UNITED  NATIONS	HS
	Commission on  Human Settlements	Distr.  GENERAL  HS/C/17/13  5 January 1999  ORIGINAL: ENGLISH

The present report is submitted to the Commission in accordance with standing practice regarding the preparation of special themes for the consideration by the Commission at its next and future sessions.

On the basis of the revitalization process of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (UNCHS) (Habitat) and the need to focus on a limited number of well defined objectives, the secretariat proposes two themes which are central to the implementation of the Habitat Agenda: first, security of tenure and, second urban governance. The consideration of these two themes by the Commission will provide a complementary framework for assessing progress in implementing the Habitat Agenda during the process leading to the special session of the General Assembly for an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the outcome of Habitat II in 2001. The selection of these themes will also allow the Commission to lend its authority and political support to the crucial role of security of tenure and urban governance in the implementation of policies and programmes on adequate shelter for all and on sustainable urban development.

As further detailed in the attached outlines, the two theme papers would help define the scope and relevance of security of tenure and urban governance in the context of implementing the Habitat Agenda. They would review existing experiences and their impact on urban poverty reduction, suggest strategies for improvement, including strategic and operational partnerships with local authorities, non-governmental organizations and civil society, and make proposals on the role of international cooperation in promoting programmes on security of tenure and urban governance.

1. As the world faces urbanization rates unprecedented in history, one of the greatest areas of concern is the physical capacity of cities and towns. Of crucial importance will be the manner in which Governments respond to this phenomenon - the urbanization of poverty - and the adoption of a pragmatic and inclusive approach.

2. The proposed theme paper will make clear the importance that should be attached to the issue of secure tenure and the benefits that can accrue from a positive and proactive policy approach to the issue. The essential difference between urban areas that offer a future to their citizens and those that deny the urban poor their fundamental rights will be determined by the success of the former in giving the urban poor a stake in the towns and cities, recognizing their rights and placing obligations on them to match their responsibilities.

3. The theme paper will set out a clear definition of secure tenure, in its formal and legal forms, and will also address informal and non-legalistic approaches, including different cultural interpretations of secure tenure. Alternative ways of granting security of tenure in human settlements will be discussed, highlighting successful and innovative examples within different cultural contexts. The theme paper will also address rights associated with security of tenure, so that UNCHS (Habitat) will be able to provide clear benchmarks as to what constitutes a violation of those rights. The benchmarks may be used to measure progress on the issue of secure tenure around the world.

4. In its paragraph 40, the Habitat Agenda recognized access to land and security of tenure as a necessary precondition for the development of sustainable human settlements affecting both urban and rural areas. Secure tenure is also seen as a vital component for facilitating the stability of individuals, families, households and communities. The theme paper will discuss security of tenure as a global issue, with equal relevance to developed and developing countries.

5. Secure tenure is also regarded as one of the most significant stabilizing factors contributing to economic activity, and fostering to the propensity of individuals and households to invest resources in the locality where security of tenure has been obtained.

6. The theme paper will examine actual experiences from around the world where the granting of secure tenure has led directly and in a verifiable manner to improved opportunities for a more sustainable development and contributed to the reduction of urban poverty. In this context, particular attention will be paid to the relationship between the granting of secure tenure and changes in access to, and the cost of, microcredit.

7. This section will consider the variety of ways and means through which security of tenure can be provided. Consideration will also have to be given to the sensitivities of some players to this topic, which can cause controversy in certain countries or cities.

8. The theme paper should therefore focus on the positive outcomes of successful approaches to secure tenure and provide comparisons where sustainable development has been hampered through the denial of secure tenure. This section should also examine ways in which the provision of a set of legislative guidelines and mechanisms could assist local and national policies.

9. International cooperation on this issue will be examined at a number of levels, including the following:

    (a) At the local level, local authorities, community-based organizations and non-governmental organizations dealing with issues of tenure regularization and the management of land markets;

    (b) At the national level, the normative and enabling role of central Governments in promoting land policy reforms conducive to open land markets, and ensuring land and property rights; and

    (c) At the international level, technical assistance, including from the United Nations system, the exchange of experiences, the dissemination of best practice, paying particular attention to developing countries and countries with economies in transition; and ensuring the global monitoring of forced evictions.

10. Points subject to discussion could include, inter alia, the following:

    (a) Why security of tenure should be primarily associated with freehold title;

    (b) How other approaches, operating in different cultural contexts, could guarantee equal rights to secure tenure without discrimination or differentiation on the basis of economic status, race or gender;

    (c) Changes that could be made to the way in which credit is made available to the urban and rural poor, and the significance of secure tenure in that regard;

    (d) Linkages between, on the one hand, access to security of tenure for the poor and, on the other, political security, human rights, peace and social equity.

11. The purpose of the theme paper will be to explore and demonstrate the importance of good governance to the implementation of the Habitat Agenda. The paper will endeavour as to make the concepts, structures and practices associated with urban governance more tangible and to relate them to the second major theme of Habitat II, sustainable human settlements in an urbanizing world.

12. Social and political pressure to meet the demands and expectations of urban communities for infrastructure and community services, access to land, shelter and employment, as well as a range of other services, can lead Governments to ignore the importance of sound governance. In its chapter IV, section D, on capacity-building and institutional development, the Habitat Agenda highlights the need for participatory approaches to urban governance and for mechanisms to bring about more transparent styles of government.

13. As noted in the new strategic vision of UNCHS (Habitat), good governance can be defined by how well a population and its representatives identify and deal with major social, economic and environmental issues that stand in the way of an improved quality of life for all its members over time. The theme paper will investigate the concepts and benefits of an active urban citizenry, as one of the key elements to successful city management and the elaboration of inclusive urban development strategies.

14. The theme paper will be based on a number of case-studies highlighting the merits of different approaches to the concept of urban governance and the results of such approaches. The results will be evaluated through an examination of the different policies, structures and procedures that are adopted in various contexts and will identify normative policy principles arising from those case studies.

15. The theme paper will also pay particular attention to the role of women in sustainable urban development, identifying innovative methods of ensuring their involvement in urban governance, and to the importance of women's involvement in the overall goal of urban poverty reduction.

16. An important contribution to the theme paper will be the analysis of the first results of the global campaign on urban governance, which is proposed as the entry point of one of the two subprogrammes of the UNCHS (Habitat) work programme for the period 2000-2001.

17. The theme paper will attempt to isolate and benchmark the different elements of urban governance, so that these may be understood and, ideally, measured. This will allow UNCHS (Habitat) to investigate the merits of an urban governance index, which would help local authorities improve their policies and practices of governance.

18. The theme paper will also examine ways in which UNCHS (Habitat) can take the lead in designing consultative strategies that involve partners at all levels in activities which favour better urban governance. These will include promoting:

    (a) The rights of citizens to information;

    (b) Policies and procedures that encourage sound, accountable and transparent administrative practices;

    (c) More open styles of government; and

    (d) Policies that address issues of marginalization and social exclusion.

19. Good governance is on the priority agenda of virtually all United Nations agencies and international lending institutions. Under this section, the paper will explore the beneficial effects that good urban governance, including initial efforts and results in this direction, can have for the mobilization of development aid and direct foreign investment. It will also identify the important role that the Commission and the Centre can play in linking good urban governance to the improvement of the living conditions of the urban poor through targeted human settlements programmes.

20. The Commission may wish to deliberate on normative initiatives and action-oriented guidelines for the promotion of good urban governance at the international, national and local levels. These may include:

    (a) Global report on urban governance, based on the analysis of on-going programmes;

    (b) Guidelines for the collection and dissemination of good practices on urban governance; and

    (c) Criteria and support mechanisms for decentralized cooperation to share and mainstream normative and operational experiences of good urban governance.