AMMAN, 25 February, 2004 - UN-HABITAT and officials of Iraqi ministries
have agreed to embark on a new Urban and Housing Rehabilitation Programme
under which UN-HABITAT will help promote sustainable post-war reconstruction.
Members of the UN-HABITAT High Level Advisory Panel for the Reconstruction
of Iraq led by UN-HABITAT’s Deputy Executive Director, Mr. Daniel Biau,
announced the new plan after talks in Amman at the weekend with the Iraqi
Minister of Public Works and Municipalities, Mrs. Nasreen Berwari, and
representatives of three other ministries.
The meeting, also attended by a team of more than 20 Iraqi experts, finalised
an integrated Urban and Housing Rehabilitation Programme and a related
fund-mobilisation strategy. Priority needs for international assistance
to this programme were estimated at US$ 369 million over the next four
years. The programme has six components - local governance and municipal
management; poverty reduction and slum upgrading; employment generation
in the construction sector, a housing finance/housing fund; a policy and
strategy for shelter; and urban information systems.
In a joint statement , the panelists endorsed the six proposals and agreed
to consolidate them into a country-wide Urban and Housing Reconstruction Programme
(UHRP) to be implemented under Iraqi ministerial leadership in close cooperation
with local authorities, the private sector and civil society. They acknowledged
that the programme should combine policy reforms at the national level, city-level
capacity building, and concrete improvements in living conditions at the neighbourhood
level. They recommended the creation of new inter-ministerial Iraqi National
Habitat Council involving national, local authorities and civil society.
Urging donors to contribute “generously” either directly or through
the UN Development Group Iraqi Trust Fund, they recommended that the programme
be placed under the responsibility and coordination of UN-HABITAT in its
role as the focal point for shelter and human settlements development,
and as the task manager for housing and urban management in the United
Nations Strategic Plan for Iraq.
For further information, please contact: Mr. Sharad Shankardass,
Spokesperson, or Ms. Zahra A. Hassan, Media Liaison, Press & Media
relations Unit, Tel: (254 20) 623153/623151, Fax: (254 20) 624060, E-mail:
habitat.press@unhabitat.org,
Website: www.unhabitat.org
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