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GENERAL ASSEMBLY HIGHLIGHTS

The Second Committee of the UN General Assembly addressed Habitat II from 8 - 16 November 1994. Dr. Wally N'Dow, Secretary-General of Habitat II, said that at the turn of the century, only one in 10 people lived in cities; when it ends, half of the world's population will be urban dwellers. Today the bulk of urban population growth occurs in developing countries.

A draft resolution on the 'United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II)' (A/C.2/49/L.27) was first tabled by the co-sponsors, Algeria, on behalf of the G- 77 and China, and Turkey. After informal consultations by members of the Second Committee, the Vice Chair, Raiko Raichev (Bulgaria) submitted a new draft resolution (A/C.2/49/L.61). This resolution was adopted as orally amended by the Committee on Friday, 9 December 1994. The operative part of the resolution, as contained in L.61, takes note of the reports of the PrepCom on its organizational session and first substantive session and endorses the decisions contained therein. The resolution approves the PrepCom's recommendation that a third substantive session of the PrepCom be held at UN Headquarters early in 1996 to complete the preparatory work for the Conference. The resolution also:

  • welcomes the recommendations made by the PrepCom on preparations at the country, regional and global levels, the draft statement of principles and commitments and the draft global plan of action;
  • takes note, with interest, the call by the UN Secretary-General to give the Conference the dimensions of a 'city summit,' and reaffirms its decision that the Conference should be held at the highest possible level of participation;
  • recommends that the global plan of action of Habitat II take into account the outcome of all relevant UN global conferences;
  • requests that all relevant organs, organizations, agencies and programmes intensify their efforts and cooperate closely in preparation for the Conference;
  • recommends that sustainable human settlements be given appropriate attention within the agenda for development;
  • expresses appreciation to those States and organizations that have made or pledged financial or other contributions in support of the Conference and renews its appeal to all Governments and UN organizations, agencies and programmes to contribute to the voluntary fund;
  • requests that the work of the PrepCom and the Habitat II Secretariat should continue to be funded within existing UN budgetary resources to ensure that the Conference will be treated adequately with respect to other global international UN conferences; and;
  • encourages relevant interested NGOs to participate in and contribute to the Conference and its preparatory process and to contribute to increasing world awareness of the problems and potential of human settlements.
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