UNITED NATIONS	HS
	Commission on Human Settlements	Distr. LIMITED HS/C/17/L.1 10 May 1999 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH

1. The Commission on Human Settlements was established pursuant to General Assembly resolution 32/162 of 19 December 1977.

2. The report of the Commission on the work of its seventeenth session is submitted to the General Assembly in accordance with section II, paragraph 6, of resolution 32/162.

3. The Commission consists of 58 members, each elected for a four-year term: 16 from African States, 13 from Asian States, 6 from Eastern European States, 10 from Latin American and Caribbean States and 13 from Western European and other States. Currently, the African States have one vacant position in the Commission, pending nomination of a member. With that vacancy, the Commission is composed of the following members:
 
 

Algeria * Argentina *** Bangladesh ** Barbados * Belarus ** Belgium ** Benin * Bolivia *** Brazil *** Bulgaria * Cameroon *** Chile *** China ** Colombia * Czech Republic * Democratic Republic of the Congo *** Denmark * Ecuador ** Ethiopia ** Finland *** France ** Gabon *** Gambia *** Germany * India * Indonesia ** Iran, Islamic Republic of *** Italy **

Jamaica ** Japan *** Jordan * Kenya * Liberia ** Lithuania *** Malawi ** Mali *** Mexico * Namibia ** Netherlands ** Norway * Pakistan *** Philippines * Poland ** Republic of Korea ** Russian Federation *** Spain * Sri Lanka * Sudan * Sweden ** Tunisia * Turkey *** United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland *** United States of America *** United Arab Emirates * Venezuela ** Viet Nam *** Zambia **

4. The seventeenth session of the Commission on Human Settlements was held at the headquarters of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), Nairobi, from 5 to 14 May 1999.

5. The session was opened by Mr. M. Afsarul Qader, Chair of the Commission at its sixteenth session.

6. Following the statement by Mr. Qader, a video-tape recording of a message from the Secretary-General was shown; the text is reproduced in annex... to the present proceedings. The Acting Executive Director of UNCHS (Habitat), Mr. Klaus Töpfer, delivered a policy statement highlighting his vision for the future; a summary of his statement appears in annex ....

7. The opening meeting of the session was addressed by eleven-year-old Miss Liz Ochola, representative of a group of Nairobi street children, who informed participants of the experiences, hopes and aspirations of street children. Following her address, a short play was performed by a street children group. A group of drummers from Burundi also performed at the opening meeting.

8. The President of the Republic of Kenya, Mr. Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi, addressed and inaugurated the session. A summary of his statement is provided in annex ...

9. The following States members of the Commission were represented: (to be completed)

10. The following States not members of the Commission participated as observers: (to be completed)

11. The observer for Palestine also participated.

12. The following United Nations bodies were represented: (to be completed)

13. The following specialized agencies were represented: (to be completed)

14. The following intergovernmental organizations were represented: (to be completed)

15. Representatives of the following national, regional and international associations of local authorities attended the meeting: (to be completed)

16. The following local authorities were also represented: (to be completed)

17. In addition, the following non-governmental organizations were represented: (to be completed)

18. The following private-sector organizations were represented: (to be completed)

19. The Global Parliamentarians for Habitat were also represented.

20. At the 1st plenary meeting, on 5 May 1999, Mr. German Garcia Duran, (Colombia) was elected Chair.

21. At the 1st plenary meeting, the following other officers of the Bureau were elected:
 

22. Pursuant to rule 11, paragraph 2, of the rules of procedure of the Commission, the Bureau reported to the Commission at its plenary meeting, on ....... 1999, that it had examined the credentials submitted by delegations attending the seventeenth session of the Commission and had found them to be in order. The Commission approved the report of the Bureau on credentials at its ..... meeting.

23. At its 1st plenary meeting on 5 May 1999, the Commission adopted the provisional agenda for the seventeenth session as contained in document HS/C/17/1, as follows:

24. At its 1st plenary meeting on 5 May 1999, the Commission established two sessional committees of the whole and allocated agenda items to them as follows: items 4, 6, 7 (a) and 7 (b) were allocated to Committee I; and items 9, 10, 11 (a), 11 (c), 12 and 13 to Committee II, with the remaining items being considered in the plenary.

25. Committee I held .... meetings from ..... to ..... and Committee II held ..... meetings from ..... to ..... The recommendations of both committees have been incorporated in the present report.

26. The high-level segment of the session was held on 5 and 6 May 1999. At the high-level segment, the Commission considered agenda items 4, 5, 8 and 11 (b) and the debate on the items is reflected in the corresponding chapters below.

27. The present report was adopted by the Commission at its ... plenary meeting on ... 1999.

28. In his opening statement to the Commission, the Chair pointed to the rapid pace of urbanization and other global trends, which were also creating great disparities in levels of development among and within countries, especially visible in the cities. The Commission and the Centre were the institutions established by the international community to face the challenge of urbanization and any failure in that endeavour would have serious consequences. For that reason, it was vital to strengthen international cooperation.

29. The Habitat Agenda offered a constructive vision for meeting that challenge, through, inter alia, the provision of sustainable urban development and adequate shelter, but that Agenda had now to be implemented with full vigour. To that end, the faults for which the Centre had been criticized in the past would have to be overcome. Since the last session of the Commission, much had been done in that regard under the leadership of the Acting Executive Director, including the stabilization of the financial situation and new organizational arrangements. Those and other matters were before the Commission at its seventeenth session. Accordingly, he called on the Commission to press ahead in ensuring predictable minimum resources for the Centre and in ensuring its effective management, and expressed the conviction that the Commission would make the right choices and realize the vision of the Habitat II Conference.

30. In his opening address, the Acting Executive Director welcomed the President of Kenya and all Government delegations to the Commission. He assured the President and the Government of Kenya of his conviction that the location of the United Nations Office in Nairobi was an asset to its work and that the United Nations needed a strong Centre for Human Settlements in Nairobi. Welcoming the leaders and representatives of local authorities, parliamentarians, non-governmental, youth and women's organizations, trade unions, the private sector, professionals and researchers, he said that their participation provided evidence of the new constructive partnership that the Centre was forging in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda.

31. Pointing to the rapid rise in the levels of urbanization throughout the world over the course of the current century, he noted that the twenty-first century would be the urban century, during which cities would increase their economic, social and environmental roles. He further noted that economic growth in cities would also directly benefit the economic and other development of rural areas.

32. As a consequence of urban population growth, poverty was increasingly becoming an urban phenomenon in developing countries, impacting most severely on women and children as a consequence of the constraints on women's economic opportunities and their lack of control over resources, not only in urban, but also in rural areas. As urban growth could not be reversed, the very process of urbanization must itself become an instrument in fighting poverty and social exclusion, and in ensuring social justice and environmental stability in urban and rural regions. In that regard, he noted with concern the downward trend in official development assistance (ODA), since there was a clear link between levels of ODA debt relief and the goals of sustainable urban development, poverty reduction and good governance. A further problem was posed by ongoing armed conflicts and humanitarian emergencies and, in that context, he assured participants that, in the future, UNCHS (Habitat) would also play a vital role in post-conflict and post-disaster reconstruction.

33. He emphasized that rural development was a crucial element in the Centre's human settlements development strategy, as cities and rural areas were closely linked. UNCHS (Habitat) would be the city agency but, through its strategies and programmes, the Centre would demonstrate that the sustainable development of urbanized regions was the vital precondition for achieving the development of rural areas.

34. If, however, the world community were to solve the problems of human settlements, then UNCHS (Habitat) must fulfil its potential as the authoritative voice and catalyst for action. It was his expectation that the Commission would give a strong signal to the international community in that regard. The Habitat II Conference had called for the Centre to be a clearly profiled institution, focused on sustainable development of human settlements. In response to that call, an exercise to revitalize UNCHS (Habitat) had been launched the in 1998, in cooperation with member States, especially through the Committee of Permanent Representatives in Nairobi. That revitalization process had now been successfully completed. It had set the basis for a forward-looking organization, flexible, innovative and proactive, able to implement policies and programmes effectively around shared goals, transparent and accountable in its dealings with donors, developing countries and people around the world, and equipped for fruitful partnerships with the rest of the United Nations system and the Bretton-Woods institutions. The revitalization of UNCHS (Habitat) would also satisfy the need for a city agency within the United Nations system.

35. He stressed that the future influence and success of the Centre would depend on the degree to which it built productive relationships with its partners. One of those new important partners was to be found in local authorities, as their contribution was vital to the success of the Centre's work in human settlements. Local authorities had an important role in providing solutions to local environmental and developmental issues and were at the forefront of action in that regard. The revitalized UNCHS (Habitat) should therefore facilitate and encourage the role of local authorities in decision-making at the city level and in improving urban management and governance practices. Referring to the special session of the United Nations General Assembly in 2001 to review progress in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda, he expressed the hope that, by that time, work would have been finalized on the world charter of local self-government as a legal framework of the decentralization policy called for in the Habitat Agenda.

36. He also underscored the importance of parliamentarians, as elected representatives, in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda and as partners in the work of the Centre. There was also a pressing need for partnership with non-governmental, youth and women's organizations, as well as with the private sector, trade unions, professionals and researchers.

37. Turning to the new strategy for the future, he informed the Commission that two global campaigns, on security of tenure and on urban governance, formulated out of the Habitat Agenda, would lead the Centre's work and shape the work programme and budget for the next biennium, as well as constituting the main criteria for the new organizational structure. Those two campaigns would be launched, subject to discussions by the Commission, immediately after the current session.

38. As part of the revitalization exercise, the Centre had also enhanced its accountability and transparency, as noted in the recent report of ACABQ. Such a focused, transparent and accountable UNCHS (Habitat) was also worthy of support and commitment from member States, and he urged the Commission at its current session to send a positive financial signal in that regard, otherwise some very difficult decisions would have to be made.

39. Regarding the relationship between UNEP and UNCHS (Habitat), he said that the streamlining of the administrative support structures for both bodies had been completed, yielding significant savings. The aim had been to use the synergies available in their administration and in their programme development and implementation to achieve common goals, while maintaining their distinctive and independent roles and mandates.

40. In conclusion, he affirmed his optimistic vision of a Centre capable of collaboration with Governments and all other partners in facing the challenges of urbanization in the twenty-first century, and stated his hope that the current session of the Commission would move UNCHS (Habitat) forward towards meeting that challenge.

41. The President extended his welcome to all participants on behalf of the Government and people of Kenya. He recalled that, during the inauguration of the sixteenth session of the Commission, he had emphasized that Kenya would like to see an effective, accountable and transparent management of human and financial resources at the Centre and he noted with appreciation that the revitalization of the Centre was now under way and that good progress had been made. In that regard, he pledged his Government's support and urged the Commission to provide the necessary guidance and support to ensure that the Centre had adequate financial and institutional resources to carry out its mandate.

42. He welcomed the commitment given by the Secretary-General during his visit to Nairobi in 1998 to ensure that UNEP and UNCHS (Habitat) would continue to be headquartered at Nairobi under separate executive direction and serviced by the United Nations Office at Nairobi. In that regard, he expressed the hope that the United Nations Offices in Nairobi would receive adequate resources from the United Nations regular budget to enable it to perform its expanded mandate.

43. He regretted that, three years after the Istanbul Conference, the problem of human settlements still remained unresolved and that human settlements conditions had continued to deteriorate in the face of overwhelming social and economic difficulties facing many countries. The Istanbul Declaration and the Habitat Agenda were important benchmarks in the realization of adequate shelter for all, which required collaborative partnership and international cooperation by all stakeholders, and he expressed his satisfaction that, at its current session, the Commission could be placing particular emphasis on those issues.

44. He was confident that the Commission would approve a realistic work programme for 2000-2001 and the necessary budgetary provisions to fulfil the expectations of the member States in their pursuit of human settlements development. He stressed, in that regard, that member States should fulfil their pledges, so that the Centre would have steady and predictable finances for its operations.

45. Turning to the growing levels of poverty and unemployment in his and many developing countries fuelled by low levels of economic growth, he informed participants that his Government had prepared a national poverty eradication plan for the period 1999-2015. He hoped that the plan would be supported by his country's development partners, in particular, with regard to the debt burden facing his and other developing countries.

46. In his statement following his election, the Chair said that he was taking on his responsibility at a time of global economic and social crises, which were deepening the gap between the developed and developing countries. The bridging of this gap was also the responsibility of the Commission and the Centre, in such areas as housing, sustainable human settlements and raising the quality of life of the poor. The Centre, as a consequence of efforts over the past year, had made great progress in overcoming past deficiencies, and he called on the Commission to give favourable consideration to the revitalization measures proposed by the Acting Executive Director and to ensure that the Centre had sufficient financial resources to move forward. He further appealed to the Commission to reach consensus on the various proposals on strengthening its dialogue with local authorities and other parties at the current - and critical - seventeenth session.

1. As we prepare to leave the twentieth century, half of humankind already lives in cities. As we enter the twenty-first, many more are set to follow them. Dealing with urbanization will be one of the biggest global challenges in the new millennium.

2. Alleviating poverty, protecting the environment, ensuring broad participation in local governments, all these will be vital if the majority of the world's people are to achieve prosperity without damaging the planet, our common home.

3. The Commission and the Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) have a crucial role to play helping us meet those challenges, in pursuing the Global Plan of Action adopted at Istanbul three years ago.

4. And Habitat is rising to the occasion. As the city agency of the United Nations, you are building indispensable partnerships with local authorities and with civil society. Such partnerships point the way forward for the United Nations as a whole.

5. The global issues facing our planet not only challenge us, they also unite us. Habitat has understood this well, it is already acting upon it. And so, as a city dweller, world citizen and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, I send my best wishes to this seventeenth session of the United Nations Commission on Human Settlements. I am sure that your deliberations will bring great benefit to future generations of city dwellers around the world.