The 23rd Session of the Governing Council of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) will be held from 11 to 15 April 2011 at the UN-HABITAT headquarters in Nairobi, Republic of Kenya, under the theme of Sustainable Urban Development through Expanding Equitable Access to Land, Housing, Basic Services and Infrastructure.
The Governing Council is a subsidiary body of the General Assembly (GA) of the United Nations and serves as the intergovernmental decision-making body of UN-Habitat. It reports to the GA through the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Its main functions were those of the Commission on Human Settlements (defined by Resolution 32/162 of December 1977) which include:
- Setting UN-Habitat's policies by developing and promoting policy objectives, priorities and guidelines regarding existing and planned programmes of work in the field of human settlements;
- Overseeing working relations with partners by following closely the activities of the organisations of the UN system and other international organisations in the field of human settlements and to propose ways and means by which the over-all policy objectives and goals in the field of human settlements within the UN system might best be achieved;
- Approving UN-Habitat's biennial Work Programme and Budget.
