair of the Commonwealth Human Ecology Council: For the past forty years, the Commonwealth Human Ecology Council has been bringing awareness to, and receiving awareness from, people managing
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communities at the grass roots level. Today, the Council has established national human ecology institutions in almost half of the Commonwealth. Programmes are being carried out with community involvement to rehabilitate denuded hill and mountain areas; to develop new educational institutions at various levels; to promote land tenure programmes; and to provide communal water services.
CUNEYT CAN of the Bahai International Community: Community building efforts will succeed only if they link material progress to fundamental spiritual aspirations. They must also respond to the increasing interdependence among peoples and nations. The challenge of the Conference is to redesign and develop communities around universal principles such as love, honesty, justice and unity which promote cohesion. The world community must move towards more participatory, knowledge-based and value-driven systems of governance to allow people to assume responsibility for their lives.
K. P. BHATTACHARYA, Executive Director, Centre for Human Settlements International: The Centre shares the concerns expressed about some governments' refusal to recognize adequate shelter as a human right. For integrated development of settlements it was essential to develop the economy of the rural areas, develop sound urban development policies and efficient management of cities. Policies for sustainability of cities must consider available resources and the carrying capacity of cities and towns. Small and medium-sized towns should be developed to decentralize congested cities. Housing development should be the responsibility of all, States should adopt policies to provide affordable land and special attention paid to women's property rights.
MOUSTAPHA SALIOU MBAKE, of Touba, Senegal: Touba, founded in 1887, has solved its problem of urban growth. It has, among other things, a library with 85 tons of scientific books, a special bank and agricultural programmes. Thousands of houses have been built and distributed and modern lighting and drainage systems introduced. Touba is the second most important town in Senegal, with no urban sprawl or shantytowns. Exchanges of experience between cities should continue even after the Conference.
MALA PAL, Vice-President of the Conference on Non-Governmental Organizations: The innovative ways for increasing the non-governmental participation in this international Conference are welcome. In preparatory sessions, the Conference on Non-governmental Organizations highlighted the right of women to housing, women's health and the environment, and the problems of rural and urban areas and mega cities. Some governments' refusal to accept the principle of adequate housing for all is of great concern. Acceptance of the principle is essential to achieving the Conference's goals. Developing sustainable settlements requires access to basic social services. The erosion of those services, racism and discrimination of all kinds have contributed to worsening the quality of life of the majority of people. However, the Conference offers hope.
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