SECOND COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION OF HABITAT II

 

Editor's Note: The following informal briefing note was written by Laura

Ivers laurai@iisd.org of the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB), a

publication of the International Institute for Sustainable Development. The

ENB has covered the entire Habitat II process and is currently seeking

funding for continued coverage of the five-year review of Habitat II. For

further information on subscribing to the ENB contact enbinfo@iisd.org

 

 On 29 October 1998, the Second Committee of the United Nations General

Assembly addressed Implementation of the outcome of the United Nations

Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) (A/53/267, A/53/512) and

Implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on

Population and Development (ICPD) (A/53/407). Second Committee Vice-Chair

Burak Özügergin (Turkey) chaired the discussion. Nafis Sadik, Executive

Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), introduced the

document on preparations for the General Assembly special session review and

appraisal of the implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action (ICPD+5)

(A/53/407). She said that regional preparatory meetings have underscored the

need to meet the finance budget established in the Programme of Action if

the ICPD process is to succeed.

 

Many delegations stressed the importance of ICPD+5 and looked forward to

participating in the review process. The EU underscored the wide and

important scope of the ICPD process, including demographic trends, economic

activities, environment and social issues. INDONESIA, on behalf of the

G-77/CHINA, hoped ICPD+5 will provide concrete steps to reduce infant

mortality, the spread of AIDS and other population problems. The US said

that it looks to ICPD+5 to: ensure that population and reproductive health

care remain central concerns; increase donor support for ICPD activities;

increase political and popular support; and highlight effective programmes

for family planning. CHINA called for full, orderly and effective

participation of NGOs in ICPD+5. BANGLADESH highlighted the Roundtable on

Partnership with Civil Society held in Dhaka in July 1998 as part of the

ICPD+5 preparatory process. He said delegates to the Roundtable agreed on

the need to strengthen capacity of local civil society groups and their

relationship with government. NORWAY noted the importance of active

participation of the entire UN system in the review and underscored the

importance of examining changes in women's lives in terms of access to

information, education, resources and reproductive services. CROATIA

supported the linkage between population changes and economic and social

conditions, and noted problems from conditions of war such as a negative

population growth rate and forced migration. JAPAN stressed the importance

of empowerment of women and highlighted its Global Issues Initiative on

Population and AIDS. NEW ZEALAND noted obstacles to implementing the ICPD

Programme of Action, including worldwide increase in poverty, gender

inequality and government restrictions on civil society participation.

MEXICO highlighted national efforts, including mitigation of high population

growth, family strengthening and improving conditions for women. UNESCO

noted higher education as a vehicle for social development and means to

contributing to solving social problems such as population issues. The

International Organization for Migration (IOM) highlighted its activities,

including efforts to establish, improve and harmonize migration laws.

 

In the afternoon, Dr. Klaus Töpfer Executive Director of UNEP and acting

Executive Director of UN Center for Human Settlements (UNCHS), addressed the

second committee. He underscored the importance of an independent Habitat

Center in Nairobi and of forming strategic partnerships with local groups,

UN agencies and International organizations. He identified restabilizing and

revitalization of the Center as his utmost priority. He noted three

recommendations for revitalizing the Center: a planning and coordinating

office (planned to start next month); a UN office in Nairobi in charge of

budgetary matters; and a resource mobilization office. He looked forward to

the five year review of Habitat II, "Istanbul +5" in 2001 in New York, and

noted topics to be addressed, including women, NGOs, the private sector and

local authorities.

 

The G-77/CHINA, along with the EU, US and several other delegations,

reaffirmed commitment to the outcomes of Habitat II and looked forward to

the review and appraisal of the Habitat agenda. The G-77/CHINA noted that

the global economic crisis has exacerbated problems of urbanization and

unemployment, and emphasized that shelter needs and needs of the urban poor

must be met. SINGAPORE announced that it will host a World Conference on

Model Cities in April 1999. SINGAPORE also noted the possible contributions

of sustainable cities in mitigating global warming. JAPAN noted its

continued focus on: human resource development; consideration of the

environment and the socially vulnerable; and activities at the grassroots

level. The International Labour Organization (ILO) highlighted its

Employment-intensive Program that works to provide shelter, employment and

job skills.

 

Regarding the Habitat Center, the US noted that financial and management

problems have had a negative effect on its ability to implement the results

of Habitat II, and along with KENYA, TURKEY and others, welcomed efforts to

address these problems and looked forward to a revitalized center. TURKEY

emphasized the importance of financial resources for the Center during and

after the transition process, and highlighted its standing offer to

establish a Habitat regional office in Turkey.

This informal issue of the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (c) (enb@iisd.org) is

written and edited by Laura Ivers (laurai@iisd.org). The Editor is Pamela

Chasek, Ph.D. (pam@iisd.org) and the Managing Editor is Langston James

"Kimo" Goree VI (kimo@iisd.org). The Sustaining Donors of the Bulletin are

the Netherlands Ministry for Development Cooperation, the Government of

Canada (through CIDA) and the United States (through USAID). General Support

for the Bulletin during 1998 is provided by the United Kingdom Department

for International Development (DFID), the German Federal Ministry of

Environment (BMU) and German Development Cooperation (BMZ), the Danish

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Swiss Office for Environment, Forests and

Landscape, the European Community (DG-XI), the Ministries of Environment and

Foreign Affairs of Austria, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and

Environment of Finland, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Environment of

Norway, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Global

Environment Facility (GEF) and the Ministry for the Environment in Iceland.

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