UNITED NATIONS	HS
	Commission on Human Settlements	Distr. GENERAL HS/C/17/12 7 April 1999 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH

The present report identifies matters arising out of the resolutions of the fifty-second and fifty-third sessions of the General Assembly, which call for action by the Commission, or are of direct relevance to its work. The report describes, where necessary, the activities and substantive contributions of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) in response to these resolutions and, where necessary, seeks guidance from the Commission as to further follow-up actions.

The full texts of all the resolutions mentioned herein are being circulated to the Commission in document HS/C/17/CRP.3.

        1. At its fifty-second session, the General Assembly adopted resolution 52/190 of 18 December 1997 entitled "Implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II)", in which it, inter-alia,:

    (a) Took note of the reports of the Commission on Human Settlements on the work of its sixteenth session and on the implementation of the Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000, and the report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II);

    (b) Requested the Secretary-General to address urgently the serious management and financial situation at the Centre to meet its responsibilities in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda, in accordance with Commission resolution 16/8;

    (c) Urged the Executive Director to take further action towards the reform of the administrative and financial management of the Centre pursuant to the recommendations of the Office of Internal Oversight Services, as well as the relevant reports of the United Nations Board of Auditors and Commission resolutions 16/8, 16/19, 16/28 and 16/29;

    (d) Requested the Secretary-General to submit to it at its fifty-third session the comprehensive and in-depth assessment of the Centre with a view to its revitalization called for in paragraph 19 of Assembly resolution 51/177, taking into account Commission resolution 16/8 and other relevant resolutions adopted by the Commission at its sixteenth session;

    (e) Urged all Governments and other actors concerned with human settlements and urban management issues, such as local authorities, relevant intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations, parliamentarians, the private sector, trade unions, academicians and other community groups, to implement fully and effectively the Habitat Agenda;

    (f) Decided to hold 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 United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), the modalities of which would be decided on at its fifty-third session; and

    (g) Invited the Economic and Social Council to consider devoting one high-level segment before the year 2001 to human settlements and the implementation of the Habitat Agenda.

2.  The actions taken by UNCHS (Habitat) towards the implementation of this resolution are contained in the progress report of the Executive Director on the activities of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) (HS/C/17/2), the report of the Executive Director on the follow-up to the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) (HS/C/17/3), and the report of the Executive Director on the special session of the General Assembly for an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the Habitat Agenda (HS/C/17/3/Add.1). With specific reference to the management of UNCHS (Habitat), the Executive Director appointed in September 1998 a Revitalization Team, composed of experts from Norway, the United Kingdom, South Africa and the United Nations Drug Control Programme. The report on their work is contained in paragraphs 6 to 24 of the report of the Executive Director, document HS/C/17/2, while the strategic vision developed by the team is contained in document HS/C/17/2/Add.2.

3. At its fifty-second session, the General Assembly also adopted resolution 52/192 of 18 December 1997 entitled "Follow-up to the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) and the future role of the Commission on Human Settlements", in which it, inter alia, gave directives on:

    (a) The framework for the functioning of the Commission on Human Settlements;

    (b) The terms of reference of the Commission;

    (c) The structure of the agenda and work programme of the Commission;

    (d) The nature of the documentation for the Commission;

    (e) The methods of work of the Commission; and

    (f) The effective functioning of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat).

4.  The implementation of this resolution is reflected in the provisional agenda, the organization of work and the documentation for the seventeenth session of the Commission and in the items being contemplated for inclusion in the provisional agenda for the eighteenth session of the Commission.

5. At its fifty-third session the General Assembly adopted resolution 53/180 of 15 December 1998 entitled "Special session of the General Assembly for an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the Habitat Agenda" in which it, inter alia,:

    (a) Took note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General concerning the modalities for the special session of the General Assembly for an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the Habitat Agenda;

    (b) Decided that the special session for an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) will be held in June 2001 for a period of three working days;

    (c) Decided to invite States members of the specialized agencies that are not Members of the United Nations to participate in the work of the special session in the capacity of observers;

    (d) Also decided that the Commission on Human Settlements, which is currently scheduled at its seventeenth and eighteenth sessions to focus on monitoring the implementation of the Habitat Agenda and assessing its impact, should serve as the preparatory committee for the special session;

    (e) Invited the Commission on Human Settlements, serving as the preparatory committee, to meet for two working days back-to-back with its forthcoming seventeenth session in order, inter alia, to elect its officers, adopt appropriate rules of procedure and consider the organization of work for its first substantive session, to be held at Nairobi for five working days in May 2000, and invited the preparatory committee, at its first substantive session, to consider the modalities, duration, date and agenda for the second substantive session, to be held in 2001; and

    (f) Invited the Economic and Social Council to devote its coordination segment in 2000 to human settlements issues and the implementation of the Habitat Agenda;

6.  The recommendations of the Executive Director on the implementation of this resolution are contained in the report of the Executive Director on the special session of the General Assembly for an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the Habitat Agenda: report of the Executive Director (HS/C/17/3/Add. 1).

7. At its fifty-second session, the General Assembly adopted resolution 52/191 of 18 December 1997, entitled "Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000", in which it, inter alia, urged Governments, in connection with the implementation of their national plans of action on human settlements, to adopt and/or strengthen integrated national shelter strategies based on the enabling approach and sustainable development, and to integrate fully the environmental dimensions in the formulation and implementation of national shelter strategies, taking into account the relevant component of Agenda 21. The General Assembly adopted the Plan of Action for the Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000 for the biennium 1998-1999, and urged Governments, relevant United Nations and private sector organizations, and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to prepare and implement their specific plan of action.

8. By this resolution the Assembly further decided to subsume thereafter the report on the implementation of the Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000 into the report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the Habitat Agenda. The attention of the Commission is consequently drawn to the report of the Executive Director on the implementation of the Habitat Agenda (HS/C/17/3), which addresses this issue, as well as the Global Strategy for shelter Plan of Action which calls on the Commission on Human Settlements at its seventeenth session, to review the implementation of the Global Strategy for Shelter and to set in motion the undertaking of the terminal review at its eighteenth session, in the year 2001.

9. At its fifty-third session, the General Assembly adopted resolution 53/188 of 15 December 1998 entitled "Implementation of and follow-up to the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development and the nineteenth special session of the General Assembly", in which it, inter-alia, emphasized that the achievement of more substantive results by the next review of the implementation of Agenda 21 in 2002 will require concerted efforts at all levels, including by Governments, and called upon all countries to fulfil their commitments to Agenda 21, and in that context called upon developed countries to fulfil the commitments they have undertaken with respect to financial resources and the transfer of environmentally sound technology.

10. The General Assembly underscored the importance of the continued active and collaborative involvement of all relevant parts of the United Nations system in the implementation of Agenda 21 and the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, and requested the Secretary-General, in close collaboration with all relevant parts of the United Nations system and taking into account the outcome of the deliberations in the Commission on Sustainable Development, to submit to the General Assembly for its consideration at future sessions, through the Economic and Social Council, an analytical report on the measures taken within the United Nations system to accelerate the implementation of Agenda 21 and of the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, including identification of constraints and recommendations on how to address those constrains.

11. The actions taken by UNCHS (Habitat) towards the implementation of this resolution are contained in the report of the Executive Director on the follow-up to the special session of the General Assembly for the purpose of an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of Agenda 21 (HS/C/17/4).

12. At its fifty-second session, the General Assembly adopted resolution 52/193 of 18 December 1997, entitled "First United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty", in which it reiterated the main objective of the Decade as that of achieving the goal of eradicating absolute poverty and reducing overall poverty substantially in the world through decisive national action and international cooperation in implementing fully and effectively the relevant resolutions and decisions of the United Nations and all agreements and commitments agreed upon at the United Nations major conferences and summits organized since 1990 as they relate to poverty eradication.

13. Expressing its concern that the number of people living in absolute poverty is still increasing, especially in developing countries, and that a majority of them are women, the General Assembly renewed its recommendation that all Governments formulate or strengthen integrated poverty eradication strategies and policies and implement national poverty eradications plans and programmes in a participatory manner, to address the structural causes of poverty, encompassing action at local, national, subregional, regional and international levels. The General Assembly reaffirmed that the causes of poverty should be addressed in the context of sectoral strategies, inter alia, those on environment, shelter, human-resource development, rural development and productive employment and of the specific needs of disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, in such a way as to increase opportunities and choices of people living in poverty and enable them to build their strengths and assets so as to reach social and economic integration.

14. In its resolution 53/198 of 15 December 1998 on the same issue, the Assembly further reaffirmed that all Governments and the United Nations system, in particular, the relevant funds, programmes and agencies, should promote an active and visible policy of mainstreaming a gender perspective and use a gender analysis as a tool for integration of a gender dimension into the planning and implementation of policies, strategies and programmes on the eradication of poverty.

15. At its fifty third session, the General Assembly also adopted resolution 53/197 of 15 December 1998, entitled "International Year of Microcredit, 2005", in which it, inter alia, invited Governments, the United Nations system, all concerned non-governmental organizations, other actors of civil society, and the media to highlight and give enhanced recognition to the role of microcredit in the eradication of poverty, its contribution to social development and its positive impact on the lives of people living in poverty.

16. In the context of these resolutions and as requested by the Commission on Human Settlements in its resolution 16/22, the Centre, with the cooperation of the Municipality of Florence, Italy, and the Swiss Development Cooperation organized the International Conference on Urban Poverty in November 1997, which led to the institutionalization of the International Forum on Urban Poverty for which the Centre serves as a secretariat. The Centre's other activities on this issue are outlined in paragraphs 46-47 of the progress report of the Executive Director on the activities of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) (HS/C/17/2).

17. At its fifty-second session, the General Assembly adopted resolution 52/81 of 12 December 1997, entitled "Follow-up to the International Year of the Family", in which it, inter alia, emphasized the equality between women and men and the respect for the rights of all family members as essential to family well-being and society as large, and invited Governments to continue actions to build family-friendly societies. It requested the Secretary-General to continue to play an active role in facilitating international cooperation within the framework of the follow-up to the International Year of the Family, to facilitate the exchange of experience and information among Governments on effective policies and strategies, and to encourage the organization of subregional and interregional meetings and relevant research.

18. Several activities and programmes of the Centre in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda incorporate strengthening of the family-objectives and family-friendly focus. These programme activities include poverty-reduction activities and shelter and infrastructure provision as reflected in the report of the Executive Director on the follow-up to the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) (HS/C/17/3).

19. At its fifty-second session, the General Assembly adopted resolution 52/93 of 12 December 1997, entitled "Improvement of the situation of women in rural areas", in which it, inter alia, invited Member States, in their efforts to implement the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, the World Conference on Human Rights, the International Conference on Population and Development, the World Summit for Social Development, the Fourth World Conference of Women and the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), bearing in mind also the Geneva Declaration for Rural Women, to attach greater importance to the improvement of the situation of rural women, including older women, in their national development strategies, paying special attention to both their practical and strategic needs, by, inter alia, designing and revising laws to ensure that women have equal access to and control over land, unmediated by male relatives, in order to end land-rights discrimination; according women secure use rights and full representation in the decision-making bodies that allocate land and other forms of property, credit, information and new technologies; and, in the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, according women full and equal rights to own land and other property, inter alia, through inheritance and land-reform programmes.

20. The General Assembly requested the international community and relevant United Nations organizations and bodies to promote further, the realization of the programmes and projects aimed at the improvement of the situation of rural women within the overall framework of integrated follow-up to recent global conferences.

21. At its fifty-third session, the General Assembly adopted resolution 53/120 of 9 December 1998, entitled "Follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women and full implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action", in which it, inter alia, welcomed the initiatives and actions taken by Governments, the United Nations system and other international organizations, including their secretariats, as well as by non-governmental organizations and other actors of civil society, towards the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted by the Conference, and called upon them to implement effectively all the critical areas of concern of the Platform for Action. It requested the Secretary-General, in keeping with Economic and Social Council resolution 1998/26, to ensure that a gender perspective is integral to all operational activities and the coordinated follow-up to recent global United Nations conferences, fully utilizing all the expertise available in the United Nation system.

22. In this connection, and in the implementation of the relevant aspects of the Habitat Agenda, the Centre has developed a comprehensive policy and action plan on gender and established a gender unit, which ensures full integration of gender perspective in the work and other activities of the Centre. The attention of the Commission is invited to paragraphs 36-38 of the progress report of the Executive Director on the Centre's activities (HS/C/17/2), which elaborate on action of the Centre on this issue.

23. At its fifty-second session, the General Assembly adopted resolution 52/108 of 12 December 1997, entitled "International Decade of the World's Indigenous People" in which it, inter alia, emphasized the importance of strengthening the human and institutional capacity of indigenous people to develop their own solutions to their problems and, for these purposes, its recommendation that the United Nations University consider the possibility of sponsoring, in each region, one or more existing institutions of higher education as centres of excellence and the diffusion of expertise, inter alia, by conducting relevant studies, and invited the Commission on Human Rights to recommend appropriate means of implementation.

24. At its fifty-third session, the General Assembly adopted resolution 53/129 of 9 December 1998, entitled "International Decade of the World's Indigenous People" in which it, inter alia, reaffirmed as a major objective of the Decade the adoption of a declaration on the rights of indigenous people, and underlined the importance of effective participation by indigenous representatives in the open-ended inter-sessional working group of the Commission on Human Rights established pursuant to Commission on Human Rights resolution 1995/32 of 3 March 1995. It recommended that the Secretary-General ensure coordinated follow-up to the recommendations concerning indigenous people of relevant world conferences.

25. The concerns of indigenous people have been incorporated within the Goals, Principles, Commitments and Global Plan of Action of the Habitat Agenda.

26. At its fifty-second session, the General Assembly adopted resolution 52/136 of 12 December 1997, entitled "Right to development", in which it, inter alia, called upon the Commission on Human Rights to consider carefully the report of the second session of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts to elaborate a strategy for the implementation and promotion of the right to development, as set forth in the Declaration on the Right to Development, in its integrated and multidimensional aspects, bearing in mind the conclusions of the Working Group on the Right to Development established by the Commission on Human Rights in its resolution 1993/22 of 4 March 1993, and the conclusions of the World Conference on Human Rights and of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, the International Conference on Population and Development, the World Summit for Social Development, the Fourth World Conference on women and the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II).

27. At its fifty third session, the General Assembly adopted resolution 53/155 of 9 December 1998, entitled "Right to development", in which it, inter alia, requested the Secretary-General to inform the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-fourth session and the General Assembly at its fifty-third session of the activities of the organizations, funds, programmes and specialized agencies of the United Nations system for the implementation of the Declaration on the Right to Development, as well as obstacles identified by them to the realization of the right to development.

28. The activities of the Centre in this context have included the organization, in collaboration with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, of an expert group meeting on "Practical aspects of human rights to adequate housing," which was held in Geneva from 9 to 11 March 1999. The expert group developed guidelines that could be applied by countries for the realization of human rights to adequate housing. A report on this expert group meeting is contained in document HS/C/17/INF/6 entitled "Practical aspects in the realization of human rights to adequate housing: guidelines".