Press Release
HAB/IST/25
Conference on Human Settlements HAB/IST/25
18th Plenary Meeting (AM) 15 June 1996
and Round-Up
`CITY SUMMIT' ENDS WITH LEADERS' COMMITMENT TO
IMPROVE LIVING STANDARDS
Istanbul Declaration Commits Them to Habitat Agenda;
Leaders See Need to Mobilize Finances; Eradicate Poverty
As the Second United Nations Conference on Human
Settlements (Habitat II) ended early this morning, world
leaders adopted the Istanbul Declaration on Human Settlements,
which committed them to better standards of living and to the
recommendations in the Habitat Agenda: goals and principles,
commitments and global plan of action. They pledged to
support each other in its implementation.
Since adequate funding will be required to implement the
Agenda, the leaders declared that they must mobilize financial
resources at the national and international levels, including
new and additional finances from all sources. They agreed
that they must intensify their efforts to eradicate poverty
and discrimination and provide for basic needs, especially
adequate shelter for all. To that end, they will work to
increase the supply of affordable housing by enabling markets
to work in an efficient and socially responsible manner,
enhancing access to land and credit and helping those unable
to take part in the housing markets.
Recognizing local authorities as their closest partners
in implementing the Agenda, the leaders stated that they must
work to strengthen their financial and institutional
capacities in accordance with conditions of countries.
In the four-part Agenda, Member States reached consensus
on the issue of the right to adequate housing. They
reaffirmed their commitment to progressively realize that
right and recognized the governments' obligation to enable
people to obtain shelter and to protect and improve dwellings.
The commitment to promote international cooperation to achieve
Habitat goals calls on States to strive to fulfill the target
of 0.7 per cent of developed countries' Gross National Product
(GNP) for official development assistance (ODA) and to
increase the share of funding for the Habitat II objectives.
On the contentious issue of financing in the global plan
of action, Member States agreed to act on the questions of
financing of development, external debt, international trade
and transfer of
(more)
technology to developing countries. They agreed to strive to
meet the target of 0.15 per cent of the GNP of the developed
countries as assistance to the least developed countries.
They would also increase funding for adequate shelter and
human settlements development.
In other action, the Conference adopted a resolution
expressing gratitude to the City of Istanbul and the people,
Government and President of Turkey, Suleyman Demirel.
The success of Habitat II depends on the political will
to translate the Declaration and the Agenda into concrete
action, Conference President, Suleyman Demirel of Turkey, said
in closing remarks read on his behalf: "We should not leave
these two documents on some library shelf to gather dust and
regard them merely as sources to consult from time to time to
refresh our memories".
The Secretary-General of the Conference, Wally N'Dow,
said political will is required to achieve the Summit's goals.
Portions of the $800 billion spent yearly on arms should be
spent on the new human security, which will provide water and
sanitation. If every nation cuts its military budget by 5 per
cent, the world could address housing needs in an affordable
way. The Centre should be given more support.
The representative of Colombia, speaking for the "Group
of 77" developing countries and China, said many hopes on the
provision of new and additional resources were not met. The
future of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements
(Habitat) does not seem more certain. But the 'Group' and
China welcomed the reaffirmation of the right to housing for
all and the mobilization of civil society.
Italy's representative, speaking for the European Union,
said the European States will work with non-State actors to
help build international cooperation which will increasingly
rely on those forces.
South Africa's representative, speaking for the African
States, said those countries' housing efforts should be helped
by their development partners and that the Centre for Human
Settlements should be strengthened.
The representative of Uruguay, on behalf of the Latin
American and Caribbean States, said Habitat II's ideals should
be concretized.
Speaking on behalf of the Western European and other
States, the United States' representative said that the Agenda
will be a great legacy for the Conference.
The representative of Sudan, speaking for the Group of
Arab States, expressed satisfaction with the Conference's
results.
Morocco, speaking as coordinator for Arab Ministers, said
Habitat II should mark a new era in which man will find a
place to live in as a human being.
The representative of Romania, speaking for the Eastern
and Central European countries, expressed his appreciation for
the Conference's outcomes.
The `City Summit' was opened by Secretary-General Boutros-
Boutros-Ghali on 4 June. In his address, he urged conferees
to be inspired by the "Spirit of Istanbul" -- a spirit of
learning from the past, from previous United Nations
conferences and their programmes.
During the first seven days of the Conference, from 3 to
11 June, about 180 statements were made in the general
exchange of views on the state of human settlements, including
strategies for their improvement. The plenary heard from
Government Ministers and representatives, non-governmental and
community-based organizations, local authorities,
intergovernmental bodies and United Nations agencies and
programmes.
Due to that wide participation, the views focused on
national experiences as well as wider concerns of global
significance such as the plight of children and migrants, the
status of women, the potential role of local authorities, and
the relationship between rural needs and urban problems, as
problems to be addressed if sustainable human settlements are
to become a reality.
Other issues raised included the right to adequate
housing and the need for international cooperation to achieve
sustainable human settlements. Developing countries and
States in transition highlighted the need to reaffirm the
principle of the right to adequate housing and for new and
additional resources. The principles of democratization,
decentralization and the emphasis on local actions were
described as basic concepts to guide governments in fulfilling
their commitments on shelter.
The general exchange of views was followed by the high-
level segment, from 12 to 14 June, which provided world
leaders an opportunity to declare their commitment towards
improving settlements in their countries. More than 120
statements were made by Heads of State and Government,
Ministers and representatives of local authorities and youth.
During the segment, speakers pledged their commitment to
implement the Conference's global plan of action at the
national and international levels, in cooperation with all the
partners who were integrated in the Habitat process -- local
authorities, non-governmental organizations, the private
sector and youth.
The plenary sessions were held concurrently with meetings
of two committees -- Committee I and Committee II. Committee
I, chaired by Shafqat Kakakhel (Pakistan), was responsible for
finalizing the negotiations on the Habitat Agenda: Goals and
Principles, Commitments and Global Plan of Action.
Chaired by Martti Lujanen (Finland), Committee II heard
and received reports from the Conference partners: local
authorities representing the World Assembly of Cities and
Local Authorities; and representatives of the following:
World Business Forum; the Foundations Forum; the Academies of
Science and Engineering Forum; the Professionals and
Researchers Forum; the Parliamentarians Forum and the Labour
Unions Forum. Hearings were also held by representatives of
the United Nations system, on their roles in implementing the
Agenda; non-governmental organizations; and representatives of
the Forum on Human Solidarity.
Istanbul Declaration
In the Declaration, the Heads of State, Government and
delegations of countries at Habitat II committed themselves to
the recommendations in the Agenda and reaffirmed their
commitment to better standards of living. They agreed to
address unsustainable consumption and production patterns,
particularly in industrialized countries; unsustainable
population changes; homelessness; unemployment; inadequate
resources; lack of basic infrastructure and services; growing
insecurity and violence; and increased vulnerability to
disasters.
The leaders recognized the need to intensify cooperation
to improve living conditions throughout the world. They
acknowledged that the goals of the Agenda would be promoted by
positive actions on financing of development, external debt,
international trade and transfer of technology. The statesmen
committed themselves to intensifying efforts to eradicate
poverty and discrimination and to provide for such basic needs
as adequate shelter. Equal participation of all women and men
in all spheres of life will be ensured.
Reaffirming their commitment to the realization of the
right to adequate housing, they shall seek the active
participation of their partners to ensure legal security of
tenure, protection from discrimination and equal access to
adequate housing. The leaders will work to expand the supply
of affordable housing by enabling markets to perform
efficiently in a socially and environmentally responsible way.
They will work to strengthen local authorities' financial and
institutional capacities to implement the Agenda. Financing,
including new and additional resources, must be mobilized.
Habitat Agenda
The final document of the Conference, the Habitat Agenda,
is intended as a global call to action at all levels and a
guide towards the achievement of sustainable development of
the world's cities, towns and villages into the first two
decades of the next century. The Agenda offers a positive
vision of sustainable human settlements -- where all have
adequate shelter, a healthy and safe environment, basic
services and productive and freely chosen employment.
The Agenda contains a preamble, a nine-part statement of
goals and principles, and a set of six commitments to be
undertaken by governments in support of the objectives of
Habitat II. The fourth part contains strategies for
implementation of the global plan of action.
The Agenda's 12-paragraph preamble recognizes the
"imperative need to improve the quality of human settlements"
which profoundly affects people's daily lives and well-being.
Although the social and economic progress associated with
urbanization is acknowledged, the preamble stresses that
Habitat II deals with all settlements -- large, medium and
small -- and reaffirms the need for universal improvements in
living and working conditions.
The two global themes of the Conference were: "Adequate
shelter for all" and "Sustainable human settlements
developments in an urbanizing world". The preamble affirms
that "everyone has the right to an adequate standard of living
for themselves and their families, including adequate food,
clothing, housing, water and sanitation, and to the continuous
improvement of living conditions".
It also addresses the issues of shelter needs for
displaced persons, children and youth, vulnerable children,
such as street children and refugees children and indigenous
people. The empowerment of women, the participation of
persons with disabilities and older persons in the decision-
making regarding shelter needs are seen as being essential to
achieving sustainable human settlements. The preamble
stresses the need for enabling structures to be promoted.
The text of paragraph 11 of the preamble was adopted by
the final meeting based on a text circulated then. By that
paragraph, States note that there are critical differences
regarding human settlements in different regions and countries
and within countries which must be taken into account in the
implementation of the Habitat Agenda.
By agreeing on Chapter II of the draft agenda, the
Conference would adopt the goals and principles of adequate
shelter for all and sustainable development in an urbanizing
world. The 10 goals and principles include a discussion on
equitable human settlements; poverty eradication; sustainable
development; physical conditions; spatial characteristics of
settlements; the need to strengthen the family as the basic
unit of society; citizen rights and responsibilities;
partnerships among all countries and among all actors within
countries; solidarity with disadvantaged and vulnerable
groups; financial resources; and human health care --
including reproductive health care and services to improve the
quality of life.
The Conference approved "compromise language" for
bracketed text in paragraph 13, the introductory paragraph on
goals and principles. That text reads: "Civil, ethnic and
religious strife, violations of human rights, alien and
colonial domination, foreign occupation, economic imbalances,
poverty, organized crime, terrorism in all its forms and
corruption are destructive to human settlements and should
therefore be denounced and discouraged by all States who
should cooperate in achieving the elimination of such
practices and all unilateral measures impeding social and
economic development".
The Conference also adopted a revised text for the goal
related to financial resources (paragraph 22) during the final
meeting. That paragraph makes reference to new and additional
resources as necessary to achieve the goals of Habitat II.
The existing resources available to developing countries need
to be enhanced through appropriate and flexible mechanisms and
economic instruments to support adequate shelter for all and
sustainable human settlements development.
Chapter III of the draft Agenda contains six
"commitments" covering the following areas: adequate shelter
for all, sustainable human settlements, enablement and
participation and gender quality, financing shelter and human
settlements, international cooperation and assessing progress.
The commitments on gender equality was agreed on during the
Conference; the one on international cooperation was adopted
during the final meeting based on a text circulated during the
meeting. The commitment on assessing progress was expanded
during Conference negotiations.
Under the commitment to adequate shelter for all, the
Conference reached consensus on the issue of the right to
adequate housing, as stated: " We reaffirm our commitment to
the progressive realization of the right to adequate housing,
as set out in numerous international instruments. In this
context, we recognize the fundamental obligation of
governments to enable people to obtain shelter and to protect
and improve dwellings and neighbourhoods."
Based on a text circulated on international cooperation
during the final meeting -- paragraphs 32 and 33, States
agreed to commit themselves to enhancing international
cooperation and partnerships that will assist in the
implementation of the national and global plans of action and
the attainment of the Habitat goals. They also commit
themselves to strive to fulfill the agreed target of 0.7 per
cent of the gross national product of the developed countries
for official development assistance as soon as possible and to
increase the share of funding for the habitat II objectives.
By the commitment on assessing progress, States commit
themselves to observing and implementing the Agenda as a guide
for action within countries and will monitor progress towards
that goal. Monitoring will be based on quantitative and
qualitative indicators at the national and local levels. Use
will be made of indicators of the well-being of children, age
and gender sensitive indicators, as well as disaggreated data.
Appropriate data collection methods must be developed and used
to monitor the impact of human settlements policies and
practices on cities and communities.
The Conference's five-part global plan of action:
strategies for implementation is contained in chapter IV of
the Agenda and represents more than 145 paragraphs. The plan
elaborates on actions to be taken to achieve adequate shelter
for all: sustainable human settlements development in an
urbanizing world; capacity-building and institutional
development; international cooperation and coordination; and
implementation and follow-up of the global plan of action. It
describes ways to promote efficient land markets and
sustainable land use, mobilize sources of financing and
facilitate access to land and security of tenure. It proposes
actions that governments can take to integrate shelter
policies with macro-economic, social and environmental
policies, and to improve shelter delivery systems.
The global plan of action's two principal goals can be
pursued at the local level through an enabling process in
which individuals, families and their communities play a
central role. Implementation of these measures must be
adapted to the specific situation of each locality. In
addition to enablement, the strategy of the global plan of
action is based on transparency and participation. The plan
emphasizes that local authorities and other interested parties
are on the front line in achieving the goals of Habitat II".
Section B of the global plan of action -- adequate
shelter for all -- identifies actions required for shelter
policies, shelter delivery systems and vulnerable groups. The
provision of adequate housing requires action by Governments
and all sectors of society. Within the context of an enabling
approach, governments should promote the realization of that
right by prohibiting any discrimination and ensuring legal
security of tenure and equal access to land. A second
fundamental objective is to enable markets to function
efficiently. Governments should reduce the vulnerability of
those who lack security of tenure or are inhibited from the
shelter markets.
The plan proposes action to be taken by governments in
formulating and implementing shelter policies. They include
integrating shelter policies with macroeconomic, social,
demographic and environmental policies; formulating and
implementing policies that promote the enablement approach to
the development and rehabilitation of shelter in both rural
and urban areas.
Addressing shelter delivery systems, the plan asks
governments to ensure market efficiency in the provision of
housing. However, they should intervene to address the needs
of disadvantaged groups that are not sufficiently served by
the market. Actions should facilitate community-based
production of housing; ensure access to land; mobilize sources
of finance; ensure access to basic infrastructure and
services; and improve planning, construction, maintenance and
rehabilitation of housing. Action in the interest of
vulnerable groups should remove barriers and eradicate
discrimination in provision of shelter and provide subsidies
and various types of safety nets.
In elaborating on action to be taken to achieve the goals
of sustainable human settlements development in an urbanizing
world -- section C -- the draft plan of action focuses on
areas such as sustainable land use; social development;
eradication of poverty; creation of productive employment and
social integration; population and sustainable human
settlements development; environmentally sustainable, healthy
and liveable human settlements; conservation and
rehabilitation of historical and cultural heritage;
sustainable energy use; sustainable transport and
communication systems; improving urban economies; balanced
development of settlements in rural regions; and disaster
prevention.
Section D -- capacity-building and institutional
development -- proposes actions on decentralization and
strengthening of local authorities and the
associations/networks; popular participation, civic engagement
and [good governance]; human settlements management;
metropolitan planning and management; domestic financial
resources and economic instruments; and information and
communication.
A revised paragraph (131) refers to developing or
strengthening global and easily accessible information
networks to facilitate exchange of experience, know-how and
expertise.
Human settlements management is a new section added since
the preparatory session and calls for actions to facilitate
capacity building and institutional development for such
management . It also calls for the actions to support
training programmes in the field and to promote comprehensive
training education and human resources development policy that
are gender sensitive. Under domestic financial resources and
economic instruments, it is stated that "financing the future
of urban development and sustaining the economic viability of
cities will require innovative systems of finance at the
national and local levels".
The entire section of the draft plan of action -- Section
E -- international cooperation and coordination, which was
previously bracketed, was agreed on in the final negotiations.
States agree that there is an urgent need to redefine and
resuscitate the existing processes and structures of
cooperation and to evolve new and innovative forms of
cooperation to enable human kind to face the challenges of
development of rural and urban areas. There is a need for the
political will of all States and for specific action at the
international level to encourage new forms of cooperation,
partnership and coordination at all levels and investment from
all sources. Action would be required to promote:
Two paragraphs in this section -- 149 and 150 -- were
agreed on during the final meeting. Bracketed text of
paragraph 146 was accepted and refers to "action on questions
of financing of development, external debt, international
trade and transfer of technology to developing countries".
An additional text refer to the human settlement goals being
"facilitated by positive actions on the issues of finance,
external debt, international trade and transfer of
technology". Paragraph 150 (a) and (d)bis address the issue
of (a) "striving to fulfill the agreed target of 0.7 per cent
of the Gross National Product of the developed countries for
official development assistance as soon as possible" and (b)
"striving to fulfill the target, where agreed, of 0.15 per
cent of the GNP of the developed countries for assistance to
the least developed countries as soon as possible and to
increase the share of funding for adequate shelter and human
settlements development programmes".
In seeking innovative approaches and frameworks for
international cooperation the Agenda calls for the promotion
of an enabling international context; financial resources and
economic instruments; technology transfer and information
exchange; technical cooperation; and institutional
cooperation. The part on financial resources was consolidated
into one part from the five sections with a number of
deletions on certain aspects of financial resources and
economic instruments. One of the paragraphs deleted had
referred to "achieving the agreed targets of 0.7 per cent of
the Gross National Product (GNP) of Official Development
Assistance (ODA) and 0.15 per cent of GNP for assistance to
the least developed countries.
Regarding the final section -- the implementation and
follow-up of the global plan of action -- the Conference
adopted strategies for implementation at the national and
international levels; with the involvement of local
authorities and civil society, including the private sector;
and for the evaluation of policies, action and strategies by
means of indicators and best practices. The Conference has
decided that the main intergovernmental actors at the global
level for the implementation and follow-up of the
Habitat Agenda will continue to be all States, the
General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, and in
particular, the Commission on Human Settlements, according to
its mandate and role as defined by the Assembly.
The Assembly should include an item on its agenda for
the fifty-first session on the implementation of the outcome
of the Conference. It is called on to take up the issue of
human settlements in the context of sustainable development at
its special session to be convened in 1997 to review Agenda
21. The Assembly would also hold a special session in 2006
for an overall mid-term review and appraisal of the
implementation of the outcome of Habitat II and would consider
further actions and initiatives.
The plan also proposes that the Economic and Social
Council oversee system-wide coordination in the plan's
implementation and make recommendations in that regard. That
body will also be invited to review the plan's implementation
at its substantive session of 1997. Implementation strategies
would include subregional and regional cooperation. The final
part of the section focuses on evaluating the impact of
policies, strategies and actions on the provision of adequate
shelter and the achievement of sustainable human settlements
as well as Habitat's role in that process.
The revised text of two paragraphs (166 and 175) of this
section were adopted during the final meeting. Paragraph 166
focusses on the potential for the regional commissions, in
cooperation with regional intergovernmental organizations and
banks to convene high level meetings to review progress made
in implementing the outcome of Habitat II. In paragraph 175
invites the Secretary-General to ensure effective coordination
of the implementation of the Habitat Agenda in the United
Nations system. The role of the Administrative Committee on
Coordination is highlighted and invited to establish a task
force on the Habitat Agenda. It is to be noted that the
sentence calling for the full participation of the Centre for
Human settlements in the ACC's work was deleted in the
revision.
While the roles of the intergovernmental bodies are fully
elaborated in a number of paragraphs, that of the United
Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) remains within
well-defined objectives and strategic issues "within its
mandate". Its responsibilities would include to monitor
adequate shelter for all and sustainable development
programmes planned and carried out by the United Nations
system and assisting the Commission on Human Settlements in
formulating recommendations for coordinating adequate shelter
for all and sustainable human settlements development
activities.
Role of Partners in Implementing Agenda
"Habitat is the first United Nations conference to have
given, as part of its official machinery, a platform to
representatives of civil society. This has been a conference
in which new partnerships have begun to take shape, in support
of a common objective," said Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-
Ghali of such entities, in his address to the high-level
segment. The contributions were discussed in Committee II,
the "Partners' Committee."
During the dialogue, union representatives argued that
the fall in assistance to developing countries has hurt social
development. Governments should find other resources for
social programmes by cutting military spending. The labour
union community called for a new era of action by Governments
and multilateral organizations, with commitment to human
rights, including "human security", which implies the right to
work, to nutrition and shelter.
Those non-governmental organizations focusing on gender
issues highlighted the need for new forms of resource sharing.
The danger of non-governmental organizations being manipulated
by individuals, groups or governments was pointed out and they
were urged to prepare their own policy platforms and base
their work on dialogue. The non-governmental organizations
stated that the roles of various actors should clearly
defined. The parliamentarians called for the strengthening of
community involvement in city development and stressed the
role parliamentarians can play in promoting laws to ensure
healthy cities.
In the dialogue with the World Business Forum, it was
argued that partnerships between society and the business
world should be to the benefit of both sides. Participants
unanimously advocated greater social responsibility for
corporations in the provision of adequate housing.
Corporations were urged to invest in social infrastructure,
especially in education and health care since they will gain
from a productive labour force. During discussions on the
United Nations system, delegates appreciated the way those
organizations worked together to prepare Habitat II, adding
that the coordinated effort should be carried into the
implementation of the Agenda.
Parallel Activities
Also referred to as the Conference of partnerships,
Habitat II created numerous forums during its preparatory
process, which culminated in Istanbul. Each of the partners
held a two-day forum from 30 May to 1 June to finalize the
strategy papers they presented to Committee II. The World
Assembly of Cities and Local Authorities, was held at the
Harbiye Cultural Centre, Istanbul. The Habitat II NGO Forum
took place simultaneously, from 30 May to 14 June, at the
Taskila Campus of the Istanbul Technical University. The
Forum served as a bridge between Habitat II and the non-
governmental organizations. Those organizations took part in
negotiating the Agenda.
Other Activities
On 4 June an award ceremony was held for the 12 "Best
Practices" for improving the living environment. Those
initiatives received awards sponsored by the Tokyo
Metropolitan Government and the Dubai Municipality. Best
practices are initiatives undertaken by governments, local
authorities, grass-roots organizations and other actors that
have been effective in solving some of the most pressing
economic, social, and environmental problems of an urbanizing
world. Most of the submissions will be included in a Good
Practice Database so as to share the their experience as
widely as possible.
Officers of the Conference
The President of the Conference was President Suleyman
Demirel of Turkey. The following were Vice-Presidents:
Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bulgaria, Cameroon, China, El
Salvador, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Indonesia, Iran,
Jamaica, Nepal, Peru, Romania, the Russian Federation,
Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sweden, United
Kingdom, United States, Yemen and Zimbabwe. Turkey was
elected ex-officio Vice-President.
The National Director of Land Management of Uruguay,
Ricardo Gorosito, was elected the Conference's Rapporteur
General. The Chairmen of Committees I and II were Shafqat
Kakakhel (Pakistan)
and Martti Lujanen (Finland), respectively.
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