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COMMITTEE II

Committee II reconvened to conduct a Local Authorities Hearing. During the morning session international panels addressed the partnership role of local authorities in implementing the Habitat Agenda and Local Agenda 21s. In the afternoon the Mayors of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Johny Araya, and of Eparnay, France, Bernard Stasi, addressed democratization and decentralization. Stasi said local authorities can exercise a daily living democracy. During the dialogue, PARAGUAY spoke about uncoordinated efforts in the provision of international technical assistance. BENIN said the most important thing is to eradicate poverty. It would be a pity to die of hunger in a beautiful city.

The Mayor of Allahabad, India, Rita Bahuguna Joshi, addressing a discussion on applying technology to empower local democracy, said new approaches are needed in managing human settlements involving a shift away from top-down approaches. The Mayor of Abeline, Texas, US, said technology holds the promise of solutions to problems of urbanization. The final panel considered The Global Way Forward: Unified Local Authorities