Daily report for 12 June 1996

The High-Level Segment of Habitat II opened with statements from President Demirel(Turkey) and UN Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali. Approximately 50 statementsfollowed during morning, afternoon and evening Plenary sessions. In addition, the workinggroups and drafting groups of Committee I continued to negotiate the Habitat Agenda.

WORKING GROUP I

The US reported it had received clearance to accept 126bis (nucleartesting). In 27(j) (housing as work place), the US proposed a reformulation,amended by the EU: "Developing houses that can serve as a functional work place for menand women."

In 2 (purpose of Habitat II), bracketed references to cultural heritage and spiritualand cultural values, and to protection of all human rights regardless of political or culturalparticularities were agreed in the informal drafting group, but the EU opposed and theentire paragraph remained in brackets.

In 10bis (human settlements problems), the phrase regarding poverty,underdevelopment and resource scarcity was deleted. The G-77/CHINA replaced thebracketed reference to sustained economic growth and sustainable development with"economic development, social development and environmental protection." The EUaccepted but included the full reference from WSSD that adds "which are interdependentand mutually reinforcing components of sustainable development." The US accepted thisamendment and added "national" to "favorable international frameworks."

Brackets were removed from 13 (goals and principles) except from the list offactors that "are destructive to sustainable human settlements development and shouldtherefore be renounced by all States." The US suggested deletion, but it remains inbrackets.

The Drafting Group’s amendments to 16 (sustainable development) wereaccepted. "Social development and environmental protection" were added to economicgrowth, and "conservation of biodiversity and sustainable use of its components" replaced"maintenance of biodiversity." In 18 (the family), brackets were removed from"various forms of the family" and additional language from ICPD was added: "Marriagemust be entered into with the free consent of the intending spouses, and husband and wifeshould be equal partners." Family "reunification" was also unbracketed, and the paragraphwas approved.

Chapter III (Commitments)

On 22ter (health), the Drafting Group reported it could not achieveconsensus on the reference to reproductive health care and deferred it to an informalinformal drafting group, but no solution was possible and the group had dissolved. TheHOLY SEE, supported by SAUDI ARABIA, requested that the reference to reproductivehealth care be bracketed. The US and the EU agreed to accept the "compromise"formulation presented by CANADA, which did not include a reference to family planningand sexual health. IRAN, supported by EGYPT, replaced "gender" with "sex," butBRAZIL objected. GUATEMALA noted that "health care services" should not bespecified but all-inclusive, and the HOLY SEE proposed "universal access to the widestrange of health care services" from WSSD. The G-77/CHINA preferred to delete thereference but stated it would accept the ICPD formulation, which added "includingreproductive health care services" to the WSSD formulation. The US stated it wouldagree to delete the reference if consensus emerged. No agreement was reached and thereference was bracketed.

In chapeau 25 (commitments), the G-77/CHINA linked acceptance of "within thenational legal authority" to agreement on the Chapter chapeau. In 25(g)(discrimination in access to shelter), the US suggested an alternative reformulation toreference discrimination on grounds of disability and age. In 25(g)bis (thefamily), CANADA and NORWAY supported an EU reference to "helping families intheir" supporting roles. The G-77/CHINA opposed. In 25(h) (displaced persons),CANADA said it had clearance to accept a G-77/CHINA proposal to delete references to"other displaced persons" and "in need of international protection." The word "internal"was added before displaced persons. CANADA insisted on "documented migrants" fromICPD. The PHILIPPINES said "legal" migrant workers do not need internationalprotection, but later agreed to unbracket the text with the replacement of "documented"for "legal" migrants.

The US said 27(a) (land confiscation and occupation) should be discussed withrelated parts of the Habitat Agenda. In 27(a)ses, CANADA reported aninformally agreed reformulation: "Implementing the social and development goals alreadyagreed to by the international community in the areas of basic education, primary healthcare and gender equality." In 27(d) (polluting transportation), the US agreed tonew language on promoting measures so that the polluter bears the cost of pollution.SAUDI ARABIA added measures "as appropriate." The US suggested negotiating27(f)bis (cities under occupation) together with related sections of theAgenda. In 27(h) (structural adjustment), the G-77/CHINA agreed to remove thebrackets from "gender-sensitive social impact assessments and other relevant methods."Subparagraph (j)bis (disabilities) was deleted.

In 30 (Habitat implementation), the US reintroduced a proposal referring tomobilization of "additional financial resources from various sources." In 31(d)(enabling markets), the US added: "promote socially and environmentally responsiblecorporate investment and re-investment" and "other partnerships." ACANADA/US/AUSTRALIA addition to 34 (integrated approach), stating thatdisaggregated indicators are essential for monitoring and evaluating progress, wasaccepted. In 38<M>, the EU added "violations of human rights" to "intoleranceand violence." The Group continued negotiations during a night session.

WORKING GROUP II

F. Implementation and follow-up: The Working Group approved text that wasdrafted early Wednesday morning. A new 170ter invites the GA andECOSOC to review and strengthen the mandate of the Commission, taking into accountthe Habitat Agenda. Paragraph 170quart notes that the Commissionshould have a central role in monitoring UN system implementation and should have aclear mandate with sufficient resources. Paragraph 170quins states thatthe Commission should assist ECOSOC in its coordination of the reporting onimplementation of the Habitat Agenda. In 170sextius, the Commission iscalled on to consider how to integrate Habitat II follow-up into its work programme. Anew 172bis notes that the primary function of the Centre is to providesubstantive servicing to the Commission and other relevant intergovernmental bodies andshould be designated a focal point for implementation. The Secretary-General is requestedto ensure more effective functioning by, inter alia, providing sufficient human andfinancial resources within the regular budget of the UN. An informal group wasestablished to harmonize text on the Commission and Centre with these paragraphs.

The EU, supported by the US and NORWAY, replaced the reference in 180(b)(Bretton Woods institutions) to "sustained economic growth" with "sustainabledevelopment." The G-77/CHINA (INDIA) objected, but agreed to the EU proposal forstructural adjustment programmes to promote "sustainable human settlementsdevelopment." Subparagraph 180(d) (WTO) was deleted at the G-77/CHINA’srequest.

The G-77/CHINA proposed 180bis and 180ter(involvement of civil society, including the private sector). The EU proposed adding localauthorities to the title and to a list of actors to be strengthened. He also proposed deletingreference to the Istanbul Declaration and language from the WSSD, and including areference to human rights and social integration. The G-77/CHINA asked if human rightswere not adequately covered in the Agenda. The US supported mentioning human rights.The language from WSSD was included with amendments.

In 181 (indicators, best practices and performance evaluation), the EU proposedretaining the existing text, but noted that the Centre will "be responsible," rather than"establish a process," for analyzing and monitoring policies. The US proposed that "ageand gender disaggregated" information be included in the analyses. The paragraph wasaccepted as amended.

In 182 (monitor and evaluate), the EU, supported by CANADA, deleted thereference to indicator guidelines provided by the Centre, but the G-77/CHINA objected.The EU suggested that the Centre’s responsibilities will include providing guidelines.

In 183 (disseminate best practices and develop indicators), the EU identified keyareas for indicators, to which AUSTRALIA added water supply and sanitation.NORWAY added indicators "that reflect the rights and well-being of children."HUNGARY suggested that the indicators be augmented by policy oriented national andsub-regional indicators. The G-77/CHINA specified that indicators be used "bygovernments."

Delegates then considered earlier paragraphs related to Sections E and F of the text. In11 (differences between regions), the G-77/CHINA proposed "strengthening" theCommission and "revitalizing" the Centre as focal points. The US proposed reference tothe "reallocation" of resources. In 22 (increased flow of resources), MEXICOsubmitted an additional sentence: these flows should be accompanied by collectivecommitments and concrete measures on technical cooperation, training programmes andinformation exchange. Delegates bracketed the proposal pending the resolution of SectionE (international cooperation).

In 131(l) (information networks), the G-77/CHINA added a reference totechnology transfer. The US requested that the Secretariat provide Working Group I'sresults regarding the chapeau.

Delegates disagreed on an informal group’s results on 146 (enabling internationalcontext). AUSTRALIA proposed earlier that durable "solutions" to, inter alia,external debt and development finance, should be changed to "actions on" these issues.The G-77/CHINA preferred retaining "solutions." The EU noted proposed language from90(b) of WSSD, which refers to debt, but the G-77/CHINA, TANZANIA and NIGERIAobjected. The G-77/CHINA proposed "positive actions." The US objected to altering theWSSD text that deals with debt. The disputed text remained bracketed. The Groupcontinued during a night session.

IN THE DRAFTING GROUPS

The Drafting Group on the Istanbul Declaration considered outstanding text regarding:demographic change/population growth; vulnerable groups; family and children;rural/urban migration; and the precautionary principle approach. Additional outstandingissues include sustainable development and economic growth, and imbalances in the globaleconomy.

IN THE CORRIDORS

NGOs following the reproductive health care issue returned to the corridors with morequestions than answers when the Drafting Group of Working Group I suspended itsdeliberations. Observers report that the issue has provoked strong feelings and positionsamong groups of delegations and NGOs. Some NGOs also were reported to have usednovel lobbying strategies. These include "smuggling" NGO representatives into theDrafting Group of Working Group I (which only had room for three NGO seats), andplacing contrary publicity leaflets inside others’ publications. Some have described thelatter as "the Trojan Horse technique."

THINGS TO LOOK FOR TODAY

HIGH-LEVEL SEGMENT: The High-Level Segment will continue in thePlenary Hall during the morning, afternoon and evening. Approximately 60 speakers arescheduled.

COMMITTEE I: The Committee is scheduled to meet in Conference Room 1during the afternoon and evening. The Working Groups may meet in the morning.

DRAFTING GROUPS: The Drafting Group on the Istanbul Declaration isexpected to meet at 9:00 am. Conference Rooms A and B have been scheduled foradditional drafting groups, if necessary.

COMMITTEE II: The Committee is expected to meet in Conference Room 2 inthe morning to consider the report of the Committee.