Highlights for Tuesday, 28 May 2019
Delegates consult informally during the first session of the Drafting Committee
On Tuesday, the UN-Habitat Assembly continued its deliberations at the UN Office at Nairobi (UNON), Kenya. Delegates listened to regional and national statements, which focused on efforts to promote the New Urban Agenda (NUA) and sustainable urban development. The Drafting Committee commenced its deliberations, addressing draft resolutions on:
achieving gender equality through the work of UN-Habitat to support inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable cities and human settlements;
arrangements for the transition towards the new governance structure of UN-Habitat;
the strategic plan for the period 2020–2025; and
enhancing capacity building for the implementation of the NUA and SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities).
A number of events took place throughout the day. Two special events focused on the Gender Forum on Women and the NUA, and the One United Nations Dialogue respectively. Three youth events convened and considered ways to develop people-centered partnerships, technology use, and the inclusion of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, and intersex (LGBTI) community in sustainable urbanization. Five events were held on the City Stage, highlighting: the future of storytelling; partnerships with academia to leverage local innovations; sustainable energy for urban communities and urban policy action tools; innovative governance in public housing policies; and resilient housing to achieve resilient communities. Two press conferences discussed the Waste Wise Cities Campaign and the Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme. Additionally, two press center events addressed intermediary cities and the reduction of social and spatial inequalities in Morocco, and innovative ways to achieve SDG 11 in Brazil.Ten side events were held at lunchtime, focusing, inter alia, on:
low-carbon and resilient urban infrastructure;
accelerated implementation of the NUA to contribute towards achieving the SDGs;
open data and tools for the NUA as well as integrated and sustainable urban mobility;
creating safe and inclusive cities with and for girls in the NUA;
enhancing inclusive economy and reducing spatial inequality in West Java, Indonesia; and
funding mechanisms to reduce inequalities and poverty.
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and also produced a summary report from the 1st Session of the UN-Habitat Assembly, which is available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth
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Plenary
Delegates gather in plenary to hear national statements
UN-Habitat Executive Director Maimunah Mohd Sharif
Martha Delgado Peralta, UNHA 1 President
Bernard Wasantha, Secretary, Ministry of Housing, Construction, and Cultural Affairs, Sri Lanka
Ni Hong, Vice Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, China
Ildemaro Villarroel, People's Power Minister for Housing and Habitat, Venezuela
Irene Campos Gómez, Minister of Housing and Human Settlement, Costa Rica
Hajah Zuraida Kamaruddin, Minister of Housing and Local Government, Malaysia
Gina Lawson Roosalem, Minister of Habitat and Housing, Central African Republic
Kobebe Taitai, Minister of Internal Affairs, Kiribati
Abdelahad Fassi Fihri, Minister of National and Urban Planning, Housing, and City Policy, Morocco
Angeline Mabula, Deputy Minister of Lands, Housing, and Human Settlements Development, Tanzania
Dragan Zupanjevac, Permanent Representative of Serbia to UNEP and UN-Habitat
Susanne Dorasil, Head, Division Water, Urban Development, Mobility, Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany
Special Events Throughout the Day
One United Nations Dialogue - Implementing the UN System-wide Strategy on Sustainable Urban Development (L-R): UN-Habitat Executive Director Maimunah Mohd Sharif; Joyce Msuya, Acting Executive Director, UN Environment Programme (UNEP); Mounir Tabet, UN Economic and Social Commission for West Asia (UNESCWA); Martha Delgado Peralta, UNHA 1 President; Elin Olsson, State Secretary to the Minister for Financial Markets and Housing and Environment, Sweden; Mukhisa Kituyi, Director-General, UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); Charles Hinga, Kenya; and Moderator Chris Williams, UN-Habitat
Mukhisa Kituyi, Director-General, UNCTAD
Mounir Tabet, UNESCWA
Gender Forum on Women and the New Urban Agenda
Youth Event: Inclusion of the LGBTI community in sustainable urbanization - building on and implementing the 'LGBTI Declaration Towards Sustainable Urbanization' made at UN-Habitat III
Drafting Committee
Delegates read the draft resolutions on the screen during the Drafting Committee meeting
Fernando Coimbra, Chair of the Drafting Committee
Kirsten Hommes, EU
Grigorii Ustinov, Russian Federation
Kevin Nelson, US
Delegates consult during the session
Around the Venue
Delegates meet informally before the start of plenary
Joyce Msuya, Acting Executive Director, UNEP
A model structure of the Makoko Floating System (MFS) is an example of how prefabricated, modular and floating timber structures can be assembled to address rapidly expanding urban development
Delegates walk through the exhibition area which hosts more than 80 exhibitions about urban planning and design
Delegates attend an evening reception hosted by the Government of Kenya
