SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS FOR RECOMMITMENT TO HABITAT AGENDA
Press Release
SG/SM/7141
OBV/108
SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS FOR RECOMMITMENT TO HABITAT AGENDA
19990921Following is the text of Secretary-General Kofi Annans message on the occasion of World Habitat Day, Cities For All, to be marked on 4 October 1999:
When this century opened, one in 10 people lived in cities. As we prepare to leave it, more than half of humankind does. That is more than three billion people. What kind of environment are those three billion living in, on the eve of the new millennium?
The appeal of the city has always been that it offers opportunity and the chance of a better life. But too often, it does not work out like that. Most of today's cities are sharply divided along class, race or ethnic lines -- or even all three at once. Many millions of people live in overcrowded slums and squatter settlements, without access to basic services. And millions of the most vulnerable are women.
These people lead insecure lives, and have little or no say in decisions that shape their lives. But we can help them break free. We can give them security of tenure. We can give them more say in the government of their own cities and districts. As the Habitat Agenda tells us, these are important tools for building better lives in the city.
Countless examples show that when people are given security of tenure, they are more likely to invest in creating better homes, better neighbourhoods and ultimately, better communities. And that when local governments work in genuine partnership with civil society -- including the urban poor -- the entire environment thrives.
On this last World Habitat Day of the twentieth century, let us recommit ourselves to making the Habitat Agenda come true and to ensuring that all people living in cities -- young and old, rich and poor, men and women -- have a say in the decisions that affect their lives. Because cities that succeed are indeed "Cities for All". Let's start building them now.
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