We,
the representatives of Governments, being guided by the
purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,
meeting at this special session of the General Assembly
to review the implementation of the Habitat Agenda, to recognize
progress, and to identify obstacles and emerging issues,
reaffirm our will and commitment to implement fully the
Istanbul Declaration on Human Settlements [Report
of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat
II), Istanbul, 3-14 June 1996 (United Nations publication,
Sales No. E.97.IV.6), chap. I, resolution 1, annex I.]
and the Habitat Agenda and decide on further initiatives,
in the spirit of the United Nations Millennium Declaration.[Resolution
55/2.] The Istanbul Declaration and the Habitat Agenda
[Ibid., annex II.] will remain the
basic framework for sustainable human settlements development
in the years to come.
Therefore,
we:
A Renewing the commitments made at the United Nations
Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II)
1.
Reaffirm that human beings are at the centre of our concern
for sustainable development and that they are the basis
for our actions in implementing the Habitat Agenda;
2.
Wish to stress that this is a special moment in the development
of human settlements, when half of the world's six billion
people will be living in cities and the world is facing
unprecedented growth of urban population, mainly in the
developing world. The decisions we make now will have far-reaching
consequences. We note with great concern that one out of
four of the world's urban population is living below the
poverty line. In many cities, confronted with rapid growth,
environmental problems and the slow pace of economic development,
it has not been possible to meet the challenges of generating
sufficient employment, providing adequate housing and meeting
the basic needs of the citizens;
3.
Re-emphasize that rural and urban areas are economically,
socially and environmentally interdependent, and that cities
and towns are engines of growth contributing to the development
of both rural and urban human settlements. Half of the world's
inhabitants live in rural settlements, and, in Africa and
Asia, the population in the rural areas represents a majority.
Integrated physical planning and balanced attention to rural
and urban living conditions are of crucial importance for
all nations. Full advantage must be taken of the complementary
contributions and linkages between rural and urban areas,
by giving appropriate attention to their different economic,
social and environmental requirements. While addressing
urban poverty, it is also essential to eradicate rural poverty
and to improve living conditions, as well as to create employment
and educational opportunities in rural settlements and small
and medium-sized cities and towns in rural areas;
4.
Reconfirm our determination to address at all levels the
deteriorating environmental conditions that threaten the
health and quality of life of billions of people. Some activities
at the local level that degrade the environment have implications
at the global level and need to be addressed in the context
of human settlements;
5.
Reconfirm the goals and principles of adequate shelter for
all and sustainable human settlements development in an
urbanizing world, as set out in the Habitat Agenda,[Report
of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat
II), Istanbul, 3-14 June 1996 (United Nations publication,
Sales No. E.97.IV.6), chap. I, resolution 1, annex II, para.
25.] which form the basis of our commitments;
6.
Renew and reaffirm our commitments in the Habitat Agenda
concerning adequate shelter for all, sustainable human settlements,
enablement and participation, gender equality, financing
shelter and human settlements, international cooperation,
and assessing progress;
B Welcoming progress in implementing the Habitat Agenda
7.
Commend the efforts by all levels of government, the United
Nations, other intergovernmental organizations and Habitat
Agenda partners as well as those by the Executive Director
of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat)
and welcome the progress made thus far towards implementation
of the Habitat Agenda. We note with appreciation the national
and regional reports on the implementation of the Habitat
Agenda[The reports were provided to participants
in the special session as resource documents.] and
the report of the Executive Director of the United Nations
Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) on the review and
appraisal of progress made in the implementation of the
Habitat Agenda,[A/S-25/3.] taking
into account the specific priorities and objectives of each
region, and in conformity with the legal framework and national
policies of each country;
8.
Welcome the decision by the Commission on Human Rights at
its fifty-sixth session[See Official Records
of the Economic and Social Council, 2000, Supplement No.
3 and corrigendum (E/2000/23 and Corr.1), chap. II, sect.
A, resolution 2000/9.] that the Special Rapporteur
whose mandate will focus on adequate housing as a component
of the right to an adequate standard of living should, as
a part of his mandate, develop a regular dialogue and discuss
possible areas of collaboration with Governments, relevant
United Nations bodies, specialized agencies, international
organizations in the field of housing rights, including
the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat),
non-governmental organizations and international financial
institutions, and make recommendations on the realization
of the rights relevant to the mandate;
9.
Also take note with satisfaction of the growing awareness
of the need to address in an integrated manner poverty,
homelessness, unemployment, lack of basic services, exclusion
of women and of children and marginalized groups, including
indigenous communities, and social fragmentation in order
to achieve better, more liveable and inclusive human settlements
worldwide. Governments, international organizations and
members of civil society have made continuous efforts to
address these problems;
10.
Take note of the development of integrated and participatory
approaches to urban environmental planning and management
in relation to the implementation of Agenda 21. In this
regard we welcome the support provided by many Governments
to mechanisms for consultations and partnerships among interested
parties to prepare and implement local environmental plans
and local Agenda 21 initiatives;
11.
Welcome the increasing economic role of cities and towns
in our globalizing world and the progress made in forging
public-private partnerships and strengthening small and
microenterprises. Cities and towns hold the potential to
maximize the benefits and to offset the negative consequences
of globalization. Well-managed cities can provide an economic
environment capable of generating employment opportunities
as well as offering a diversity of goods and services;
12.
Welcome the efforts made so far by many developing countries
in effecting decentralization in the management of cities
as a means of strengthening the operation of the local authorities
in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda;
13.
Also welcome the contributions of national and other Governments,
which have the primary responsibility for the implementation
of the Habitat Agenda through their laws, policies and programmes;
14.
Appreciate the important contribution made by local authorities
worldwide in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda through
concerted efforts and strengthened partnerships between
Governments at all levels, resulting in the improved condition
of human settlements, including improved urban governance.
Broad-based participation in decision-making, together with
accountability, simplicity of procedures and transparency,
is imperative to prevent corruption and to promote public
interests. In this regard, we note with satisfaction the
increased priority given to the implementation of the Habitat
Agenda and to the principles of good governance at all levels;
15.
Recognize the important work done by the Global Parliamentarians
on Habitat in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda.
At the same time, we encourage them to continue promoting
the implementation of the Habitat Agenda;
16.
Recognize that the overall thrust of the new strategic vision
of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat)
and its emphasis on the two global campaigns on secure tenure
and urban governance are strategic points of entry for the
effective implementation of the Habitat Agenda, especially
for guiding international cooperation on adequate shelter
for all and sustainable human settlements development. In
this regard, we welcome the establishment of the Advisory
Committee of Local Authorities and express our appreciation
for its contributions to the work of the United Nations
Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) and the preparation
of the special session of the General Assembly;
C Recognizing gaps and obstacles
17.
Take note with great concern of the current conditions of
human settlements worldwide, especially as documented in
the third Global Report on Human Settlements 2001. Although
Governments and their Habitat Agenda partners have continued
efforts to fulfil their commitments, widespread poverty
remains the core obstacle and environmental conditions need
significant improvement in many countries. Critically, the
majority of people living in poverty still lack legal security
of tenure for their dwellings, while others lack even basic
shelter. Thus, serious impediments to sustainable human
settlements development still persist;
18.
Note with concern that one of the basic obstacles to the
implementation of the Habitat Agenda is the discrepancy
between commitments made at Istanbul and the political will
to fulfil them. We also acknowledge the gaps in both public
information and awareness-raising as impediments;
19.
Recognize that serious financial constraints give rise to
acute problems of adequate shelter, housing and human settlements
in countries that receive an influx of refugees resulting
from ongoing conflicts, human-made and natural disasters
and other calamities taking place in neighbouring countries;
20.
Acknowledge the gaps in shelter and urban policies that
have limited the opportunities for participation and partnership
and have made it difficult to convert best practices into
good policies. We are also deeply concerned that many women
still do not participate fully on the basis of equality
in all spheres of society, while at the same time suffering
to a greater extent the effects of poverty;
21.
Also acknowledge the fact that the urbanization process
in the world has resulted in metropolitan concentrations
that extend over the administrative boundaries of the original
cities, expand over two or more administrative units, have
local authorities with different capacities and priorities
and suffer an absence of coordination;
22.
Recognize major obstacles that prevent the efficient functioning
of land and housing markets to ensure an adequate supply
of shelter. Actions recommended in paragraph 76 of the Habitat
Agenda3 have not been fully implemented;
23.
Have identified considerable obstacles associated with limited
economic, technological and institutional capacities at
all levels of government, particularly in the developing
and the least developed countries. We recognize the absence
of comprehensive and inclusive policies for capacity-building
institutions and their networking;
24.
Have also identified economic policies and financial market
constraints at all levels that have prevented the mobilization
of adequate resources to meet many countries' sustainable
human settlements needs;
25.
Recognize that domestic resource mobilization as well as
sound national policies are crucial for financing shelter
and human settlements. Although Governments have the primary
responsibility for the implementation of the Habitat Agenda,
international support is likewise essential. We regret that
international cooperation in shelter and human settlements
development has not been enhanced significantly since 1996,
which is a growing cause for concern. We also regret that
many countries have been unable to make sufficient use of
market mechanisms in support of their financial needs for
shelter and human settlements development;
26.
Recognize that there is unequal access to information and
communication technologies, particularly in the developing
countries, which has resulted in the inability of Governments
and Habitat Agenda partners to make the best use of this
resource in implementing the Habitat Agenda;
27.
Further resolve to take concerted action against international
terrorism, which causes serious obstacles to the implementation
of the Habitat Agenda;
28.
Recognize that the consequences of these gaps and obstacles
are serious: for the first time in human history a majority
of the world's six billion people will live in cities. Many
people have experienced a deterioration, not an improvement,
in their living environment. The gaps and obstacles encountered
in the past five years have slowed down global progress
towards sustainable human settlements development. It is
essential that actions are taken to ensure that the Habitat
Agenda is now translated into policy and into practice in
every country;
D Taking further actions
29.
Affirm our commitment to overcoming obstacles encountered
in implementing the Habitat Agenda, especially poverty,
which we consider to be the major underlying factor, and
to strengthening and safeguarding national and international
enabling environments, and to this end pledge to accelerate
our efforts to ensure the full and effective implementation
of the Habitat Agenda. Determined to give new momentum to
our efforts to improve the human settlements condition,
we here set out further initiatives for achieving those
ends. At the start of the new millennium, aware of our responsibilities
towards future generations, we are strongly committed to
adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements
development in a urbanizing world. We invite people from
all countries and from all walks of life, as well as the
international community, to join in renewed dedication to
our shared vision for a more just and equitable world;
30.
Reaffirm that the family is the basic unit of society and
as such should be strengthened. It is entitled to receive
comprehensive protection and support. In different cultural,
political and social systems, various forms of the family
exist. Marriage must be entered into with the free consent
of the intending spouses, and husband and wife should be
equal partners. The rights, capabilities and responsibilities
of family members must be respected. Human settlements planning
should take into account the constructive role of the family
in the design, development and management of such settlements.
Society should facilitate, as appropriate, all necessary
conditions for its integration, reunification, preservation,
improvement and protection within adequate shelter and with
access to basic services and a sustainable livelihood;[Report
of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat
II), Istanbul, 3-14 June 1996 (United Nations publication,
Sales No. E.97.IV.6), chap. I, resolution 1, annex II, para.
31.]
31.
Resolve in the framework inter alia of a poverty eradication
strategy to encourage social and economic policies that
are designed to meet the housing needs of families and their
individual members, with particular attention to the care
of children;[ Ibid., para. 40 (k).]
32.
Also resolve to promote changes in attitudes, structures,
policies, laws and other practices relating to gender in
order to eliminate all obstacles to human dignity and equality
in family and society and to promote full and equal participation
of women and men, inter alia, in the formulation, implementation
and follow-up of public policies and programmes;[ Ibid.,
para. 119 (e).]
33.
Invite Governments, the United Nations and other international
organizations to strengthen the quality and consistency
of their support to poverty eradication and sustainable
human settlements development, in particular to the least
developed countries. This in turn requires not only renewed
political will, but also the mobilization and allocation
of new and additional resources at both the national and
international levels. We urge the strengthening of international
assistance to developing countries in their efforts to alleviate
poverty, including by creating an enabling environment that
would facilitate the integration of developing countries
into the world economy, improving their market access, facilitating
the flow of financial resources and implementing fully and
effectively all initiatives already launched regarding debt
relief;
34.
Emphasize that the international community should consider
further measures, as appropriate, that would lead to durable
solutions to the external debt burden of developing countries;
35.
In this connection, express our appreciation to the developed
countries that have agreed to and have reached the target
of 0.7 per cent of their gross national product for overall
official development assistance, and call upon developed
countries that have not yet done so to strengthen their
efforts to achieve the agreed target of 0.7 per cent as
soon as possible and, where agreed, within that target,
to earmark 0.15 per cent to 0.20 per cent of the gross national
product for the least developed countries;
36.
Request the international community to strongly support
poverty eradication, and welcome the ongoing consultations
by the Secretary-General on the establishment of a world
solidarity fund for poverty eradication to finance and realize,
inter alia, the social policies and programmes of the Habitat
Agenda to address challenges of poverty eradication and
sustainable development in developing countries, especially
the least developed countries, bearing in mind the voluntary
nature of the contributions;
37.
Resolve to raise awareness about human settlements challenges
and solutions through full and open dissemination of information
and commit ourselves to renew and foster political will
at all levels;
38.
Also resolve to empower the poor and vulnerable, inter alia
through promoting greater security of tenure and enabling
better access to information and good practices, including
awareness of legal rights. We aim to develop specific policies
for overcoming growing urban poverty;
39.
Further resolve to empower local authorities, non-governmental
organizations and other Habitat Agenda partners, within
the legal framework and according to the conditions of each
country, to play a more effective role in shelter provision
and in sustainable human settlements development. This can
be achieved through effective decentralization, where appropriate,
of responsibilities, policy management, decision-making
authority and sufficient resources, where possible including
revenue-collection authority to local authorities, through
participation and local democracy as well as through international
cooperation and partnerships. In particular, the effective
role of women in decision-making in local authorities should
be ensured, if necessary through appropriate mechanisms.
In this context we agree to intensify our dialogue, where
possible, including, inter alia, through the Commission
on Human Settlements on all issues related to effective
decentralization and strengthening of local authorities,
in support of the implementation of the Habitat Agenda,
in conformity with the legal framework and policies of each
country;
40.
Encourage authorities within metropolitan areas to develop
mechanisms and to foster, as appropriate, legal, financial,
administrative, planning and coordination instruments in
order to achieve more equitable, ordered and functional
cities;
41.
Resolve to build capacities and networks to enable all partners
to play an effective role in shelter and human settlements
development. The management of urbanization processes requires
strong and accountable public institutions able to provide
an effective framework in which everybody has access to
basic services. Capacity-building needs to be directed towards,
inter alia, supporting decentralization and participatory
urban management processes. We also pledge to strengthen
the institutions and legal frameworks that assist and allow
broad-based participation in decision-making and in the
implementation of human settlements strategies, policies
and programmes;
42.
Acknowledge, value and support volunteer work and the work
of community-based organizations. Voluntary practices offer
an important contribution to the development of human settlements,
as they help to build strong, cohesive communities, as well
as to develop a sense of social solidarity, generating in
the process significant economic outputs;
43.
Are committed to improving prevention, preparedness, mitigation
and response capacities with the contribution of national
and international cooperation networks, in order to reduce
the vulnerability of human settlements to natural and human-made
disasters and to implement effective post-disaster programmes
for the affected human settlements, aimed, inter alia, at
meeting immediate needs, reducing future disaster risks
and making rebuilt human settlements accessible for all;
44.
Commit ourselves to the goal of gender equality in human
settlements development and resolve to promote gender equality
and the empowerment of women as effective ways to combat
poverty and to stimulate the development of human settlements
that are truly sustainable. We further commit ourselves
to formulating and strengthening policies and practices
to promote the full and equal participation of women in
human settlements planning and decision-making;
45.
Also commit ourselves to strengthening existing financial
mechanisms and identifying and developing appropriate innovative
approaches for financing shelter and human settlements development
at all levels. Furthermore, we resolve to continue to undertake
legislative and administrative reforms to give women full
and equal access to economic resources, including the right
to inheritance and the ownership of land and other property,
credit, natural resources and appropriate technologies,
as well as ensuring their right to security of tenure and
to enter into contractual agreements. We resolve to promote
increased and equal access for all people to open, efficient,
effective and appropriate housing finance, to support savings
mechanisms in the informal sector, where appropriate, and
to strengthen regulatory and legal frameworks and financial
management capacity at all appropriate levels;
46.
Resolve to promote the upgrading of slums and regularization
of squatter settlements, within the legal framework of each
country. In particular, we reiterate the aim of the Cities
without Slums initiatives to make a significant improvement
in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020;
47.
Affirm that, in the interest of affordable housing for the
poor, it is necessary to promote cooperation among countries
for popularizing the use of adequate low-cost and sustainable
building materials and appropriate technology for the construction
of adequate low-cost houses and services within the reach
of the poor, especially in slums and unplanned settlements;
48.
Resolve to intensify efforts to include countries with economies
in transition in the system of multilateral cooperation
in sustainable development of human settlements, by developing
the support for these countries to determine an adequate
level of decentralization in the governance of urban and
rural human settlements. We reiterate our commitment to
involve in these efforts the United Nations financial institutions,
international and national foundations, the private sector
and other partners of the Habitat Agenda;
49.
Take note with satisfaction of the ongoing housing policy
formulation by many countries. We resolve to undertake legislative
and administrative reforms needed to support the efforts
of people, individually and collectively, to produce affordable
shelter, to adopt proactive planning of land supply, to
promote the efficient functioning of land markets and administration,
to eradicate legal and social barriers to the equal and
equitable access to land and to ensure that the equal rights
of women and men to land and property are protected under
the law. In implementing the above, we acknowledge the need
for vigorously promoting affordable shelter and basic services
for the homeless, preventing forced evictions that are contrary
to the law and facilitating access of all people, particularly
the poor and vulnerable groups, to information on housing
legislation, including any legal rights, and to remedies
where these laws are violated. In this connection, we note
with appreciation and support the initial approach and activities
of the Global Campaign for Secure Tenure;
50.
See the implementation of the Habitat Agenda as an integral
part of the overall fight for the eradication of poverty.
The implementation of the Habitat Agenda and the pursuit
of sustainable development are intimately linked and interdependent,
and human settlements development is a key factor for sustainable
development. The World Summit for Sustainable Development
to be held at Johannesburg in 2002 provides a good opportunity
to further pursue and intensify this relationship;
51.
Resolve to intensify efforts for ensuring transparent, responsible,
accountable, just, effective and efficient governance of
cities and other human settlements. We recognize that good
governance, within each country and at the international
level, is essential to addressing the challenge of urban
poverty as well as the challenge of environmental degradation
and to harnessing the potential opportunities offered by
globalization. Cities need specific approaches and methodologies
to improve governance, to plan and act strategically in
order to reduce urban poverty and social exclusion and to
improve the economic and social status of all citizens and
protect the environment in a sustainable way. In connection
with this, we note the importance of promoting sustainable
livelihoods through education and training, particularly
for the poor and vulnerable groups;
52.
The HIV/AIDS pandemic has developed in a much faster and
much more dramatic way than could have been foreseen at
Istanbul. We resolve to intensify efforts at the international
and national levels against HIV/AIDS and in particular to
formulate and implement appropriate policies and actions
to address the impact of HIV/AIDS on human settlements.
We recognize the problem of accessing financial resources
for housing by HIV/AIDS victims and the need for shelter
solutions for accommodating HIV/AIDS victims, especially
the orphans and the terminally ill;
53.
Resolve to intensify efforts to enhance the role of youth
and civil society, and to increase cooperation with parliamentarians
in human settlements development;
54.
Also resolve to promote more determined action against urban
crime and violence, particularly violence against women,
children and the elderly, through a coordinated response
at all levels, in accordance, as appropriate, with integrated
crime prevention action plans. These plans might include
a diagnostic survey of crime phenomena, the identification
of all the relevant actors in crime prevention and the fight
against crime, the establishment of consultation mechanisms
for the design of a coherent strategy and the elaboration
of possible solutions to these problems;
55.
Further resolve to seriously address the challenges posed
by wars, conflicts, refugees and human-made disasters on
human settlements, and commit ourselves through enhanced
international cooperation mechanisms to support post-conflict
and post-disaster countries, with special emphasis on the
provision of shelter and other basic services, particularly
to vulnerable groups, refugees and internally displaced
persons, as well as to facilitate restoring security of
tenure and property rights;
56.
Resolve to take further effective measures to remove obstacles
to the full implementation of the Habitat Agenda as well
as obstacles to the realization of the rights of the peoples
living under colonial and foreign occupation, which are
incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human person
and must be combated and eliminated;
57.
Also resolve to expand and strengthen the protection of
civilians in conformity with international humanitarian
law, in particular the Geneva Convention relative to the
Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 12 August
1949, including article 49 thereof;[United
Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, No. 973.]
58.
Resolve to strengthen international cooperation, including
the burden sharing in, and the coordination of humanitarian
assistance to, countries hosting refugees and to help all
refugees and displaced persons to return voluntarily to
their homes, in safety and dignity, and to be smoothly reintegrated
in their societies;
59.
Resolve to promote access to safe drinking water for all
and to facilitate the provision of basic infrastructure
and urban services, including adequate sanitation, waste
management and sustainable transport which is integrated
and accessible to all, including people with disabilities.
To this end, we need to promote transparent and accountable
management of public services as well as partnerships with
the private sector and non-profit organizations for the
delivery of these services;
60.
Commit ourselves to intensifying efforts for improving sustainable
environmental planning and management practices, and for
promoting sustainable production and consumption patterns
in human settlements in all countries, in particular in
industrialized countries. Integrated approaches addressing
social, economic and environmental issues should be taken
more systematically at all levels. Agenda 21 and the local
Agenda 21 initiatives provide important inputs to this process;
61.
Reiterate the need to integrate the local Agenda 21 process,
as mentioned above, in the global plan of action for the
implementation of the Habitat Agenda. The aims, policies
and strategies of both agendas should be harmonized in order
to promote sustainable urban planning and management;
62.
Also reiterate that Governments, local authorities and other
Habitat Agenda partners should regularly monitor and evaluate
their own performances, and in the implementation of the
Habitat Agenda Governments at all levels should identify
and disseminate best practices and apply shelter and human
settlements development indicators. To this end, we need
to strengthen the capacity among all Habitat Agenda partners
to handle and analyse information as well as to communicate
with each other;
63.
A further goal is to translate best practices into policies
and permit their replication. In this respect, the international
community should ensure the effective formatting and dissemination
of proven best practices and policies;
64.
Recognizing that those living in poverty are in fact rich
in innovative faculties and the importance of microcredit
in eradicating poverty and improving human settlements,
and following success stories of some countries in this
field, we encourage Governments, within their legal framework,
and both national and international financial institutions
to strengthen the institutional frameworks by which it would
be possible to extend microcredit to those living in poverty,
particularly the women, without collateral or security;
65.
Reiterate that international cooperation takes on added
significance and importance in the light of recent trends
towards the increased globalization and interdependence
of the world economy. There is a need for the political
will of all States and for specific action at the international
level, including among cities, to inspire, encourage and
strengthen existing and innovative forms of cooperation
and partnership, coordination at all levels and increased
investment from all sources, including the private sector,
in order to contribute effectively to the improvement of
shelter conditions, especially in developing countries.
In this regard we also resolve to pay particular attention
to cities and other human settlements in critical natural
environments such as arid and semi-arid areas with the purpose
of providing assistance and support for their development;
66.
Reconfirm the role of the Commission on Human Settlements
and the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat)
in advocating, promoting, monitoring and assessing progress
made in implementing the goals of adequate shelter for all
through providing legal security of tenure and sustainable
human settlements development in all countries and in combining
best practices, enabling policies, and compiling legislation
and action plans for identifying illustrative cities for
the two global campaigns and further advancing the normative[The
term "norm" refers to generally accepted standards,
guidelines or principles, and should not be understood to
imply that they are intended to be implemented through binding
legal instruments.
] debate and operational action on major human settlements
issues, inter alia, by timely and regular publication of
global flagship reports. We also support the establishment
of the Habitat Agenda Task Manager System, designed to allow
better monitoring and mutual reinforcement of actions taken
by international agencies in support of the implementation
of the Habitat Agenda;
67.
Reaffirm our commitment to international cooperation as
an essential element to implement the Istanbul Declaration
and the Habitat Agenda. In this regard, we invite the Secretary-General
to report to the General Assembly at its fifty-sixth session
on options for reviewing and strengthening the mandate and
status of the Commission on Human Settlements and the status,
role and function of the United Nations Centre for Human
Settlements (Habitat), in accordance with the relevant decisions
of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council
and the Habitat II Conference;[General Assembly
resolutions 51/177 of 16 December 1996 and 53/242 of 28
July 1999, the agreed conclusions of the coordination segment
of the Economic and Social Council of 2000 (Official Records
of the General Assembly, Fifty-fifth Session, Supplement
No. 3 (A/55/3/Rev.1), chap. V), and paras. 224 and 229 of
the Habitat Agenda.]
68.
Agree to regularly review further implementation of the
Habitat Agenda with a view to assessing progress and considering
new initiatives.
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