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Habitat III

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Habitat III is the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development to take place in Quito, Ecuador, from 17 – 20 October 2016.[1] The UN Conferences on Housing (Habitat) are occurring in the bi-decennial cycle (1976, 1996 and 2016). The United Nations General Assembly decided to convene The Habitat III Conference in its resolution 66/207. The Habitat III Conference reinvigorates the global commitment to sustainable urbanization, to focus on the implementation of a “New Urban Agenda”. Habitat III will be one of the first United Nations global summits after the adoption of the Post-2015 Development Agenda. This is considered to be an opportunity to open discussions on important urban challenges and questions, such as how to plan and manage cities, towns and villages for sustainable development. The discussion of these questions will shape the implementation of new global development and climate change goals.

Background

Habitat II, the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, was held in Istanbul, Turkey from June 3–14, 1996. The conference outcomes were integrated in the Istanbul Declaration.[2] World leaders also adopted the Habitat Agenda[3] as a global plan of action for adequate shelter for all, with the notion of sustainable human settlements driving development in an urbanizing world. Habitat I was the first United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, held in Vancouver, Canada, May 31 - June 11, 1976, governments began to recognize the need for sustainable human settlements and the consequences of rapid urbanization, especially in the developing world. The conference outcomes were integrated the Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlements,[4] which carried an action plan with 64 recommendations for National Action. The Conference also established the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements - UNCHS (Habitat).

Objectives

The objectives of the Conference are to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable urban development, assess accomplishments to date, address poverty and identify and address new and emerging challenges. The conference will result in a concise, focused, forward-looking and action-oriented outcome document.

Road Map

The first session of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom1) for Habitat III was held in New York, United Nations Headquarter, from 17 to 18 September 2014.[5] The second session of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom2) for Habitat III was held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 14 to 16 April 2015.[6] The PrepCom3 will take place from 25 to 27 July 2016, in Surabaya,[7] Indonesia.

Knowledge and Policy

The process towards Habitat III include the elaboration of national and regional reports -that will converge in a Global Report- to provide evidence based knowledge on the implementation of the Habitat Agenda and a comprehensive analysis on the global state of urbanization as well as good practices and tools both at the policy and intervention level. Moreover, 22 stock taking papers on relevant topics, Habitat III Issue Papers,[8] were developed through a collaborative exercise of the United Nations system coordinated by the Habitat III Secretariat.

A number of official Regional and Thematic High Level Meetings involving a wide range of participants are debating priorities for the New Urban Agenda and policy recommendations in the form of a final participants' declaration. The final declaration from Regional and Thematic meetings will be considered official inputs to the Habitat III process.[9]

A total of 10 policy papers on relevant topics will be developed by Policy Units[10] composed of 20 experts each, coming from different geographic areas and constituencies .

Participation and Engagement

Habitat III welcomes the participation and contributions of all Member States[11] and relevant stakeholders,[12] including parliamentarians, civil society organizations, regional and local government and municipality representatives, professionals and researchers, academia, foundations, women and youth groups, trade unions, and the private sector, as well as organizations of the United Nations system and intergovernmental organizations.[13] The debate towards Habitat III is an ongoing process that includes past sessions of the World Urban Forums, especially the last one held in 2014 in Medellin, Colombia, and National Urban Forums[14] to discuss and deliberate on national priority subjects including the preparation of the HIII National Reports. Beyond the governmental participation in the process through the General Assembly, the engagement to the Conference will include the General Assembly of Partners (GAP) to serve as a broad-based deliberative platform for non-governmental partners in order to develop a consensus for a joined outcome document and other related matters for Habitat III.[15] Together Towards Habitat III campaign also promote a Global Citizenship Survey (2015/16) to embrace all contributions on the path to the final outcome of the Conference harvested through activities and initiatives to raise awareness on the New Urban Agenda.[16] At Habitat III, SuRe® – The Standard for Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure, a global voluntary standard which integrates key criteria of sustainability and resilience into infrastructure development and upgrade, was presented by Global Infrastructure Basel Foundation to the broader public.

The Secretary-General of the Conference

Dr. Joan Clos is the Secretary-General of the Habitat III Conference. He is also the Executive Director of UN-Habitat, at the level of Under Secretary General by the United Nations since October 2010. Born in Barcelona, he was twice elected Mayor of Barcelona, serving two terms from 1997 until 2006. He was Minister of Industry, Tourism, and Trade of Spain between 2006 and 2008. Prior to joining the United Nations, he served as the Spanish Ambassador to Turkey and Azerbaijan. In the words of Dr. Joan Clos, “the Conference is a unique opportunity for rethinking the Urban Agenda in which governments can respond by promoting a new model of urban development able to integrate all facets of sustainable development to promote equity, welfare and shared prosperity” [17]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ At this conference The New Urban Agenda will be adopted (Press Release) [1] "UN- Habitat". Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  2. ^ Istanbul Declaration of Human Settlements [2] "UH-Habitat". Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  3. ^ The Habitat Agenda Goals and Principles, Commitments and the Global Plan of Action [3] "UN-Habitat".Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  4. ^ The Vancouver Declaration of Human Settlements [4]"UN-Habitat".Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  5. ^ Preparatory Committee 1: 17–18 September 2014 [5]"UN-Habitat".Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  6. ^ Preparatory Committee 2: 14–16 April 2015 [6]"UN-Habitat".Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  7. ^ "Preparatory Committee III | Habitat III". www.habitat3.org. Retrieved 2016-06-08.
  8. ^ Issue Papers and Policy Units [7]"UN-Habitat".Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  9. ^ Regional and Thematic Meetings for the Preparatory Process of Habitat III [8]"UN-Habitat".Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  10. ^ Issue Papers and Policy Units [9]"UN-Habitat".Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  11. ^ Member States [10]"UN-Habitat".Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  12. ^ Major Groups and Stakeholders [11]"UN-Habitat".Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  13. ^ UN and IGOs [12]"UN-Habitat".Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  14. ^ National Urban Forums [13]"UN-Habitat".Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  15. ^ How Partners Can Contribute to Habitat III [14]"UN-Habitat".Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  16. ^ Together Towards Habitat III [15] "UN-Habitat".Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  17. ^ Our Executive Director [16]"UN-Habitat".Retrieved September 1, 2015.
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