19th Session of the Governing Council, 5 - 9 May 2003, Nairobi, Kenya

The 19th session of the Governing Council of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, (UN-HABITAT) will be held from 5 to 9 May 2003. The meeting will take place at UN-HABITAT headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. Among the key issues to be discussed are: UN-HABITAT's work programme for the biennium 2004-2005 and the proposed budget for the United Nations Habitat and Human Settlements Foundation for the same biennium Follow-up to the 25th special session of the General Assembly to get an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the Habitat Agenda (Istanbul +5), including the Rules of Procedure UN-HABITAT's Governing Council Two special themes, on: - Urban development strategies and shelter strategies favouring the poor; - The rural dimension of sustainable urban development; Report of the Executive Director on the dialogues on effective decentralization and strengthening of local authorities; Cooperation between UN-HABITAT and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), as well as cooperation with other agencies and organizations within the United Nations system, with intergovernmental organizations outside the United Nations system, and with non-governmental organizations. Informal consultations among and between the regional groups will be held before the Governing Council, in particular the election of officers, on Sunday, 4 May from 11 a.m. The first issue of the Journal will be issued on the same day and will include information on the allocation of rooms. In line with the Rules of Procedure of the Governing Council, States which are not members of the Governing Council but are members of the United Nations or of a specialized agency may participate in the Governing Council as observers. Also, in accordance with the Governing Council resolution 16/12 of 7 May 1997, Governments are invited to include in their delegations, representatives of local authorities and relevant actors of civil society, particularly the private sector, NGOs and research organizations in the field of adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development. States are requested to inform the Executive Director of UN-HABITAT of the composition of their delegations as soon as possible. The credentials of representatives should be submitted, at the latest, before the end of the first meeting of the session. Any inquiries should be directed to the relevant contact points.