COORDINATION OF NATIONAL ACTIONS WITH REGIONAL AND GLOBAL AGENCIES STRESSED, AS HABITAT II GENERAL DISCUSSION CONTINUES
Press Release
HAB/130
COORDINATION OF NATIONAL ACTIONS WITH REGIONAL AND GLOBAL AGENCIES STRESSED, AS HABITAT II GENERAL DISCUSSION CONTINUES
19960611 (Received from a UN Information Officer.)ISTANBUL, 11 June -- Governments and other partners were urged to coordinate national actions with those of regional and global agencies and to develop innovative mechanisms for cooperation in the implementation of the Global Plan of Action of the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), the Conference Plenary was told this morning as it continued its general exchange of views on the state of human settlements.
Regional commissions, in particular, are mandated and uniquely situated to support coordination and promote cooperation of such actions, a number of speakers said. Regional action plans should form the basis for effective follow-up at the regional level. Such plans represent the collective commitment of governments within regions to take decisive and concrete actions to achieve sustainable human settlements for the benefit of mankind.
Statements were made this morning by the Minister for Rehabilitation and Social Integration of Rwanda; the Under-Secretary for Urban Development of Bolivia; the Minister for Urbanization and Construction of Georgia; and the Minister for Public Works, Management of Territories, Urbanism and Habitat of Zaire. The Minister for Housing and Urban Development of Chile spoke on behalf of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
The representatives of Yemen, Lithuania and Spain also made statements.
Also addressing the plenary was the Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). A manager of the Inter-American Development Bank and the President of the Permanent Francophone Council also spoke.
The representatives of the following non-governmental organizations made statements: Rotary International; Peace Caucus; the International Planned Parenthood Federation; and the Centre for Respect of Life and Environment.
General Exchange of Views
PATRICK MAZIMHAKA, Minister for Rehabilitation and Social Integration of Rwanda: Despite Rwanda's efforts to house, among others, the survivors of genocide, the aged and returning refugees, a crisis remains in the urban areas due to lack of housing developers and finance.
In July 1994, the perpetrators of genocide expelled 2 million people, joining another 1.4 million already in exile. Of the new case load, some 1.2 million and 800,000 of the old cases have returned home. Another 1 million are held hostage in refugee camps, mainly in Zaire and the United Republic of Tanzania. Rwanda considers refugee return and resettlement a top priority. It is finalizing a new policy on sustainable settlements development. The policy will be based on the reform of dispersed villages into agglomerated settlements; the encouragement of the private sector to build houses and provide finance; the restructuring of slums and the assumption of greater responsibility by local authorities.
LUIS RAMIREZ VELARDE, Under-Secretary for Urban Development of Bolivia: The Conference must institutionalize popular participation in the issue of sustainable human settlements in order to allow community-based organizations access to its programmes. Their participation will guarantee the success of Habitat II programmes. For its part, Bolivia has adopted laws to facilitate such participation. The law on popular participation allows peasant communities, indigenous people and neighbourhood bodies to take part in planning and monitoring programmes. A new law on decentralization gives regions the responsibility to develop shelter in the prefectures. Habitat II programmes must include popular participation in order to succeed.
ALI HAMEED SHARAF (Yemen): Wealthier countries should assist developing countries to implement their settlement policies. Developing countries must ensure the planning and development of sustainable human settlements. The Yemeni Government is ensuring that the best housing and settlement policies are developed for the benefit of the population, in spite of an economic recession during the last two decades. The return of 1 million Yemenis as refugees during the Gulf War has had a detrimental effect on the country.
The Yemeni Government has allocated about $15 million for housing and infrastructural development. The actual sum required is approximately $50 million which would have to be sought from the international community. The urban growth rate of 7.7 per cent, compared to 3.7 per cent growth in the rest of the population, calls for priority action.
WALDEMAR WIRSIG, Manager, Social Programmes and Sustainable Development Department of the Inter-American Development Bank: Even though the demographic projections for the Latin American region are less alarming than
- 3 - Press Release HAB/130 11 June 1996
forecast 20 years ago, the cities still face serious problems. Four out of every 10 families lack adequate housing and an equal number lack sanitary infrastructure and facilities. As a result, the Development Bank has made social sector lending the cornerstone of the its Eighth Capital Replenishment Programme. It formally commits 50 per cent of its total operations and 40 per cent of its lending volume to the most vulnerable segments of the region's population.
The informal economy employs a significant share of the labour force and constitutes an enormous, untapped source of equity and capital for the urban poor. Property rights to informal dwellings must be formalized to ensure that the savings and investments of the poor contribute more directly to economic growth. An important message for the Conference is that the urban challenges of the future do not necessarily require enormous sums of money.
RIMVYDAS PRANAITIS (Lithuania): Because of the priority attached to housing in Lithuania, much progress has been made in housing construction and settlements planning. In that sense, Lithuania cannot be considered a developing country. It does not have the problems of homelessness, uncontrolled growth of cities and high concentrations of population. However, much needs to be done in the implementation of the Habitat II goals.
Seven per cent of families in Lithuania are without dwellings, have minimum living standards or are without permanent lodging units. About 40 per cent of urban housing do not have modern sanitation. Due to economic transformation, residential housing decreased from 5.6 to 1.4 flats per 1,000 inhabitants, adversely affecting young families and a growing number of children without parental support. The country also faces a problem of housing refugees who are illegally migrating through Lithuania, from Asia, to Western Europe. The Habitat II Agenda should take account of the specific problems of countries in transition.
MERAB CRKHENKELI, Minister for Urbanization and Construction of Georgia: Georgia is rebuilding thousands of houses destroyed in natural disasters and war in order to address the acute problems of families affected by those scourges. However, the country lacks construction and building-materials industries.
Georgia will carry out Habitat II measures by exchanging information and conducting a coordinated policy related to the development of populated localities. It will also conduct joint research in construction and planning, develop and coordinate programmes for developing populated areas and create ecologically safe systems for the reconstruction of the building industry. The international community should assist Georgia.
- 4 - Press Release HAB/130 11 June 1996
ALEXIS THAMBWE MWAMBA, Minister for Public Works, Management of Territories, Urbanism and Habitat of Zaire: Zaire's actions will be based on land planning to ensure a balanced use of resources, the promotion of urban developments in a manner that will have positive effects on villages, and reforms to allow more grass-root participation. The field of town planning will be opened to the private sector and civil society and urban resources mobilized to ensure that cities are properly equipped. Zaire has built major housing estates in several cities to meet middle-class needs and small-scale loans are granted to help low-income citizens acquire homes.
The problem of some 2 million refugees from neighbouring countries has caused damage to settlements in eastern Zaire. The Government will ask the international community to help it repatriate the refugees, as it will not allow them to settle permanently in Zaire.
EMILE-DERLIN ZINSOU, President of the Permanent Francophone Council: Decentralization in decision-making should lead to the transfer of power to citizens and local bodies. Cities should be given more access to international capital. Growth should be encouraged to alleviate the effects of poverty which threatens democracy. Partnerships and the participatory approach should be encouraged. Improvement in governance is essential for the sustainable development of human settlements. The Francophone community supports Habitat Agenda provisions that will take into account African countries' specific situations. Francophone heads of States have adopted resolutions calling for economic growth, the protection of the environment and support for mechanisms that will seek peaceful solutions to crises and the problem of population movements.
CARLOS CARDERERA (Spain): The Habitat programme should facilitate greater access to housing, promote more local participation and improve energy and environmental efficiency. To ensure the sustainable development of cities, the international community should try to improve existing towns, include all social agents and strengthen local authorities. International cooperation should be involved in training, the exchange of experience, cooperation in the implementation of programmes and the provision of technical advice.
ADRIANUS MOOY, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP): Facing urban challenges requires change in the entire society which must be anchored in communities and built on consensus and partnerships among all urban stakeholders. As a goal, local governments must be strengthened to tackle their current responsibilities and to address, with more urgency, urban poverty and the issue of the quality of life in urban areas.
- 5 - Press Release HAB/130 11 June 1996
Habitat II's Global Plan of Action must be strongly supported and all partners must contribute to its implementation. It is necessary to coordinate national actions with those of regional and global agencies and develop innovative mechanisms for cooperation. Regional commissions are mandated and uniquely situated to support coordination and promote cooperation.
EDMUNDO HERMOSILLA, Minister for Housing and Urban Development of Chile, speaking under the auspices of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC): Last November, Ministers from Latin America and the Caribbean agreed on a regional action plan for human settlements. In the plan, governments committed themselves to achieving a level of housing production in 10 years, that will, at the minimum, equal that of the previous decade. They have proposed transparent housing subsidies and improved targeting of social spending for housing. Commitments to freezing the housing deficit and granting flexible loans, as well as improving private sector investments were also made in the plan.
Each regional action plan would serve as a guide and follow-up to the Conference. If the Conference accepts the right to housing and takes up the challenge of freezing the dwelling deficit, it would not disappoint millions of people in Latin America and the Caribbean. "The Ministers of Latin America and the Caribbean do not want to disappoint the poor."
CARLO RAVIZZA of Rotary International: Rotary International's leadership has recently reassessed what constitutes viable volunteer service in today's urban setting. As a result, it has added urban concerns as a major international focus. Beginning next month, it will hold urban peace conferences in seven world regions for club leaders from cities with populations exceeding 2 million. The participants will examine the root causes of urban violence, such as homelessness, hunger, illiteracy, poverty, prejudice, and environmental deterioration.
These conferences will launch Rotary's initiative on behalf of the world's cities, draw on all the traditions and programmes that currently exist and generate new responses to the enormous challenges of the next century. Volunteers, like Rotary International, must find innovative ways of working with other partners and use all their resources to contribute to development efforts.
JONATHAN GRANOFF, Peace Caucus: The United Nations should sponsor conflict resolution centres in cooperation with Member States and civil society to promote preventive diplomacy. Governments should be committed to adhering to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty by ratifying a zero-yield Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and a Treaty Prohibiting the First Use of Nuclear Weapons and by starting talks on a convention on the elimination of nuclear weapons. International standards and codes of conduct should be
- 6 - Press Release HAB/130 11 June 1996
enacted to curb the flow of arms to areas of potential or actual conflict. City governments should advocate the elimination of nuclear weapons.
SUNETRA PURI, International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF): The Federation will counter the negative effects of urbanization by providing information on family planning and sexual and reproductive health. It will support local authorities, pay attention to the sexual health needs of the urban young, support women's fight against discrimination and work with other forces to make cities better places in which to live. All actions will have to be combined with efforts to ensure the sustained health and the environmental and socio-economic development of town and city dwellers.
JOHN HOYT, Chief Executive of the Humane Society of the United States and President of the Center for Respect of Life and Environment: The gap between rich and poor and the extinction of various species of animals call for a shift to a holistic approach to development. That approach should value the natural and social economy and long-term social and spiritual ends. Social policy should provide economic resources to support viable and caring communities. Unsustainable patterns of production and consumption degrade the environment. The role of the media, advertising and marketing in shaping those patterns should be studied and reported to the next 1997 session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development.
* *** *