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

Meeting times and rooms Meetings will generally take place from 9.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and from 2.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. Details of the daily programme and meeting rooms can be found on notice boards at the United Nations Complex at Gigiri, on this website and will also appear in the Daily Journal. Registration Registration of participants will start on Sunday, 4 May at 10 a.m. at the United Nations Complex at Gigiri. Participants are requested to hand in their credentials at the registration desk. General information will also be available at the desk. Distribution of statements It would be appreciated if texts of prepared speeches could be made available to the secretariat in advance of the session. Copies of the text should be handed to the conference officer: 17 copies will be required for the secretariat and an additional 250 copies should be provided if delegations wish to have their representatives' statements generally distributed. Please inform the secretariat of the number of copies of documents required by your delegation by completing the relevant form, which will be available at the document counters in the meeting rooms. Exhibitions Both member States and partners are invited to display, during the session, exhibits related to the themes and issues to be discussed. Guidelines for the presentation of these exhibitions, which in the past have enriched the exchange of experience and knowledge during the Governing Council , as well as information on space and other facilities available at the conference venue, will be communicated to all participants shortly. Delegations who wish to exhibit should the Information Services Section. List of participants An advance provisional list of participants based on replies received will be issued as soon as possible after the opening meeting. Receptions Information regarding official receptions will be given to delegations during the session. It would be appreciated if delegations intending to hold receptions would provide the relevant details to the secretariat as early as possible. Bureau In line with the Governing Council's Rules of Procedure, the Bureau will consist of a Chair, three Vice-Chairs and a Rapporteur, elected with due regard to the principle of equitable geographical distribution and rotation among the groups. One of the Vice-Chairs will chair the sessional committee of the whole. The remaining two will assist the Chair of the Governing Council directly in his or her duties in the plenary and chair the ad hoc drafting committee. Plenary Following consultations with the Bureau of the Governing Council, it is recommended that the plenary divide its work into two segments: first, a high-level segment of ministers, heads of delegations and mayors, to be held on the first day and the morning of the second day; and second, dialogues with local authorities and other partners to be held on the afternoon of the second day and the whole of the third day. See also Provisional Timetable. 1. The High-Level segment The suggested focus for the high-level segment of ministers, heads of delegations and mayors is: Activities of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-HABITAT: progress report of the Executive Director Follow-up to the special session of the General Assembly for an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the Habitat Agenda. In order to accommodate the 60-80 delegations who normally attend the Governing Council, it is recommended that during the high-level segment, each delegation be allowed a maximum of minutes speaking time and that this limit be respected. In establishing the list of speakers for the high-level segment, precedence will be given to ministers and deputy ministers. These will be followed by other heads of government delegations and Habitat Agenda partners. 2. Dialogues with local authorities and other partners In line with resolution 16/12 of the Governing Council promoting dialogue among partners and with Governments, and with a view to increasing the participation of local authorities and other partners in the work of the Governing Council, arrangements have been made for dialogues with local authorities and other partners to be held in the plenary on Tuesday and Wednesday. These dialogues will be based on the format followed by Committee II at the Habitat II Conference in Istanbul, whereby representatives of partner groups will be given an opportunity to make a substantive presentation followed by a dialogue or discussion. To this end, local authorities and other partners are encouraged to submit, in advance, a written summary of their presentation to the secretariat for distribution to all participants ahead of the meeting. It is suggested that presentations include specific issues of strategic importance to the implementation of the work programme of UN-HABITAT for the biennium 2004-2005 (document HSP/GC/19/8). To facilitate the preparatory process for these presentations, arrangements can be made for local authorities and each group of partners to have, if required, consultations in Nairobi immediately prior to the convening of the 19th session of the Governing Council, or at any other time and venue of their choice. Partners may include NGOs, parliamentarians, the private sector as well as professionals, researchers and labour unions. Summaries of the Chair At the end of the high-level segment and dialogues with local authorities and other partners, the Chair will prepare a summary of the main issues raised in the high-level segment, and of the conclusions (or recommendations) made in the dialogues. These summaries will reflect the main thrust of the discussions and key positions stated during the two segments and will be submitted to the plenary for endorsement. Once this summary is endorsed by the Governing Council as an accurate reflection of the proceedings, the Chair's conclusions and recommendations will serve as guidelines for follow-up action by Governments, local authorities, other partners and the secretariat. Sessional committee of the whole Bearing in mind the organization of work in previous sessions of the Governing Council, and the above recommendations on the work of the plenary, the Governing Council may find it advisable to establish a sessional committee of the whole which would be given the responsibility for agenda items 6 to 11, with the remaining items being considered in the plenary. Drafting committee At the 18th session, on an informal basis, the Governing Council established an ad hoc, open ended drafting committee under the chairmanship of one of the Vice-Chairs to pre-screen draft resolutions submitted by delegations, to merg, reconcile or clarify them, as necessary, prior to consideration by the Governing Council. Continuation of this practice is recommended as it was widely acknowledged to have enhanced the efficiency of the work of the Governing Council. Links to Proposed timetable and Agenda items.