EU Presidency Statement - Habitat

Mr. Chairman,

I have the honor to speak on behalf of the European Union. The associated countries… endorse this declaration.

( Istanbul + 5)

In June, the twenty-fifth extraordinary session of the General Assembly, has drawn the assessment of the implementation of the Habitat Agenda.

This assessment is mitigated. Despite the headways made and the uncountable promising initiatives, a quarter of the worldwide urban population live below the threshold of poverty.

The "declaration on the human establishments in the new millennium", adopted at this twenty-fifth session, has permitted to reaffirm the political will of the international community for the implementation of the Habitat Agenda. As we will now discuss its the follow-up, that, we wish, will be concrete and participative, the political will of all of our governments will be of a particular importance, as this declaration has precisely identified as a major obstacle to the implementation of the Agenda the gap between the commitments agreed in Istanbul and the political will to fulfill these commitments.

We sincerely believe that local authorities play an essential role in the further implementation of the Habitat Agenda. They are the closest partners to the citizens, and are historically in charge of the fulfillment of their fundamental needs. An increasing co-operation, based on agreed principles, between all levels of government, is therefore required. The European Union remains attached to the installation of an international juridical framework concerning the decentralization of the administration, in the spirit of the consultations held on the World Charter on Local Administration.

The European Union avails itself on this opportunity to renew its commitment to the two main objectives adopted in Istanbul : "a decent housing for all" and the "sustainable development of the human settlements in an always more urbanized world", as well as its support to the two campaigns lead by Habitat in favor of the "security of occupation" and the "urban governance". We also reaffirm our attachment to the full and progressive realization of the right to a decent housing, and we fully support the mission of the Special Rapporteur, designated to focus on the decent housing as a content of the right to an adequate level of life. The Union also wants to remind its engagement in favor of gender equality in matter of rights and access to property and heritage.

(Inter-agencies co-operation)

The European Union expects a lot from the Task Manager System, that should be fully exploited, in order to take into account the pluridisciplinary dimension of the Habitat Agenda. Without an effective inter-institutional co-ordination, the implementation of the Habitat Agenda can only be incomplete. The Union will examine with interest the Secretary-General's proposition to set this Task manager System in the frame of the works of the Environment Management Group. Nevertheless, it is important to make sure that the diverse dimensions of the sustainable development tackled in the habitat Agenda will all be fully taken into account, and not only the environmental dimension. In all cases, the Union will wish to be completely informed of the evolution of the international practices in this matter.

As recalled by the resolution adopted by the Economic and Social Council regarding this matter, it is important that Habitat can take part to the activities of the diverse pertinent mechanisms of the Council of the heads of secretariats of United Nations system for Co-ordination (former Administrative Co-ordination Council). We wish that the implementation of the Habitat Agenda and of the Declaration on the human settlements in the new millennium will be tackled by the inter-agencies mechanisms, in order to rationalize the utilization of the human and financial resources, and to optimize the results on the ground.

(Institutional matters)

The European Union wants to thank the Secretary-General for his detailed and concrete report on the options for the revision and the strengthening of the mandate and of the status of the Commission on human settlements, and for the status, the role and the function of the United Nations Center for the human settlements (Habitat). Nevertheless, it regrets its much too late diffusion.

The Union is pleased by the recent institutional evolutions. In particular, she looks forward to the creation of the Consultative Committee of Local Authorities and of the Urban Forum, as well as to the formalization of the role of the Permanent Representatives Committee.

The Union is in favor, in principle, of the amelioration of the Habitat status, and of the strengthening of its siege in Nairobi.

The Union is examining with interest the propositions formulated by the Secretary-General in order to develop the policies elaboration role of the Commission on the human settlements. It would like to receive more information about a possible modification of the status of the Commission on the human settlements, and about a possible modification of the name of Habitat.

(Preparation of the Johannesburg Summit)

The preparation of the Johannesburg Summit on sustainable development will offer a unique opportunity to exploit all the synergies between the Habitat Agenda and Agenda 21. As half of today's world population live in cities, it becomes urgent to strengthen the urban and local dimension of sustainable development, as articulated in the Habitat Agenda. It is important that this latter is fully taken into account during the preparation of the Summit.

The Urban forum meeting to be held in May 2002 will provide an important opportunity to contribute to the preparation of the Summit.

We expect from Habitat, as well as from all other concerned organisms, an active contribution to the preparation, inter alia by concrete recommendations in the frame of the contributions of the agencies to the elaboration of the Secretary-General's report, which will inspire our works.

It is the responsibility of all countries to fully mobilize the "major group" of local authorities, and this sufficiently in advance. The local authorities not only have launched more than 1800 initiatives "Local Agenda 21" across the world, but it is a fact that big cities, regions and federated entities in diverse states often have as many or more competencies in the matter of promotion of sustainable development than the states, at the national level. At this can be added the fact that an important chapter of Agenda 21 is devoted to the sustainable human settlements. That is the local authorities that have the necessary experience to assure a good integration of the essential urban and local dimension of sustainable development, and that can help us to explore the synergies between the Habitat Agenda and Agenda21. The "national committees for habitat", established in numerous countries in order to prepare the extraordinary session of the General Assembly "Istanbul + 5" could be usefully used to participate in the assessment of the implementation of the Agenda 21 chapters concerning them. Finally, we also have to assure a good participation of the local authorities at the Forum that will gather them at Johannesburg.

I thank you for your attention.

| Arriba |

• EU Presidency Statement - Habitat (4/11/2002)