| UN-HABITAT signs four MoUs
At an official signing ceremony on 17 December 2003 held in the Geneva Headquarters of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the High Commissioner, Mr. Ruud Lubbers, and the Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka, Under Secretary-General, signed an operational Memorandum of Understanding opening the opportunity for operational linkages between the mandates of both organisations.
- UN-HABITAT and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) signed a memorandum of understanding on 4 February 2004 to provide a cooperation framework in support of partnership commitments made at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002.
- UN HABITAT and UNESCAP have joined forces to improve living conditions of urban poor in Asia. On Thursday, 26 February 2004, in Bangkok, UN-HABITAT and UNESCAP signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in a bid to ensure that the two organizations work more effectively towards reducing urban poverty in Asia.
- A Memorandum of Understanding between UN-HABITAT and UNOPS was signed on 12 February 2004 by the Executive Heads of both organizations, Mrs. Tibaijuka and Mr. Nigel Fisher. The detailed MoU establishes the terms and conditions for joint shelter and human settlements projects at country level. It should help increase the volume of operational activities implemented by both parties, through common fund-raising efforts.
Africities mayors pledge better urban services Mayors and local government officials from across Africa, in the first week of December 2003, concluded the Third Africities Summit in Yaoundé, Cameroon, with a pledge to work harder and cooperate more closely to provide better urban services to millions of citizens living in slums and informal settlements. They elected Father Smangaliso Mkhatshwa, Mayor of the South African capital, Tshwane (Pretoria), President of a new African organisation of local governments.
Norway contributes over $1 million
The Norwegian government, on 5 December 2003 in Nairobi, signed an agreement with UN-HABITAT committing 10.24 million Norwegian Kroner (US $ 1.3. million) for the Water and Sanitation Trust Fund.
Germany trebles support to UN-HABITAT
On 21 January 2004, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder pledged to increase his country’s support for UN-HABITAT threefold to 500,000 euros for core funding to the agency over and above German support for specific programmes.
In Afghanistan
A new National Solidarity Programme aimed at strengthening a network of some 30,000 self-governing local community institutions in Afghanistan has been established by the government with the support of UN-HABITAT. The programme, started in December 2003 and set to expand rapidly in coming months, represents an important milestone in the Afghan Government’s reconstruction efforts to help rebuild trust among themselves and with the government.
Women-friendly cities, Fukuoka, 11 March 2004
Three Asian cities have been named as winners of UN-HABITAT awards for their women-friendly policies. The cities are Cebu and Naga in the Philippines, and Visakhapatnam in India. The award ceremony marking International Women’s Day 8 March 2004 was held with the mayors of the three cities. Remembering Tara Chana
 Our colleague, Mr. Tara Chana (right) who recently passed away, will be sorely missed by all of his colleagues at UN-HABITAT. He was 56. Tara, as we knew him, was regarded as a friend by those who worked for him, respected by his superiors and loved by people in many countries who directly benefited from his unstinting efforts to help bring improvements to their quality of life.
“We valued him as a thoughtful, considerate and kind person. We remember Tara as someone who always went out of his way to help the poorest of the poor, often in the most dire circumstances. Indeed, we remember him as someone who was not only extremely diligent in his work, but as a man who selflessly dedicated himself to the cause of UN-HABITAT,” said UN-HABITAT Executive Director, Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka.
“It is through his efforts, you can be sure, that there are people today in northern Iraq, Uganda, Zimbabwe – to name some of the most difficult and challenging places where he worked – who have benefited in no small way from his self-sacrifice, his personal courage and his professional achievements,” she said
Future Events 12th session of Commission on Sustainable Development
New York, U.S.A.
19-30 March 2004
For more information:
http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/csd12/csd12.htm
Second World Urban Forum
Barcelona, Spain
13-17 September 2004
Theme: Cities : crossroads of culture, inclusiveness and integration?
For more information:
http://www.unhabitat.org/wuf
E-mail: Joseph.Mungai@unhabitat.org
XXXII IAHS World Congress on Housing
University of Trento, Trento, Italy
21-25 September 2004
Theme: Sustainability of the Housing Projects
For more information:v
Email: antonio.frattari@ing.unitn.itor email: ural@itu.edu.tr
World Habitat Day 2004
Nairobi, Kenya
4 October 2004
Theme: Cities - engines of rural development
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