Fifty-Ninth General Assembly

Second Committee

13^th Meeting (AM)

Effective management of human settlements crucial in tackling

urban poverty, second committee told

 

Delegates Also Express Concern That

Funding for UN-HabitatFalls Far Short of Projected Needs

Effective human settlements management, particularly in areas with rapidly expanding urban sprawl, was crucial to tackling urban poverty and achieving sustainable development, the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) heard this morning as it concluded its general debate on implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) and of the twenty-fifth special session of the General Assembly.

The representative of Bangladesh, noting that the world’s urban population was growing at the alarming rate of 70 million annually, said it was expected to jump from 2.86 billion in 2000 to 4.98 billion by 2030.  The 2006-2007 Strategic Framework of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) had set an overall goal of improving human settlements through more effective participatory and transparent management.  While the UN-Habitat Urban Observatory (GUO) and Technical Cooperation Projects were contributing positively to government initiatives in sustainable urban development policy in that regard, greater cooperation was needed with local authorities, parliamentarians, women’s groups, youth organizations, academia and civil society.

With assistance from UN-Habitat and funding from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), he said, Bangladesh had launched a programme -- Local Partnerships for Urban Poverty Alleviation -- to help the poor acquire secure dwellings and job prospects.  However, UN-Habitat funding was well below projected needs, with just four countries providing 60 per cent of the Programme’s general purpose funding.  Innovative financing strategies were urgently required.

The representative of the Russian Federation echoed those concerns, and described UN-Habitat’s efforts to attract additional funds through partnership networks as encouraging.  It was too soon to tell whether the international community had reached a decisive turning point in achieving sustainable development of human settlements, but effective task management was crucial, he said, calling for regular fine-tuning of policy to strengthen inter-agency coordination.  Economic incentives for housing investment projects could also prove effective, as could targeted aid projects to developing countries and economies in transition.

Nepal’s delegate emphasized that poverty reduction and the provision of safe drinking water, adequate sanitation and sufficient housing were interconnected and that the United Nations system was making headway in advancing that agenda.  UN-Habitat and the World Bank had assisted the Cities Alliance in tackling urban poverty and slums and the Programme was also substantively supporting many governments by establishing local, national and regional urban observatories to contribute to urban policy development.

The representative of Dominica, speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), underscored the importance of addressing the unique human settlement needs of small island developing States, which were acutely vulnerable to natural disasters.  Effective management was needed to ensure a smooth transition from the early stages of immediate relief to full rehabilitation, reconstruction and development, as well as future disaster prevention.  CARICOM supported UN-Habitat’s proposal for national monitoring and integration systems intended to reduce vulnerability to natural and man-made disasters, as well as higher building standards, as called for in Habitat II.

During a discussion period, delegates questioned Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, who had presented the Secretary-General’s report on human settlements on Thursday afternoon, on the need for effective management to achieve sustainable development in human settlements, Habitat funding, and the Programme’s contacts with development banks.

Ms. Tibaijuka said in response that proper planning was a key component of human settlements, with 56 per cent of humanity expected to live in cities and towns by 2030.  Cities were ill-prepared to absorb the rapid influx of rural people moving to cities in search of work.  That was particularly true in Africa, where more than 53 per cent of rural dwellers would have moved to cities by 2015.  Urban poverty was threatening state stability, she said, underscoring the urgent need for investment, effective policies and partnerships with people trapped in slums.  The international community would not be able to meet the Millennium Development Goals unless it addressed the problems associated with changing settlement patterns.

Regarding funding, she said that the recent World Forum in Barcelona had discussed the possibility of financing UN-Habitat and the Human Settlements Foundation as a global shelter facility, since the private sector was reluctant to supply houses to people with low, irregular incomes.  In addition, it had forged a partnership with the Asian Development Bank and an agreement would soon be made with the African Development Bank to fast-track slum-upgrading in Africa.

Also speaking this morning were representatives of Qatar (on behalf of the Group of 77 and China), China, Nigeria, Kenya, Bangladesh, United States and Sri Lanka.

A representative of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies also made a statement.

The Second Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. on Monday, 18 October, to begin its discussion of sustainable development.

Background

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) met today to conclude its general debate on implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) and of the twenty-fifth special session of the General Assembly.  (For background information, see Press Release GA/EF/3080 of 14 October).

Questions and Answers

Responding to a question on the need for sustainable organization to achieve sustainable development, ANNA KAJUMULO TIBAIJUKA, Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), said that was a key component of human settlements.  By 2030, 56 per cent of humanity would live in cities and towns and proper planning was needed, particularly in Africa.  Rural people were increasingly moving permanently to cities in search of work, but that transition was taking place too rapidly.  Cities were ill-prepared to absorb the influx, particularly in Africa, where more than 53 per cent of rural people would have moved to cities by 2015.  As a result, urban poverty was threatening the stability of States.  Sustainable development would require investment, policies and partnerships with people trapped in slums.  The international community would not be able to meet the Millennium Development Goals unless it addressed the problems associated with changing settlement patterns.

Regarding the definition of a slum and how that definition affected analysis of human settlements in the Secretary-General’s report, she said a common definition had been established, whose indicators included access to water, the number of people per square metre and security of tenure, or risk of eviction from one’s home.  Based on that definition, 72 per cent of urban dwellers in Africa lived in slums.  In Asia, that figure was approximately 48 per cent and in Latin America, it was an estimated 36 per cent.  Overall, 60 per cent of the developing world’s population lived in slums.

Other speakers asked whether Habitat funding had been discussed at the World Forum in Barcelona, and about the Habitat’s contacts with the African Development Bank and the World Bank.

Ms. Tibaijuka responded by saying that the World Forum had discussed how the Habitat and Human Settlements Foundation could be financed as a global shelter facility.  The private sector found it difficult to supply houses to slum-dwellers and poor people with irregular incomes, and the shelter facility would attempt to fill the gap.  However, the programme, which was called the “Slum-upgrading Challenge”, needed a loan guarantee facility to overcome private sector worries about payment default.

She added said funding for staff at the Habitat Secretariat had risen to $61 million, but it was unpredictable, and transaction costs were high.  Funding was earmarked, rather than mainstream, and the urban agenda had slipped through the cracks.  Habitat was working at the country level with finance and planning ministers to mainstream the Habitat Agenda and improve water and sanitation, and had also forged partnerships with financial institutions, such as the Asian Development Bank.  It was also making progress with the African Development Bank and an agreement should soon be made for fast track slum-upgrading in Africa.

Cooperation with the World Bank, she said, was occurring through the Cities Alliance Programme, which was a partnership between UN-Habitat, the World Bank and several donors to provide technical assistance for cities to develop city development strategies.  However, actual investment was still not available for urban infrastructure, water and sanitation.

FAISAL AL-ATHBA (Qatar), speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, noted the continuing challenges of sustainable human settlements and adequate shelter had continued.  In overcoming them, the international community must fulfil the commitments made at Istanbul, as well as at the Millennium Summit and the World Summit on Sustainable Development.  The problems of human settlements could only be resolved if due attention was paid and the necessary means of implementation were provided.

He also pointed to the persistent imbalance between earmarked and non-earmarked contributions to the human settlement agenda.  Earmarked contributions had remained higher, making it difficult for UN-Habitat to plan and implement its work programme.  Also, the donor base had remained low, leading to an over-dependence on a few contributors.  The Group of 77 urged all Member States to contribute to the Foundation, with emphasis on non-earmarked resources on a multi-year basis.

WANG LING (China) said that sustainable development and economic growth were the only means to create sustainable human settlements.  Human settlements also depended on national efforts, as well as a favourable external environment and effective international cooperation was vital in developing them.  The international community, and developed countries in particular, should demonstrate political will and good faith by honouring their commitments in funding, technology, expertise, market access and debt relief to help create an external environment that favoured economic and social development in developing countries, and the strengthening of their capacity to handle the issue of human settlements.

A comprehensive partnership was needed for human settlements, he said, adding that although governments bore the main responsibility, local governments, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, women and youth should also be extensively involved in improving and developing human settlements.

OLEG SHAMANOV (Russian Federation) said that raising the status of UN-Habitat to the programmes level had boosted the human settlements agenda and related activities, as well as made it a priority in the Monterrey Consensus and Johannesburg Declaration.  The UN-Habitat-sponsored World Urban Forum in Barcelona had been extremely productive.  Valuable and extensive dialogue had been instrumental in helping the Governing Council prepare for the upcoming thirteenth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development.

It was too soon to tell whether the international community had reached a decisive turning point in achieving sustainable development of human settlements, he continued, stressing the need for effective task management.  In that regard, regular fine-tuning of policy to strengthen inter-agency coordination could be useful, as could making more active use of the Executive Board of the United Nations and the United Nations Development Group.  Economic incentives for housing investment programmes were also needed, as were targeted aid projects to developing countries and economies in transition and resources from the private sector.  The Russian Federation supported Ms. Tibaijuka’s efforts to attract additional funds through partnership networks.

ADEREMI ESAN (Nigeria) said the onslaught of fatal hurricanes and other storms that had swept through the Bahamas, Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba and the United States had underscored the problems linked to human settlements.  The world did not need natural disasters to appreciate that adequate shelter was key to achieving good health and sanitation.  Without good shelter a gaping window of vulnerability put investments in poverty eradication and the campaign to improve slums at serious risk.  The international community must show greater political commitment through concrete interventions to ensure that the Habitat Agenda and the Millennium Goals were achieved.

While commending the positive response of donors in 2002-2003 to the UN-Habitat Agenda, he said there was an urgent need to reverse the current pattern of contributions, which was skewed to favour earmarked funds.  Higher levels of special-purpose rather than general-purpose contributions made it difficult for UN-Habitat to implement its work programme.  With only four countries accounting for 60 per cent of general-purpose contributions, programme implementation was rendered dependent on money rather than need.  The international community must broaden the donor base, both in volume and quality.

LAZARUS AMAYO (Kenya) stressed the need for increased and predictable non-earmarked funding to enable UN-Habitat to plan adequately and implement its work programme.  UN-Habitat’s Water and Sanitation Trust Fund would go a long way in helping to halve the number of people without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015.  Kenya supported UN-Habitat’s efforts to improve the lives of 100 million slum dwellers by 2020.

Human settlements improvement was a priority for Kenya, he continued, noting that Kenyan officials were collaborating with UN-Habitat, the Cities Alliances and other partners on the Kenya Slum Upgrading Programme, and had signed a memorandum of understanding in January 2003 in that regard.  Kenyan officials had prepared a Sessional Paper on National Housing Policy that proposed the creation of 150,000 urban housing units and improvements to 300,000 rural housing units over a five-year period.  Kenya was hammering out a National Housing Development Programme to address comprehensively the country’s shelter problem and a NationalLand and Land Use Policy to guide sustainable human settlement.

IFTEKHAR AHMED CHOWDHURY (Bangladesh) said the world urban population was growing at the alarming rate of 70 million annually and that the 2004-2005 State of the World’s Cities Report published by UN-Habitat predicted that urban sprawl would grow from 2.86 billion in 2000 to 4.98 billion by 2030.  UN-Habitat’s 2006-2007 Strategic Framework had set an overall goal of improving human settlements through more effective participatory and transparent management.  The UN-Habitat Urban Observatory (GUO) and Technical Cooperation Projects were contributing positively to government initiatives in sustainable urban development policy, but it was necessary to strengthen cooperation with local authorities, parliamentarians, women’s groups, youth organizations, academia and civil society.

Bangladesh was doing its part to provide adequate shelter and sustainable human settlements, creating a national preparatory committee and a national urban observatory committee, he said.  Officials, with assistance from the UN-Habitat and funding from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), had launched the Local Partnerships for Urban Poverty Alleviation programme, which would help the poor acquire a secure dwelling and job prospects.

Both general and special purpose funds for UN-Habitat were far below target, he said, adding that four countries provided 60 per cent of general contributions.  Developing countries received only $4 billion annually from multilateral and bilateral donors for housing and urban infrastructure projects, while the estimated cost of meeting urban development targets was $184 billion.  Innovative financing strategies were urgently required and the technical cooperation trust fund should be further empowered.

DURGA SUBEDI (Nepal) noted that funding for UN-Habitat and the Human Settlements Foundation had increased from $6 million in 2002 to $8.3 million in 2003, and special purpose contributions from $30 million in 2002 to 37.8 million in 2003.  Comprehensive steps had been taken, and the human settlement agenda was now being addressed through the United Nations system.  The activities of Habitat and the World Bank had assisted the Cities Alliance in tackling urban poverty and slums.  The UN-Habitat was providing substantive support to many governments by establishing local, national and regional urban observatories to contribute to urban policy development.

Poverty reduction and providing safe drinking water, adequate sanitation and sufficient housing were interlinked, he continued.  Nepal was creating a conducive environment for pro-poor development activities, focusing particularly on investments in drinking water, sanitation and small-scale housing.  The Tenth Development Plan, which had begun last year, had incorporated shelter and urbanization issues into national development policies.  Nepal urged the international community to increase it support for UN-Habitat, so that special human settlement programmes could be set up.

YOUSIF GHAFARI (United States) said that decades of experience had consistently shown that slum-upgrading, infrastructure investment and poverty investment were products of sustained efforts by government, business and community leaders to promote participatory democracy and economic freedom.  The success of Slum Dwellers International and SEWA Bank were good examples of how poor people worldwide had organized themselves to improve their own lives and communities.  The poor were key technical, organizational and financial resources, rather than passive aid recipients or obstacles to development.  Slum-upgrading must be done with and by them.

The World Bank’s Doing Business 2005 report and the findings of the United Nations Commission on the Private Sector and Development stressed the importance of unleashing domestic resources for sustainable development and slum upgrading, he said.  Strong democratic institutions helped ensure that substantial political and economic resources went to providing shelter for the neediest.

Property development and management had become a tremendous economic catalyst for the United States economy, he said, adding that the housing sector accounted for 20 per cent of national economic activity, providing skilled and unskilled jobs.  While the Federal Government could help communities through standards, policies or grants, enduring solutions to housing problems must be developed locally.  In the United States, community-based organizations had contributed greatly to urban redevelopment in the last 40 years.

VARUNI HEWAVITHARANA (Sri Lanka) noted that UN-Habitat’s two global campaigns, on secure tenure and urban governance, sought to implement key provisions of the Habitat Agenda.  Firm commitments were needed at the national, local and municipal levels to provide adequate infrastructure for secure tenure to succeed.  Ownership brought a sense of security that could foster business opportunities and generate income in informal settlements.  The campaign on urban governance promoted accountable and transparent urban governance structures that were responsive to the needs of the urban poor.  An important step in that direction was the inclusion of the poorest and most marginalized communities in decisions affecting their lives.

He said that $4 billion in annual multilateral and bilateral assistance for housing and infrastructure fell far short of developing-country needs.  The governments of those nations faced a dual challenge in keeping up with urbanization –- ensuring that sufficient low-cost housing was built to slow slum expansion, and contributing to the upgrading of new slums.  Additional ODA was needed for human settlement development, if that dual challenge was to be met.  UN–Habitat itself must be supported through increased voluntary non-earmarked contributions to plan its activities more effectively.

CRISPIN GREGOIRE (Dominica), speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), said that human settlements issues were of particular concern to small island developing States, which were acutely vulnerable to natural disasters.  Recent hurricanes had devastated many CARICOM economies, and destroyed 90 per cent of Grenada’s building infrastructure.  CARICOM attached great importance to international human settlements efforts, including those of UN-Habitat, with special emphasis on promoting a smooth transition from immediate relief to full rehabilitation, reconstruction and development of disaster-affected areas, as well as future disaster prevention.

He expressed CARICOM’s support UN-Habitat’s proposed national monitoring and integration systems intended to reduce the vulnerability of populations to natural and man-made disasters, as well as higher building standards, as called for in Habitat-II.

UN-Habitat’s five-year review in 2001 of the international community’s success in providing adequate shelter and human settlements, while taking into account its broader social and economic considerations, had revealed that the majority of human settlements still lacked legal tenure for their obligations.  Discrepancies still existed between commitments made at Istanbul and the political will to fulfil them.

WENDA ADRIAANSE, Adviser, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said that improving the lives of the hundreds of millions of people living in slums was a priority of immediate relevance.  The issues arising from slum life and its consequences were just as much a problem in developed countries as they were in the developing world.  The European Red Cross and Red Crescent societies had recognized the special vulnerabilities of people living in the shadows because that was what many people in slums were:  people marginalized from positive political influence and decision-making centres.

Citing experiences from the Bangladesh and Egyptian Red Crescent societies and the Indonesian Red Cross, she said the building of community responsibility and community involvement resulted in a direct and immediate benefit to the communities themselves in terms of material improvement, pride and psychological strength.  In preparation for the world conference on Disaster Reduction, to be held in Japan in January 2005, the Federation was concentrating on disaster-preparedness and risk reduction, as well as the human settlements dimension.  It was also moving forward with the International Disaster Response Law (IDRL) project.  Haiti and Grenada had shown that it was the slums and all the poor, badly planned and least protected neighbourhoods that were the most devastated.

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