Start Date : 18 May 04   End Date : 18 May 04 Location: Senegal

The Global Campaigns on Secure Tenure and Urban Governance were launched in Senegal on the 18th of May 2004, after extensive preparations over the past two years. The launch was preceded by a full day workshop attended by 150 participants representing all key stakeholders in the National Action Plan. The workshop aimed to discuss the main findings of the situation analysis, to debate the National Action Plan and to agree on short and medium term priorities. Prior to the launch, a visit was organised to a slum regularisation initiative in Pikine, spearheaded by the “Fondation Droit à la Ville”.

The launch event was facilitated by ENDA-Tiers Monde and was attended by approximately 2000 residents and slum dwellers of the Plateau area of Dakar. Statements by representatives of local and national government, civil society and UN-HABITAT were followed by a signing ceremony of the “Declaration of Joint Commitment” (“Déclaration d’engagement solidaire de Dakar”), highlighting the commitment of stakeholders to the core principles of the campaigns as well as the modalities for implementation of the National Action Plan. The events were attended by senior delegates from Benin, Burkina Faso (in preparation of their upcoming launch) and Niger, represented by the Minister of Housing and Land Management, who requested UN-HABITAT to consider starting a campaigns’ preparation process in his country.

The launch was very successful in rallying all stakeholders behind the key campaign values and in mobilising large numbers of beneficiary populations behind the campaign banner. 45 percent of the Senegalese population are currently living in the cities, and this figure is expected to rise to 56.4 percent in 2021. 120,000 people are added each year to the population of Dakar alone. The majority of these urban residents live in slums. A strong linkage was therefore made between the National Action Plan and the MDG targets, in view of Senegal being amongst the priority countries in the Millennium Project.

The Action Plan aims to support the application of good urban governance to achieve security of tenure in Senegal, especially for the urban poor. The plan is subdivided into four chapters, dealing respectively with (1) reforms to promote the rule of law regarding urban development issues; (2) measures to accompany and enhance the ongoing decentralization process, with emphasis on citizen participation and local government capacity building; (3) facilitating access to secure tenure, including land market reforms; and (4) improving the production process of the built environment, with emphasis on innovative planning and financing mechanisms. The ambitious plan, which stretches through 2010, is a key vehicle to achieve MDG Target 11 in Senegal.

The National Habitat Committee has undertaken the task of identifying a feasible subset of priority activities from the National Action Plan as well as financial resources for its implementation. This includes the improvement and/or reform of the existing land policy, mobilizing the social and financial capital of the urban poor, engaging in the provision of basic infrastructure in informal settlements. It has been agreed that UN-HABITAT activities in Senegal such as Localizing agenda 21, Water for African Cities, Transmigration programmes will contribute to the objectives of the National Action Plan.
Further documentation on the Senegal launch can be downloaded from this site, including:
1. Speech of UN-HABITAT Executive Director Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka
2. National Action Plan (Plan d’Actions)
3. Situation Analysis (Rapport Diagnostic Final)
4. Declaration of Joint Commitment of Dakar (English/French)