UNITED  NATIONS	HS
	Commission on  Human Settlements	Distr.  GENERAL  HS/C/17/1/Add.1  17  March 1999    ORIGINAL: ENGLISH

Opening of the session
 

1. The seventeenth session of the Commission on Human Settlements will be opened at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 5 May 1999, by the Chairman of the Commission at its sixteenth session, or, in his absence, by one of the other officers of the Commission at its sixteenth session.

Item 1. Election of officers
 
2. In accordance with rule 12 of the rules of procedure of the Commission, the Commission will elect a Chair, three Vice-Chairs and a Rapporteur. The geographical distribution of officers elected at previous sessions of the Commission is shown in annex I below.

Documentation:

3. Under rule 11 of the rules of procedure of the Commission, the credentials of representatives must be submitted to the Executive Director at the latest before the end of the first meeting of the session of the Commission. The Bureau must then examine such credentials and report on them without delay to the Commission.

Item 3. Adoption of the agenda and organization of work.

4. Under this item the Commission will adopt its agenda for the seventeenth session and thereafter decide on the organization of work for the session. The provisional agenda was approved by the Commission at its sixteenth session, held in Nairobi from 28 April to 7 May 1997. A note by the Executive Director proposing an organizational structure and a timetable for the seventeenth session appears below in annex III and annex IV respectively.

5. Attention is drawn to the fact that, pursuant to Commission resolution 8/8 of 8 May 1985, provision has been made for a pledging meeting in the plenary on Thursday, 6 May 1999, for the announcement of voluntary contributions to the work of the Centre (see annex III below, paragraph 12).

Documentation:

Provisional agenda (HS/C/17/1) - for decision
Annotated provisional agenda and III and IV of HS/C/17/1/Add.1) - for decision

7. Under this item the Commission will consider the report of the Executive Director on the implementation of the four substantive areas of the Habitat Agenda identified by the Commission at its sixteenth session.

  8. Under this item the Commission will consider the report of the Executive Director on the implementation by UNCHS (Habitat) of the priority areas which were identified for follow-up action by the special session of the General Assembly for the purpose of an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of Agenda 21.

10. At its sixteenth session, the Commission decided to include in its provisional agenda for the seventeenth session an item entitled "Cooperation with partners". Under this item, therefore, the Commission will have for its consideration the report of the Executive Director on this subject.
 

11. The work programme of UNCHS (Habitat) is synchronized with the budgetary cycle of the United Nations as a whole. Consequently, the current 1998-1999 work programme will end on 31 December 1999. Accordingly, the Executive Director will submit to the Commission for its consideration at its seventeenth session a draft work programme and programme budget for the biennium 2000-2001.
 

12. In accordance with General Assembly resolution 32/162 of 19 December 1977, the Commission is responsible for giving overall policy guidance to the United Nations Habitat and Human Settlements Foundation, supervising the operations of the Foundation and reviewing and approving periodically the utilization of funds at the Foundation's disposal for carrying out human settlements activities. Accordingly, at its seventeenth session, the Executive Director will place before the Commission, for its consideration, proposals for the utilization of the resources of the United Nations Habitat and Human Settlements Foundation for the biennium 2000-2001.

13. Pursuant to its decision 5/22 of 7 May 1982, the Commission will also have before it, for its consideration, a report on the availability and use of all extrabudgetary resources of UNCHS (Habitat), including those of the Foundation during the biennium 2000-2001, broken down by source and activity.

(a) Joint progress report of the Executive Director of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) and the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme

(b) Cooperation with agencies and organizations within the United Nations system, intergovernmental organizations outside the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations

and

(c) Matters arising out of the resolutions of major legislative organs of the United Nations and other intergovernmental bodies which are brought to the attention of the Commission

14. The Commission, in its resolution 8/14 of 8 May 1985, and the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in its decision 13/12 of 23 May 1985, decided to include in their respective agendas for future sessions an item on cooperation between UNCHS (Habitat) and UNEP, and to discuss the item on the basis of a progress report prepared jointly by the Executive Directors of the two organizations. Accordingly, under this item, the Commission will have before it the report which has been prepared jointly by UNCHS (Habitat) and UNEP as called for in the above-mentioned resolutions.

15. Pursuant to its resolution 11/7 of 11 April 1988, entitled "Coordination and cooperation with agencies and organizations within the United Nations system", and General Assembly resolution 34/114 of 14 December 1979, entitled "Global report on human settlements and periodic reports on international cooperation and assistance on human settlements", the Commission will also have before it, for its consideration, a report by the Executive Director on cooperation between UNCHS (Habitat) and agencies and organizations within the United Nations system, intergovernmental organizations outside the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations.

16. Under this item, the Commission will also be apprised of relevant matters arising out of the decisions of the major legislative organs of the United Nations, particularly the fifty-second and fifty-third sessions of the General Assembly, and other relevant intergovernmental bodies, since the sixteenth session of the Commission.

17. Accordingly, among the issues which will be considered under this item is the important decision of the General Assembly, in its resolution 53/180, to convene a special session of the General Assembly in the year 2001 for an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the outcome of the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II). In the same resolution, the General Assembly also decided that the Commission on Human Settlements should serve as the Preparatory Committee for the Special session.
 

18. Under this item, the Commission will consider the report of the Executive Director containing proposals and preliminary outlines of the themes that could be considered by the Commission at its eighteenth and future sessions.
 

19. Under this item, the Commission will consider matters which, although not covered under any particular agenda item, are believed to merit its attention.

Item 14. Provisional agenda and other arrangements for the eighteenth
session of the Commission
 

20. Under this item, the Commission will adopt a provisional agenda for its eighteenth session and decide on the date and other arrangements for that session.

21. In accordance with paragraph 6, section II, of General Assembly resolution 32/162 of 19 December 1977, the Commission will adopt the report on the work of its seventeenth session for submission to the General Assembly through the Economic and Social Council.

Item 16. Closure of the session

 
 

Year	Session of the Commission	Chair	Vice-Chair	Rapporteur
1978	First	Western European and other States (Sweden)	African States (Malawi)  Eastern European States (Poland)  Latin American States (Mexico)	Asian States (Philippines)
1979	Second	African States (Kenya)	Asian States (Pakistan)  Latin American States (Mexico)  Western European and other States (Sweden)	Eastern European States (Poland)
1980	Third	Latin American States (Mexico)	African States (Nigeria)  Asian States (Iraq)  Eastern European States (USSR)	Western European and other States (Netherlands)
1981	Fourth	Asian States (Philippines)	African States (Lesotho)  Eastern European States (Hungary)  Western European and other States (Federal Republic of Germany)	Latin American States (Jamaica)
1982	Fifth	Eastern European States (USSR)	Asian States (Sri Lanka)  Latin American States (Jamaica)  Western European and other States (Canada)	African States (Egypt)
1983	Sixth	Western European and other States (Finland)	African States (Zambia)  Eastern European States (Bulgaria)  Latin American States (Argentina)	Asian States (Bangladesh)
1984	Seventh	African States (Gabon)	Asian States (India)  Latin American States (Chile)  Western European and other States (United States of America)	Eastern European States (USSR)
1985	Eighth	Latin American States (Jamaica)	African States (Tunisia)  Asian States (Sri Lanka)  Eastern European States (Hungary)	Western European and other States (Greece)
1986	Ninth	Western European and other States (Turkey)	African States (Kenya)  Asian States (Bangladesh)  Eastern European States (Poland)	Latin American States (Chile)
1987	Tenth	Eastern European States (Bulgaria)	Asian States (Indonesia)  Latin American States (Colombia)  Western European and other States (Finland)	African States (Kenya)
1988	Eleventh	Asian States (India)	African States (Botswana)  Latin American States (Brazil)  Western European and other States (United Kingdom)	Eastern European States (Poland)
1989	Twelfth	Latin American States (Colombia)	African States (Gabon)  Eastern European States (Hungary)  Western European and other States (United States of America)	Asian States (Sri Lanka)
1991	Thirteenth	African States (Zimbabwe)	Asian States (Sri Lanka)  Eastern European States (USSR)  Latin American States (Brazil)	Western European and other States (Netherlands)
1993	Fourteenth	Western European and other States (Finland)	African States (Uganda)  Asian States (Philippines)  Eastern European States (Romania)	Latin American States (Chile)
1995	Fifteenth	Eastern European States (Russian Federation)	Asian States (Indonesia)  Latin American States (Venezuela)  Western European and other States (United Kingdom)	African States (Cameroon)
1997	Sixteenth	Asian States (Bangladesh)	African States (Kenya)  Latin American States (Mexico)  Western European and other States (Norway)	Eastern European States (Romania)
Under the principle of geographical rotation provided for in rule 12, paragraph 2, of the Commission's rules of procedure, the following regional groups should provide candidates for the offices in question for the seventeenth session of the Commission:
1999	Seventeenth	Latin American States	African States  Eastern European States  Western European and other States	Asian States

 

AFRICAN STATES (16)
Algeria (1999)
Benin (1999)
Cameroon (2002)
Democratic Republic of the Congo (2002)
Ethiopia (2000)
Gabon (2002)
Gambia(2002)
Kenya (1999)
Liberia (2000)
Malawi (2000)
Mali (2002)
Namibia (2000)
Sudan (1999)
Tunisia (1999)
Zambia (2000)
(2 vacancies)

ASIAN STATES (13)
Bangladesh (2000)
China (2000)
India (1999)
Indonesia (2000)
Iran, Islamic Republic of (2002)
Japan (2002)
Jordan (1999)
Pakistan (2002)
Philippines (1999)
Republic of Korea (2000)
Sri Lanka (1999)
United Arab Emirates (1999)
Viet Nam (2002)
 

LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN STATES (10)

Argentina (2002)
Barbados (1999)
Bolivia (2002)
Brazil (2002)
Chile (2002)
Colombia (1999)
Ecuador (2000)
Jamaica (2000)
Mexico (1999)
Venezuela (2000)

EASTERN EUROPEAN STATES (6)
Belarus (2000)
Bulgaria (1999)
Czech Republic (1999)
Lithuania (2002)
Poland (2000)
Russian Federation (2002)

WESTERN EUROPEAN AND OTHER STATES (13)

Belgium (2000)
Denmark (1999)
Finland (2002)
France (2000)
Germany (1999)
Italy (2000)
Netherlands (2000)
Norway (1999)
Spain (1999)
Sweden (2000)
Turkey (2002)
United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland (2002)
United States of America (2002)

1. The Commission may find it conducive to the efficient conduct of its work during the seventeenth session to adopt the specific organizational arrangements set out below.

A. Bureau

2. In accordance with rule 12 of the Commission's rules of procedure, the Bureau should consist of a Chair, three Vice-Chairs and a Rapporteur, elected with due regard to the principle of equitable geographical distribution and rotation among the groups. Annex I shows the geographical distribution of members of the Bureau at the Commission's previous sessions.
 

3. As provided for in rule 13 of the Commission's rules of procedure, two of the Vice-Chairs should be designated to chair the sessional committees of the whole referred to below. The remaining Vice-Chair would assist the Chair of the Commission directly in his or her duties (at its sixteenth session, this Vice-Chair was also designated to chair the ad hoc drafting committee which was set up at the session).

B. Plenary
 

4. Following consultations with the Bureau of the Commission on Human Settlements and the Committee of Permanent Representatives to UNCHS (Habitat), it is recommended that the plenary divide its work into two segments: first, a high-level segment of ministers, heads of delegations and mayors, which would be held on the first two days; and, second, dialogues with local authorities and other partners to be held on the third and fourth days.

C. High-level segment (first segment of the plenary)
 

5. It is suggested that the high-level segment of ministers, heads of delegations and mayors focus its discussions on the following three main issues: first, implementation of the Habitat Agenda (item 5 of the provisional agenda); second, cooperation with partners (items 8 and 11 (b) of the provisional agenda); and, third, the report of the United Nations Task Force on Environment and Human Settlements, including the ongoing revitalization and restructuring of UNCHS (Habitat).
 

6. Second, and with a view to accommodating the 60-80 delegations who normally attend sessions of the Commission, it is recommended that, during the high-level segment, each delegation be allowed a maximum of five minutes only and that this limit be strictly adhered to. In this context it should be noted that part of the morning sessions for the first and second days will be taken up by organizational matters and pledging for the Foundation, respectively.

D. Dialogues with local authorities and other partners (second segment of te plenary)

7. In operative paragraph 2 of its resolution 16/12, the Commission decided "to provide, at future sessions of the Commission, opportunities for partners to engage in a dialogue among themselves and with Governments; such dialogues may, as appropriate, serve as an input to the deliberations of the Commission".

8. Pursuant to the above decision, and with a view to increasing the participation and contribution of local authorities and other partners in the work of the Commission, arrangements have been made for dialogues with local authorities and other partners to be held in the plenary on the third and fourth days of the session, as indicated in annex IV below. These dialogues will be based on the format followed by Committee II at the Habitat II conference in Istanbul, whereby the representatives of each group of partners will be given an opportunity to make a substantive presentation followed by an informal discussion between Governments and partners on the presentations.

9. To this end, local authorities and other partners are encouraged to submit, in advance, a written summary of their presentation to the secretariat, for distribution to all participants ahead of the meeting. They are also encouraged to focus their presentations on specific issues of strategic importance in the implementation of the work programme of UNCHS (Habitat) for the biennium 2000-2001 (HS/C/17/8).

10. It is expected that the presentations to be made by representatives of local authorities and other partners will be the result of a preparatory process (consultations) by these groups, including non-governmental organizations, parliamentarians and the private sector, as well as professionals, researchers and labour unions. Arrangements would be made for local authorities and each group of partners to have, if they so wish, consultations in Nairobi immediately prior to the convening of the seventeenth session of the Commission, or at any other time and venue of their choice.

11. Detailed information on the organization of these dialogues is attached in annex VI below.

E. Summaries by the Chair

12. At the end of the high-level segment and the dialogues with local authorities and other partners, the Chair, drawing from the deliberations in the two plenary segments, will prepare a summary by the Chair of, first, the main issues raised in the High-level Segment and, second, the conclusions (or recommendations) made in the dialogues. These summaries would reflect the main thrust of the discussions and key positions stated during the two segments and would be submitted to the plenary for endorsement.
 

13. Once endorsed by the Commission as an accurate reflection of what transpired in the high-level segment and in the dialogues with partners, the Chair's conclusions and recommendations would serve as guidelines for follow-up action by Governments, local authorities, other partners and the secretariat.

F. Pledging meeting
 

14. Pursuant to resolution 8/8 of the Commission, provision has been made for a pledging meeting in the plenary on Thursday, 6 May, for announcements of voluntary contributions to the United Nations Habitat and Human Settlements Foundation.

G. Sessional committees of the whole
 

15. Bearing in mind the organization of work in previous sessions of the Commission, and the above recommendations on the work of the plenary, the Commission may find it advisable to establish two sessional committees of the whole: Committee I and Committee II. Committee I would be given the responsibility for items 4, 6, 7 (a), and 7 (b), and Committee II would be given the responsibility for items 9, 10, 11 (a), 11 (c), 12 and 13 with the remaining items being considered in the plenary.
 

H. Drafting committee
 

16. At the sixteenth session, on an informal basis, the Commission established an ad hoc, open-ended drafting committee under the chairmanship of one of the Vice-Chairs to pre-screen draft resolutions submitted by the delegations, with a view to merging, reconciling or clarifying them, as necessary, prior to consideration by the Commission. The Commission may wish to continue this practice, which was widely acknowledged to have enhanced the efficiency of its work.

I. Proposed timetable
 

17. For the ease of reference of participants, a proposed timetable for the seventeenth session of the Commission on Human Settlements is presented in annex IV.
 

18. A list of the agenda items for the seventeenth session of the commission, with corresponding documents, is presented in annex V.

* The Drafting Committee will start its work, informally, from Monday, 10 May 1999.

** As the Preparatory Committee is scheduled to hold its meeting on 13 - 14 May 1999, arrangements for meetings of the Committee on Friday, 14 May 1999 will be made should it become necessary. However, since one of the main items on its agenda (Organization of work for the first substantive session of the Preparatory Committee) will also be considered by the Commission under item 11 (c) of the provisional agenda, the possibilities of reducing the duration of the organizational session by one day will be considered by the Bureau at its first meeting.

1. At its last session, the Commission decided to provide at its future sessions opportunities for partners to engage in a dialogue among themselves and with governments and that such dialogues may, as appropriate, serve as an input to the work of the Commission. In the same resolution, partners were also invited to propose activities for the inter-sessional periods of the Commission in order to accelerate the implementation of the Habitat Agenda, while the Executive Director was requested to actively involve partners with the Centre's work through, where appropriate, the provision of inputs to the Centre in its development, implementation and evaluation of the work programme.

A. Schedule

2. The dialogues with partners will be held in plenary during three sessions on Friday morning, 7 May; Friday afternoon, 7 May; and Monday morning, 10 May.

B. Focus

3. The dialogues will take place only two years prior to the Special Session of the General Assembly for an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the Habitat Agenda (Istanbul + 5). Therefore, it is important for the presentations and the discussion to be anchored to substantive themes and to concrete and operational follow-up action plans.

4. Given the central importance of the local-level implementation of the Habitat Agenda, as well as the Istanbul Declaration's recognition of local authorities as the Governments' closest, and essential, partner in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda, the first dialogue will be devoted to partnership between Governments and local authorities.

5. The second and third dialogues will be of a thematic nature, in line with the highly successful experience of the "Habitat Dialogues for the Twenty-First Century" held in Istanbul. Their themes and topics, as described below, are closely linked to the Habitat Agenda goals and to the points of emphasis stressed in the new strategic vision for UNCHS (Habitat).

C. Themes

 
6. In accordance with the role of the Commission as the intergovernmental body directly responsible for the follow-up to Habitat II, the overarching theme of the three dialogues will be cooperation between Governments and partners in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda.

7. In order to achieve this, the following criteria have been adopted with regard to themes:

(a) Linkages to the proposed new profile of Habitat as the "United Nations City Agency", its draft work programme for 2000-2001, and its two global campaigns on secure tenure and Urban Governance;
 

(b) Choice of specific themes as entry points for an action-oriented discussion on the implementation of the two main goals of the Habitat Agenda;

 

(c) Emphasis on the presentation of partners' action plans linked to the proposed work programme for the biennium 2000-2001.
 

D. Format

8. The dialogues will be based on the format adopted by Committee II of the Habitat II Conference. Accordingly, the designated representatives of local authorities and other groups of Habitat Agenda partners will make a substantive presentation followed by a discussion between governments and partners.

9. Where possible, the dialogues will be introduced by an eminent world personality and the discussion guided by a professional moderator.

10. It is hoped that the discussion will be of an informal, frank and substantive nature, and that its results, in line with the mandate given by the Commission, will be action-oriented.

E. Expected results

11. In accordance with the reporting format adopted at Habitat II, a synthesis of the debate will be prepared by the Chair and presented to the Commission for adoption as the Chair's summary.

12. The Chair's summary will be an integral part of the official records of the Commission's session.

13. In line with Commission resolution 16/12, it is expected that the dialogues will also serve as an input to the deliberations of the Commission, to the work of the Organizational Session of the Preparatory Committee for Istanbul + 5, and to the implementation of the work programme 2000-2001 to be reviewed and adopted by the Commission.

DIALOGUE I: Governments and Local Authorities

 
Friday 7 May 1999, 10 am-1 pm

Theme:     Partnerships between Governments and local authorities for the implementation of the Habitat Agenda.
Topics:     Local implementation of the Habitat Agenda
Global campaigns and the new strategic vision for Habitat partnerships in their implementation of Habitat work programme 2000-2001
Action plan for Istanbul+5, including the World Charter of Local Self- Government

Panelists: Executive Director
President, WACLAC
Mayors from different regions of the world

Chair: Chair of plenary

DIALOGUE II: The divided city

Friday 7 May 1999, 3-6 pm

DIALOGUE III: Shelter and secure tenure for the urban poor

Monday 10 May, 10 am - 1 pm

Chair: Chair of Plenary