Daily report for 26 April 1995

Plenary continued the general debate Wednesday morning, and the Informal WorkingGroup reconvened in the afternoon, to continue work on the Draft Statement ofPrinciples and Global Plan of Action. The two Committees of the Commission alsomet on Wednesday.

PLENARY

Zambia: Joseph Kaoma stated that 48% of Zambia's population lives in theurban areas. In response to Habitat II, Zambia has: set up a broad-based multi-sectoralnational committee; prepared effective and functional documentation based on country-wide consultations; participated in the work of the regional committee; put in place apublic sector reform programme; initiated a land reform programme to streamlinelegislation; and completed the first phase of research on construction materials.

Republic of Korea: Mr. H. Lee said economic development does notimprove housing conditions without a housing policy. There is a severe shortage ofhousing, particularly low-income, which has necessitated the deregulation of thehousing sector.

Romania: Deputy Minister Crisan Popescu outlined the national preparationsundertaken so far. He said that: a national committee has been created; responsibilitiesof the authorities have been widened; and the participation of populations has beeninstitutionalized.

Slovenia: Mr. Alec Sarec stated that Slovenia has established a nationalcommittee, devised a national action plan and submitted a draft national report to theSecretariat.

Paraguay: Director Samudio said that Paraguay has implemented variousaction programs that give priority to the poorest segments and has invested 2.2% of itsGDP in housing resources, but it has not stemmed housing problems. Paraguay hasestablished a national action program, a national shelter strategy and submitted areport on best practices.

Bolivia: Mr. Adolpho Navarra Flores said that Bolivia is planning a nationalmeeting on settlement issues for young professionals and students, an internationalmeeting for regional states and possibly a preparatory meeting for Istanbul.

Spain: Amb. Sermin Prieto-Castro outlined the national preparationsundertaken so far: a broad-based working group has been established; a structure forthe national report has been adopted; national action plans are being prepared; amasterplan on infrastructure for 1995-2000 has been approved; and a water plan isbeing coordinated with Portugal.

Sudan: Rep. Elsir M. Ahmed said that Sudan has established a nationalcommittee with representatives from the private sector, NGOs and local authorities. Headded that the document for this Conference should increase its focus on the rurallevel, clarify international support for housing, reflect the ethics of cities, and assistthose countries affected by war.

Chile: Vice Minister Sergio Galilea said that Chile has completed a nationalprogress report and is finalizing a national action plan. Chile has doubledinfrastructure investment in the last decade and has built roughly 100,000 housingunits annually for the last five years.

International Union of Tenants (IUT): Mr. Nic Nilsson asked whethersecurity of Habitat II delegates can be guaranteed, noting that since IUT objected atthe last PrepCom to locating the Conference in Istanbul, civil war has broken out inTurkey. Housing rights are important, especially the right of tenants to security oftenure, non-discrimination and reasonable rents.

Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University: Ms. Sheetal Shah stated thathabitat and human settlements is about addressing the quality of life, which is living alife that is humane, full of dignity, rewarding and productive.

OECD: Mr. Pezzini said the OECD is strengthening its assessment of theinteraction between economic, environmental and social problems in cities andformulating comprehensive urban policies. He described four OECD initiatives thatcould provide a framework for consultation with new and non-member countries: theecological city; urban and regional governance and monitoring; policies for distressedareas; and local development in a Global Economy.

International Labor Office (ILO): Mr. Steve Miller said ILO will submit apaper to the Conference on the changing structure of urban employment. He supportedthe basic principles of civic engagement, sustainability and equity, but efforts towardbetter employment opportunities and poverty alleviation must increase.

UNEP: Mr. K.A. Edwards, on behalf of Executive Director ElizabethDowdeswell, noted that past policies on human settlement problems placed too muchemphasis on the 'top-down' approach. Current policy needs the involvement of thestakeholders at all levels.

UNESCO: Mr. Tochtermann said that UNESCO intends to focus specificallyon the civic and cultural aspects of habitat problems. Urbanization is growing rapidlyand the focus is often on cities, but this Conference should reserve particular attentionto rural problems.

World Bank: Mr. Michael Cohen outlined three tasks for the Conference:convince political leaders of the importance of urban issues; provide the best adviceabout habitat questions; and clear the foundations for local, national and global action.He noted that: the output of Habitat II should be understood by laypeople everywhere;the role of the international community needs to be acknowledged although it will bemodest; the World Bank has contributed US$1 million to support nationalgovernmental preparations and participation.

International Union of Finance Housing Institutions: Mr. Michael Leaelaborated on the role of the private sector in addressing housing issues. Legalsystems that create, endorse and enforce property rights promote housing funds. Thereis a need to improve and develop linkages between the formal and informal sectors inorder to improve funds for the low income sector.

International Council on Women: Ms. M. van den Boogert welcomed thereference in the GPA to the need to remove obstacles that discriminate against women.The document should also address discrimination against the elderly, and practicaltools should be developed to measure performance in eliminating discrimination.

United Nations Volunteers: Ms. Dorothy Gordon, on behalf of the UNVExecutive Director said the UNV hope to share their knowledge in building capacityfor leadership management and to organize round-tables in Istanbul for the voluntarysector.

Youth Caucus: Ms. M. Nyamongo said that today 84% of youth live indeveloping countries and most live in cities. Many young people have no access toadequate shelter, gainful employment or functional education, and many turn to crimeand violence. She reiterated the need to include youth on national delegations andrequested a youth meeting prior to PrepCom III.

League of Arab States: Mr. A. Salaheldin Noah said the League'spreparations for Habitat II have included two regional meetings, and another isscheduled for October. The Arab Council of Ministers has decided that all Arab statesshould create national committees and most Arab states are preparing national reports.

Commission on Human Rights: Mr. Rajinder Sachar said that the right toadequate housing has been part of many international declarations, including Habitat Iand the Global Strategy for the Year 2000. Despite this, no nation has achievedadequate shelter for all. He said that the right to housing was enforceable underinternational law and criticized World Bank policies that have effected housingproblems.

INFORMAL WORKING GROUP ON THE GLOBAL PLAN OF ACTION

The informal working group on the Draft Statement of Principles and Global Plan ofAction (GPA) agreed Wednesday to organize a small drafting group to combine theSecretariat's draft of the GPA with a European Union (EU) outline for discussiondistributed Tuesday and an African Group outline described during Wednesday'ssession. The Chair, G.A.C. Khonje (Zambia), suggested that delegates first deal withthe GPA's structure and then discuss substantive issues.

The EU summarized its proposal, reiterating the need for the GPA to support HabitatII's agreed political aims. He suggested that the final GPA could be divided into twodocuments, one covering principles and commitments and a second containing theGPA. He suggested that most of the commitments in the Secretariat draft arecontextual and should follow substantive commitments on settlements. Thecommitments should be between governments, while the action programme wouldinclude national or subnational elements. The African group said the final documentshould have four sections: a preamble; principles, strategies and commitments; theGPA; and a fourth section describing monitoring and evaluation programmes based onperformance measures and indicators.

Several delegates supported the general structure of the EU outline and recommendedadditions or modifications. The suggestions include a section describing strategies anda timetable for their implementation, sections on financial resources and mechanisms,combining the preamble and principles, and that additional emphasis should be placedon national plans or international aspects. Delegates also noted the need to distinguishclearly between principles, commitments and strategies and to determine the sectors oradministrative levels to which they should apply.

The Chair accepted the proposal by several delegates to establish a drafting group tocombine the various texts. The group will consist of two representatives from eachregional group, two NGO representatives, and a representative each from the EU, theAfrican group and local authorities. The regional groups should submit theirnominations by Thursday morning, and the group will begin meeting immediatelythereafter.

The working group then discussed substantive elements. Several comments fromdelegates underscored the preamble's importance in setting the scope for thedocument: a new conceptualization of settlements and settlement problems; integrationof rural and urban concerns; an evolutionary perspective on settlements; inclusion ofpeople of all spiritual heritages; and a justification for the global conferenceencompassing the similarity of different countries' problems, ecological concerns, newhuman rights related to settlements and international responsibility for the solution.Regarding general substantive issues, delegates highlighted the need for: a plan thatallows for national action; inclusion of rural as well as urban concerns; financial andfiscal issues; and development concerns related to both settlements and natural andhuman resources.

Several delegates stressed that the document should be written in simple language forpoliticians and the public to understand.

15TH COMMISSION ON HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

COMMITTEE I: During consideration of Agenda Item 7, Review ofNational Action To Provide Shelter For All Since Habitat I, the Committee issuesrelated to Habitat II were discussed. Measurement tools were unavailable for Habitat Ibut they now need to be implemented, particularly through the global indicatorsprogramme. The urban poor should be integrated through a government credit policyso that this sector can save for their housing and other needs.

COMMITTEE II: The Committeecontinued debate of Agenda Item 4,Activities of the UNCHS: progress report of the Executive Director. Discussioncentered on housing rights as described in document HS/C/15/2/Add.2, Towards AHousing Rights Strategy. The US said that while it supports the goal of shelter for alland the right of non-discriminatory access to housing, financing and other conditionsthat support adequate housing, the right to adequate housing should be deleted. TheNetherlands, Sweden and the Holy See supported retaining the right to adequatehousing. At the end of the morning session, the Chair requested that an informalconsultative group chaired by the Philippines and including the US, Mexico, theNetherlands and Uganda propose a draft resolution on the right to housing. Theconsultative group recommended in the afternoon session that UNCHS should includethe right to housing in its biennial work plan. Debate on specific language for thework plan's focus continued through the afternoon.

THINGS TO LOOK FOR TODAY

PLENARY: General debate was not completed Wednesday morning asscheduled. The Bureau will decide when an additional Plenary meeting will be held.Look for announcements in the Journal.

WORKING GROUP I: The Group meets for the first time Thursdaymorning to begin consideration of Agenda Item 2, Progress report of the Secretary-General of the Conference on the activities of the Conference Secretariat.

WORKING GROUP II: The drafting group on the GPA is expected to holdits first session Thursday morning in Room M310. Also look for the African Group'sdraft outline and substantive recommendations for revising the GPA.

COMMISSION ON HUMAN SETTLEMENTS: The Plenary meets in theafternoon and Committees will continue meeting throughout the day.

DELEGATE'S BRIEFING: There will be a Delegates Briefing on theConference on Best Practices by the Municipality of Dubai and the Dubai InternationalConference Task Force on Thursday at 1:30 P.M. in Conference Room 2.