'CITY SUMMIT' CONCLUDES HIGH-LEVEL SEGMENT
Press Release
HAB/137
'CITY SUMMIT' CONCLUDES HIGH-LEVEL SEGMENT
19960614 ISTANBUL, 14 June -- The second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) concluded its high-level segment this morning after hearing more than 120 statements. The three-day meeting was addressed by heads of State and government, ministers and representatives of local authorities and youth.During the segment, speakers addressed the major national and global issues of human settlements. They pledged their commitment to implement the Conference's global plan of action at the national and international levels in cooperation with all the partners who were integrated in the Habitat process -- local authorities, non-governmental organizations, the private sector and youth.
Statements were made this morning by the President of Cuba and the First Vice-President of Peru.
The Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Environmental Protection and Development of Latvia also spoke.
Also addressing the meeting were the Minister for Housing and Urban Development of Chile; the Secretary for Health and Environment of the Marshall Islands; the Minister for Cities and Integration of France; the Minister for Municipal and Rural Affairs of Saudi Arabia; the Federal Minister for Regional Planning, Building and Urban Development of Germany; the Minister for Equipment, Planning and Land Administration of Portugal; the Minister for Housing, Construction and Public Utilities of Sri Lanka; and the Minister for Habitat of Morocco.
A statement was also made by the Vice-Minister for Housing, Land Management and Environment of Uruguay. The representative of the Czech Republic also spoke.
The meeting also heard the Mayor of Accra and a representative of the Youth Caucus.
Statements
APAS DJ.L DJUMAGULOV, Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic: The problems of the lack of housing, the natural growth of the population, the lack of financial resources and the poverty of large sections of the population should be addressed. Krygyzstan is in an earthquake-prone area, requiring the construction of strong and expensive houses. The Government has been creating jobs and providing amenities in smaller and satellite cities in order to check the migration of people into the larger towns. It has adopted fundamental laws to provide the legal basis for addressing its urban housing problems. New planning and architectural ideas and non-traditional sources of energy and heat are being sought and used.
The State is ready to pursue all forms of cooperation at the bilateral and multilateral levels. Kyrgyzstan supports the ideas set out in the Habitat Agenda and the draft global plan of action.
EDMUNDO HERMOSILLA HERMOSILLA, Minister for Housing and Urban Development of Chile: With its high-level of housing production -- 8.6 houses started for every 1,000 inhabitants in 1996 and 85,000 new homes built annually -- Chile has reduced its housing shortage. It has introduced some mechanisms to provide access to housing through innovative forms of public financing and increases in private sector resources. The savings of applicant families are a fundamental part of this financing. There is one savings account for every three households, mobilizing resources equivalent to the annual public-sector investment in shelter. The housing programme includes various forms of loans, savings and subsidies, which, among other things, assures access to social housing for the most deprived groups. Since housing deficiencies persist, policies towards the provision of housing, amenities, transport, infrastructure, the promotion of neighbourhoods and popular participation are part of the national and regional policies on settlements to which Chile is committed. The Government, the municipalities, developers, real estate agents, financial entities and communities should work together to provide decent shelter.
DONALD CAPPELLE, Secretary for Health and Environment of the Marshall Islands: The Marshall Islands is approximately 70 square miles and comprised of more than 2,100 low-lying islets and islands. The population was estimated at 43,380 in 1988, with a growth rate of 4.2 per cent. The islands have been subjected to nuclear-weapons testing by the United States in the 1940s and 1950s, which has left a sizable portion of the land mass uninhabitable due to the long-lasting effects of radiation. Inhabitants of four islands had to be relocated from their homelands as a result of this testing. The lack of land suitable for sustainable human habitation also influences the population's characteristics. The largest concentration of population is in the capital, Majuro.
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The Government is committed to ensuring that communities are healthy and safe and continues to invest considerable resources in them. Attempts have been made to decrease the birth rate. The Government is negotiating with the United States to ensure that atolls are cleared of radiation-related danger before the owners of the land are resettled. Habitable outer islands are being used to settle some communities.
RICARDO MARQUEZ FLORES, First Vice-President of Peru: Fifty per cent of the urban population lives in low-income settlements. During the past 20 years, those citizens have invested more than $20 billion of savings and other resources in building homes. In spite of the amounts invested, more than 50 per cent of those homes had no registered title and, therefore, no market or collateral value. They represent "sleeping resources" that can be turned into active capital. The Government has acted to establish property rights and titles for such assets and end that discriminatory situation. Thousands of titles have already been granted and 8 million Peruvians would eventually benefit. The Government is also increasing access to credit for those citizens. Basic services and infrastructure are also being provided to improve urban settlements. Resettling internally displaced persons is also a priority.
Peru's development strategy cannot be confined to building houses alone. "The citizen must be placed at the heart of the policy." Productive habitats will be promoted, inclusive of practical employment opportunities. Practical action is being taken to improve the indigenous settlements.
FIDEL CASTRO RUZ, President of Cuba: "The so-called consumption societies which are but an insult to the four fifths of the hungry and destitute inhabitants that we are, were built with the sweat and blood of the exploited." What use is a global economy and technological progress if they do not solve man's problems -- if the rich countries become richer and the poor are poorer? How will the Caribbean and Latin America cope with the alarming problems of urbanization that have been forecast? Can the State be free of responsibility in solving these problems? Cuba associates itself with Conference participants who have defended the most correct positions, such as on the right to adequate housing.
"It cannot be said that funds are not enough. How is it possible that in the so-called post-cold-war period millions of dollars are spent on weapons and military activities and that the arms trade continues to increase?" Every family should have decent housing and that should be considered a universal right. All people are entitled to live with honour and to be allowed to work. Criminal and unjust economic blockades should not be accepted. The world does not yield to masters nor to suicidal policies. The world does not tolerate that a minority of selfish, insane and irresponsible people lead it to annihilation.
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ERIC RAOULT, Minister for Cities and Integration of France: The Conference has stressed the importance of housing as part of social and economic development, an important achievement as far as France is concerned. The Conference should affirm the right to adequate housing for all as a fundamental human right. State laws should endeavour to facilitate that right. Partnerships, formed to suit particular circumstances, should be encouraged to construct decent cities in a balanced manner. Immense energy should be devoted to the implementation of the Conference's results. Intensive mobilization is necessary from all sides to ensure solidarity and produce concrete results at each decision-making level. At the national level, the State should create the opportunities for the economic and social actors and the private sector should help in the sustainable development of settlements. Decentralized cooperation between the cities of the industrialized world and those in the developing countries should be encouraged.
JAN WAGNER (Czech Republic): Among the primary aims of the country's housing policy are the creation of a basic legal framework and transfer of State-owned homes to municipalities and the privatization of houses. It plans programmes of financial and other support for housing construction, allowances for socially weaker households and of the transformation of present housing cooperatives into cooperatives of tenants. The years 1994-1995 mark the beginning of a new housing policy of support for building and saving schemes, mortgages and subsidies for heating and for pensioners. The allocation in the 1995 State budget for these activities are about 3 per cent of spending and 1.3 per cent of the gross domestic product. Increased attention will be paid to such non-financial measures as land policy, the removal of legal and administrative obstacles, the improvement of urban management and support for various civic initiatives. International cooperation will be necessary.
MUHAMMAD AL-JARALLAH, Minister for Municipal and Rural Affairs of Saudi Arabia: Since the Vancouver Conference, Saudi Arabia has witnessed rapid economic growth and modernization and unprecedented urban growth. As a result, those living in cities have increased from 48 per cent of the population in 1970 to 79 per cent last year. In the same period, the number of cities has grown from 70 to over 175. Comprehensive urban-like services have also been provided in 230 small townships, in addition to facilities in thousands of villages. The Government has spent $187 billion on infrastructure and services in the last 20 years, during which nearly 3 million housing units were built.
Saudi Arabia has been allocating more than 5.5 per cent of its annual national income to international financial assistance since the 1970s. By the end of 1995, its grants and easy-term loans to 72 developing countries had reached $70.6 billion. Financial aid of $15.7 billion has been granted to 29 low-income countries.
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KLAUS TOPFER, Federal Minister for Regional Planning Building and Urban Development of Germany: International cooperation and support is essential as the developing countries and States in transition face the task of creating healthy living conditions in their cities. Important steps must be taken in the industrialized nations since their patterns of production and consumption and urban structures are unsustainable. It is there that innovations must be developed and technologies invented to take account of the scarcity of energy, water and air. New labour-intensive and energy-saving technologies must take their place alongside traditional capital-intensive systems. Urban development must return to the concept of the "short-distance city", where home, work and education are grouped in the same neighbourhoods.
Local authorities should have greater say in, for instance, shaping the Commission for Human Settlements and the review of the United Nations system as a whole. The strengthened mandate for sustainable urban development must be implemented at local and national levels.
SAID EL FASSI, Minister for Habitat of Morocco: Arab countries have made commitments to the development of sustainable human settlements. Every country has shown its desire to make commitments at the international level to tackle the problems of human settlements. Numerous countries in the South face serious environmental problems which adversely affect human settlements. The reality of settlements must be understood before they can be transformed into sustainable human settlements.
Morocco is very conscious of the social, economic and cultural reality of its settlements and strive to achieve their development. Strategies have been initiated to ensure the desired balance between the rural areas, the deserts and urban areas and between the ancient and modern cities. Land management has also been improved. The integration of rural areas is also a priority in order to limit rural migration. The Conference should take account of Palestinian settlements and a just solution to the city of Jerusalem.
MARIS GAILIS, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Environmental Protection and Regional Development of Latvia: Integration into the European community is essential for Latvia's future development. Fifty years of a totalitarian system has had a significant impact, including on population distribution. Overpopulation of the cities -- 69 per cent of the population -- has caused a depreciation of the housing stock and a reduction of the historic-ethnographic differences between regions. Native Latvians made up little more than half of the total population. The number of Latvians in Latvia today has not reached the peak amount of the pre-war period.
Latvia's major priorities of human settlement development include setting up a counter-balanced, polycentric human settlement network of medium-sized towns alongside the remote rural areas, and the extension of the
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building sector and its use of resources-saving constructions, technologies and energy-saving production. Since 1991, denationalization and privatization of public housing have been initiated. Financial resources for the development of housing and human settlements infrastructure are limited.
JOAO CARDONA GOMES CRAVINHO, Minister for Equipment, Planning and Land Administration of Portugal: The Conference's conclusions would inspire United Nations reforms and influence Member States to intensify their developmental work. Globalization has transformed development strategies and produced major changes in population distribution and land management. Cities will continue to be the motor of development and its citizens must participate in their development.
Portugal has experienced all the problems of urbanization, including the growth of the informal urban sector. To meet those challenges, the country is rethinking its strategies for land management, strengthening local and regional bodies' responsibilities for settlement management and redeveloping deteriorating urban areas.
NIMAL SIRIPALA DE SILVA, Minister for Housing, Construction and Public Utilities of Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka has reversed rural-urban migration. However, its rural-biased programmes have delayed economic development because the cities were not adequately developed to function as engines of growth. Rapid urban development is necessary to solve the problems of unemployment and poverty in both the rural and urban areas. The country's main challenge is the rehabilitation and reconstruction of settlements that were destroyed by civil war. The Government has found a solution to the ethnic issue, almost eliminated terrorism and is addressing the issue of resettling displaced persons.
The members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation met in Sri Lanka between February and March this year and adopted the Colombo Declaration on Human Settlements Development. They agreed that poverty is the major obstacle to the provision of adequate housing for all. Since the poor are not properly served by the market, there is a need for increased investments and participation by the State through the provision of roads, water and electricity. The international community should increase its aid to the region.
JUAN GABITO ZOBOLI, Vice-Minister for Housing, Land Management and Environment of Uruguay: Funding for housing comes from the savings of various sectors of the population. Uruguay stresses the importance of the family and gives priority to education. The Government has learned from the experiences of other countries during the Conference and sought technical and financial cooperation to ensure the implementation of its programmes. It has received support from Germany and the Inter-American Bank for its programmes. The Government stresses the role that non-State and other actors can play in
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providing shelter. It will provide access and subsidies to families with low incomes and lend support to rural settlements. The State will regularize illegal or squatter settlements and enact land management laws.
NAT NUNO AMARTEIFIO, Mayor of Accra, representing local authorities: The local authorities welcome the Istanbul Declaration and are committed to the implementation of the Habitat Agenda. They are pleased that the Declaration recognizes the role of local authorities in implementing the Agenda. The local authorities are ready to take greater responsibility to carry out the tasks they are being assigned and should be assured adequate resources. The United Nations should, in consultation with them, draw up a world-wide charter on the principles of local government in order to guide national governments that are engaged in democratization. The Agenda highlights the need for capacity-building at the local level and recognizes the need for decentralization in decision-making. The donor communities should increase their aid to the cities.
ZEYNEP OZBIL of Turkey, a representative of the Youth Caucus: All people must work for solutions that are holistic and rooted in the oneness of humanity. The word 'global' has an all-encompassing nature, and embraces the entire planet and all life on it. All homes must be places where basic needs are met, where housing is a human right necessary for effective participation in society. The youth for Habitat II challenge their mentors, partners and advisors -- non-governmental organizations, the private sector, international donor agencies and Conference participants to join their efforts to continue working vigorously on human settlements issues.
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