FINAL PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR ‘ISTANBUL + 5’

TO MEET IN NAIROBI, 18-23 FEBRUARY

NAIROBI/NEW YORK, 16 February (Habitat) -- Following the eighteenth session of the Commission on Human Settlements, the second and final session of the Preparatory Committee for Istanbul +5 will meet 19 to 23 February in Nairobi, Kenya.  Ministers, mayors and representatives of local authorities will meet to finalize preparations for the special session of the General Assembly for an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the Habitat Agenda, scheduled to take place in New York 6 to 8 June.  The Habitat Agenda was adopted in Istanbul, Turkey in June 1996. 

It is estimated that a billion people today are homeless or live without adequate shelter and basic services.  Over the course of the next generation, the global urban population is expected to double, from 2.5 to 5 billion, with most of the human population living in cities.  In cities all over the world, large parts of today’s urban population live in makeshift shelters in “spontaneous settlements” –- sprawling slum settlements without water, sewers, garbage collection or electricity –- and with little hope of achieving secure tenure.  Rapid urbanization fueled by globalization is expected to continue to put pressure on cities and their governments to provide workable solutions.

“In the village where I grew up, the traditional forms of social solidarity meant that the community tried to provide for everyone.  I never saw anyone sleep under a tree.  Nobody was excluded.  But, today, our cities and towns are full of street children and people living without adequate shelter and basic services,” said Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka, the Executive Director of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements.  “I am therefore personally committed to helping to make our human settlements inclusive.  We must all try to improve the living conditions of the poor in our cities and human settlements.”

Inclusive cities are just one of the themes that will be considered at Istanbul +5 as it evaluates progress made by governments in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda.  Lessons learned from best practices have proved useful in encouraging innovative solutions and in building awareness of critical social, economic and environmental issues associated with urbanization and globalization.  As part of the reporting process, countries have been encouraged to form broad-based national review committees to help identify their own best practices and to exchange information and share experiences. 

The Preparatory Committee, which will finalize preparations for Istanbul +5, is expected to discuss actions and initiatives for the further implementation of the Habitat Agenda and to prepare a draft declaration on “Cities and other human

settlements in the new millennium".  Other topics will include Centre initiatives, such as Habitat’s campaigns on secure tenure and good urban governance.  

The Habitat Agenda adopted in 1996 is a global plan of action that addresses two themes thought to be equal in importance:  adequate shelter for all, and sustainable human settlements development in an urbanizing world.  “In June”, says Mrs. Tibaijuka, “the governments of the world will come together to commit themselves to further improving conditions in our cities and human settlements.  This is the time and place ... to strengthen their commitment to meeting the goal of adequate shelter for all.” 

                For further information, please contact:  Sharad Shankardass or Zahra A. Hassan, Media & Press Relations Unit, UNCHS (Habitat, Tel:  624153; 623151, Fax: 624060; E-mail:  habitat.press@unchs.org, Web site:  www.unchs.org.

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