ENB:11:03
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF HABITAT II
The Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) will be held in Istanbul, Turkey, from 3-14 June 1996 ' the 20th anniversary of the first Habitat Conference in Vancouver in 1976. Habitat II received its impetus from the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development and General Assembly resolution 47/180. The Secretary-General of the Conference is Dr. Wally N'Dow. The objectives for Habitat II are: (1) in the long term, to arrest the deterioration of global human settlements conditions and ultimately create the conditions for achieving improvements in the living environment of all people on a sustainable basis, with special attention to the needs and contributions of women and vulnerable social groups whose quality of life and participation in development have been hampered by exclusion and inequality, affecting the poor in general; and (2) to adopt a general statement of principles and commitments and formulate a related global plan of action capable of guiding national and international efforts through the first two decades of the next century.
The organizational session of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) for Habitat II was held at UN Headquarters in New York from 3-5 March 1993. Delegates elected the Bureau and took decisions regarding the organization and timing of the process. Members of the Bureau include: the Chair, Martii Lujanen (Finland); Vice Chairs Pamela Mboya (Kenya), Wijepala Dharmasiri Ailapperuma (Sri Lanka) and Rufat N. Novruzov (Azerbaijan); and the Rapporteur, Marjorie Ulloa (Ecuador). Turkey, the host country, is an ex officio member of the Bureau.