Press Release
HAB/IST/17
Conference on Human Settlements HAB/IST/17
11th Plenary Meeting (AM) 11 June 1996
COORDINATION OF NATIONAL ACTIONS WITH REGIONAL AND GLOBAL
AGENCIES STRESSED AT HABITAT II
Governments and other partners were urged to coordinate
national actions with those of regional and global agencies
and to develop innovative mechanisms for cooperation in the
implementation of the Global Plan of Action of the Second
United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II),
the Conference Plenary was told as it continued its general
exchange of views on the state of human settlements this
morning.
Regional commissions, in particular, are mandated and
uniquely situated to support coordination and promote
cooperation of such actions, the plenary was told. Regional
action plans should form the basis for effective follow-up at
the regional level. Such plans represent the collective
commitment of governments within regions to take decisive and
concrete actions to achieve sustainable human settlements for
the benefit of mankind.
Statements were made this morning by the Minister for
Rehabilitation and Social Integration of Rwanda; the Under
Secretary of Urban Development of Bolivia; the Minister for
Urbanization and Construction of Georgia; and the Minister of
Public Works, Management of Territories, Urbanism and Habitat
of Zaire. The Minister of Housing and Urban Development of
Chile spoke on behalf of the Economic Commission for Latin
America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
The representatives of Yemen, Lithuania and Spain also
made statements.
Also addressing the plenary was the Executive Secretary
of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
(ESCAP). A manager of the Inter-American Development Bank
(IDA) and the President of the Permanent Francophone Council
also spoke.
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The representatives of the following non-governmental
organizations made statements: Rotary International; Peace
Caucus; the International Planned Parenthood Federation; and
the Centre for Respect of Life and Environment.
The Plenary is scheduled to meet again at 3 p.m. to
conclude its general exchange of views.
General Exchange of Views
PATRICK MAZIMHAKA, Minister of Rehabilitation and Social
Integration of Rwanda: Despite Rwanda's efforts to house,
among others, the survivors of genocide, the aged and old-case
refugees, a crisis remains in the urban areas due to lack of
housing promoters and finance.
In July 1994, the perpetrators of genocide expelled 2
million people, joining another 1.4 million already in exile.
Of the new case load, some 1.2 million and 800,000 of the old
cases have returned home. Another 1 million are held hostage
in refugee camps, mainly in Zaire and the United Republic
Tanzania. Rwanda considers refugee return and resettlement a
top priority. It is finalizing a new policy on sustainable
settlements development. The policy will be based on the
reform of dispersed villages into agglomerated settlements;
the encouragement of the private sector to build houses and
provide finance; the restructuring of slums and the assumption
of greater responsibility by local authorities.
LUIS RAMIREZ VELARDE, Under-Secretary of Urban
Development of Bolivia: The Conference must institutionalize
popular participation in the issue of sustainable human
settlements in order to allow community-based organizations
access to its programmes. Their participation will guarantee
the success of Habitat II programmes. For its part, Bolivia
has adopted laws to facilitate such participation. The law on
popular participation allows peasant communities, indigenous
people and neighbourhood bodies to take part in planning and
monitoring programmes. A new law on decentralization gives
regions the responsibility to develop shelter in the
prefectures. Habitat II programmes must include popular
participation in order to succeed.
ALI HAMEED SHARAF (Yemen): Wealthier countries should
assist developing countries to implement their settlement
policies. Developing countries must ensure the planning and
development of sustainable human settlements. The Yemeni
Government is ensuring that the best housing and settlement
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policies are developed for the benefit of the population, in
spite of an economic recession during the last two decades.
The return of 1 million Yemenis as refugees during the Gulf
War has had a detrimental effect on the country.
The Yemeni Government has allocated about $15 million for
housing and infrastructural development. The actual sum
required is approximately $50 million which would have to be
sought from the international community. The urban growth
rate of 7.7 per cent, compared to 3.7 per cent growth in the
rest of the population, calls for priority action.
WALDEMAR WIRSIG, Manager, Social Programmes and
Sustainable Development Department of the Inter-American
Development Bank (IDB): Even though the demographic
projections for the Latin American region are less alarming
than forecast 20 years ago, the cities still face serious
problems. Four out of every 10 families lack adequate housing
and an equal number lack sanitary infrastructure and
facilities. As a result, the IDB has made social sector
lending the cornerstone of the its Eighth Capital
Replenishment Programme. It formally commits 50 per cent of
its total operations and 40 per cent of its lending volume to
the most vulnerable segments of the region's population.
The informal economy employs a significant share of the
labour force and constitutes an enormous, untapped source of
equity and capital for the urban poor. Property rights to
informal dwellings must be formalized to ensure that the
savings and investments of the poor contribute more directly
to economic growth. An important message for the Conference
is that the urban challenges of the future do not necessarily
require enormous sums of money.
RIMVYDAS PRANAITIS (Lithuania): Because of the priority
attached to housing in Lithuania, much progress has been made
in housing construction and settlements planning. In that
sense, Lithuania cannot be considered a developing country.
It does not have the problems of homelessness, uncontrolled
growth of cities and high concentrations of population.
However, much needs to be done in the implementation of the
Habitat II goals.
Seven per cent of families in Lithuania are without
dwellings, have minimum living standards or are without
permanent lodging units. About 40 per cent of urban housing
do not have modern sanitation. Due to economic
transformation, residential housing decreased from 5.6 to 1.4
flats per 1,000 inhabitants, adversely affecting young
families and a growing number of children without parental
support. The country also faces a
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problem of housing refugees who are migrating through
Lithuania, illegally from Asia, to Western Europe. The
Habitat II Agenda should take account of the specific problems
of countries in transition.
MERAB CRKHENKELI, Minister for Urbanization and
Construction of Georgia: Georgia is rebuilding thousands of
houses destroyed in natural disasters and war in order to
address the acute problems of families affected by those
scourges. However, the country lacks construction and
building-materials industries.
Georgia will carry out Habitat II measures by exchanging
information and conducting a coordinated policy related to the
development of populated localities. It will also conduct
joint research in construction and planning, develop and
coordinate programmes for developing populated areas and
create ecologically safe systems for the reconstruction of the
building industry. The international community should assist
Georgia.
ALEXIS THAMBWE MWAMBA, Minister for Public Works,
Management of Territories, Urbanism and Habitat of Zaire:
Zaire's actions will be based on land planning to ensure a
balanced use of resources, the promotion of urban developments
in a manner that will have positive effects on villages, and
reforms to allow more grass-root participation. The field of
town planning will be opened to the private sector and civil
society and urban resources mobilized to ensure that cities
are properly equipped. Zaire has built major housing estates
in several cities to meet middle-class needs and small-scale
loans are granted to help low-income citizens acquire homes.
The problem of some 2 million refugees from neighbouring
countries has caused damage to settlements in eastern Zaire.
The Government will ask the international community to help it
repatriate the refugees, as it will not allow them to settle
permanently in Zaire.
EMILE-DERLIN ZINSOU, President of the Permanent
Francophone Council: Decentralization in decision-making
should lead to the transfer of power to citizens and local
bodies. Cities should be given more access to international
capital. Growth should be encouraged to alleviate the effects
of poverty which threatens democracy. Partnerships and the
participatory approache should be encouraged. Improvement in
governance is essential for the sustainable development of
human settlements. The Francophone community supports Habitat
Agenda provisions that will take into account African
countries' specific situations. Francophone heads of States
have adopted resolutions calling for economic growth, the
protection of the environment and support for mechanisms that
will seek peaceful solutions to crises and the problem of
population movements.
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CARLOS CARDERERA (Spain): The Habitat programme should
facilitate greater access to housing, promote more local
participation and improve energy and environmental efficiency.
To ensure the sustainable development of cities, the
international community should try to improve existing towns,
include all social agents and strengthen local authorities.
International cooperation should be involved in training, the
exchange of experience, cooperation in the implementation of
programmes and the provision of technical advice.
ADRIANUS MOOY, Executive Secretary of the Economic
Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP): Facing urban
challenges requires change in the entire society which must be
anchored in communities and built on consensus and
partnerships among all urban stakeholders. As a goal, local
governments must be strengthened to tackle their current
responsibilities and to address, with more urgency, urban
poverty and the issue of the quality of life in urban areas.
Habitat II's Global Plan of Action must be strongly
supported and all partners must contribute to its
implementation. It is necessary to coordinate national
actions with those of regional and global agencies and develop
innovative mechanisms for cooperation. Regional commissions
are mandated and uniquely situated to support coordination and
promote cooperation.
EDMUNDO HERMOSILLA, Minister of Housing and Urban
Development of Chile, speaking under the auspices of the
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
(ECLAC): Last November, Ministers from Latin America and the
Caribbean agreed on a regional action plan for human
settlements. In the plan, governments committed themselves to
achieving a level of housing production in 10 years, that
will, in the minimum, equal to that of the previous decade.
They have proposed transparent housing subsidies and improved
targeting of social spending for housing. Commitments to
freezing the housing deficit and granting flexible loans, as
well as improving private sector investments were also made in
the plan.
Each regional action plan would serve as a guide and
follow-up to the Conference. If the Conference accepts the
right to housing and takes up the challenge of freezing the
dwelling deficit, it would not disappoint millions of people
in Latin America and the Caribbean. "The Ministers of Latin
America and the Caribbean do not want to disappoint the poor."
CARLO RAVIZZA of Rotary International: Rotary
International's leadership has recently reassessed what
constitutes viable volunteer service in today's urban setting.
As a result, it has added urban concerns as a major
international focus. Beginning next month, it will hold urban
peace
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conferences in seven world regions for club leaders from
cities with populations exceeding 2 million. The participants
will examine the root causes of urban violence, such as
homelessness, hunger, illiteracy, poverty, prejudice, and
environmental deterioration.
These conferences will launch Rotary's initiative on
behalf of the world's cities, draw on all the traditions and
programmes that urrently exist and generate new responses to
the enormous challenges of the next century. Volunteers, like
Rotary International, must find innovative ways of working
with other partners and use all their resources to contribute
to development efforts.
JONATHAN GRANOFF, Peace Caucus: The United Nations should
sponsor conflict resolution centres in cooperation with Member
States and civil society to promote preventive diplomacy.
Governments should be committed to adhering to the Nuclear Non-
Proliferation Treaty by ratifying a zero-yield Comprehensive
Test Ban Treaty and a Treaty Prohibiting the First Use of
Nuclear Weapons and by starting talks on a convention on the
elimination of nuclear weapons. International standards and
codes of conduct should be enacted to curb the flow of arms to
areas of potential or actual conflict. City governments
should advocate the elimination of nuclear weapons.
SUNETRA PURI, International Planned Parenthood Federation
(IPPF): The Federation will counter the negative effects of
urbanization by providing information on family planning and
sexual and reproductive health. It will support local
authorities, pay attention to the sexual health needs of the
urban young, support women's fight against discrimination and
work with other forces to make cities better places to live
in. All actions will have to be combined with efforts to
ensure sustained health and the environmental and socio-
economic development of town and city dwellers.
JOHN HOYT, Chief Executive of the Humane Society of the
United States and President of the Center for Respect of Life
and Environment: The gap between rich and poor and the
extinction of various species of animals call for a shift to a
holistic approach to development. That approach should value
the natural and social economy and long-term social and
spiritual ends. Social policy should provide economic
resources to support viable and caring communities.
Unsustainable patterns of production and consumption degrade
the environment. The role of the media, advertizing and
marketing in shaping those patterns should be studied and
reported to the next 1997 session of the United Nations
Commission on Sustainable Development.
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