General assembly renews commitment to principles of habitat agenda.

At a time when half of the world's 6 billion people are living in cities, and the world is facing the unprecedented growth of urban population, mainly in the developing world, Member States of the United Nations on 8 June renewed their commitment to the principles of adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development. Delegates worked through the night to conclude the twenty-fifth special session of the General Assembly for an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the outcome of the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), held in Istanbul in 1996. Governments renewed their committment by adopting without a vote a resolution containing the Declaration on Cities and Other Human Settlements in the New Millennium.

During the three-day special session, held in New York from 6 to 8 June, delegations outlined the steps their countries had taken to implement the twin goals of Habitat II: adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development. National innovations and initiatives had centred on the creation of new housing units and the elaboration of city development schemes to respond to the rapid pace of urbanization, particularly in the developing world. Decentralization emerged as a major strategy, as national governments increasingly recognized the value of enhancing the capacities of local authorities, in partnership with civil society and the private sector, to meet the needs of their cities. Other strategies included social and legislative reform of property rights, home ownership and security of tenure. Preservation of natural resources and the environment had been integrated into many human settlement policies.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan addressed the session, along with Habitat Executive Director, Anna Tibaijuka, and the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, Klaus Toepfer. Representatives of 144 countries, including senior governmental officials and numerous national housing and town planning ministers, as well as several Habitat partners, civil society leaders and non-governmental organizations addressed the session. In his dosing statement, General Assembly President Harri Holkeri said he was particularly delighted with the constructive and cooperative spirit that had prevailed throughout the session and the difficult negotiations of the Declaration document.

A major innovation in the history of the General Assembly was the establishment of a Thematic Committee, which served as a forum for an exchange of experiences since Habitat II. Reporting on its activities, Chairman Slaheddine Belaid of Tunisia said the Committee had, in four meetings, fully achieved its objectives and had shown how the Habitat Agenda had been implemented in 16 countries.

The special session reaffirmed the United Nations as the best forum for exchange of experiences and best practices. Worldwide attention was once again drawn to the persistent and debilitating problems associated with poverty, disease and poor funding, which had delayed or blocked progress towards fulfilling the goal of decent shelter for all. Countries emerging from conflicts and civil wars struggled to rebuild lands and infrastructures and cope with the new homeless: refugees and displaced people. Fledgling democratic nations with economies in transition sought to convert government-owned housing and utilities to private ownership. Other countries were devastated by natural disasters that turned houses to rubble and security to unease.

While welcoming progress made in implementing the Habitat Agenda, the Governments recognized the gaps and obstacles in the way of developing human settlements and took note with great concern of the current conditions of human settlements worldwide. They pledged to accelerate their efforts to ensure the Agenda's full and effective implementation. They resolved to encourage social and economic policies designed to meet the housing needs of families, with particular attention to the needs of children, and to promote changes in attitudes, structures, policies and other practices relating to gender in order to eliminate all obstacles to human dignity and equality in family and society.

The Declaration urged the strengthening of international assistance to developing countries in their efforts to alleviate poverty, including by creating an enabling environment to facilitate the integration of the developing countries into the world economy, improving their market access, facilitating the flow of financial resources and implementing all initiatives regarding debt relief.

The Governments resolved to take further effective measures to remove obstacles to the realization of the rights of peoples living under colonial rule and foreign occupation, which are incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human person and must be combatted and eliminated. They also resolved to expand and strengthen the protection of civilians in conformity with international humanitarian law.

The document also addressed, among many other issues: the provision of shelter and other basic services for post conflict and post-disaster countries; proactive planning of land supply to promote the efficient functioning of land markets; the need to eradicate legal and social barriers to the equitable access to land; actions to address the impact of HIV/AIDS in human settlements; the issues of urban crime and violence; and the need to take concerted action against international terrorism, which caused serious obstacles to the implementation of the Habitat Agenda.