Ministers Worldwide Gather to Discuss Human SettlementsMinisters and mayors worldwide gathered here Monday to discuss the need to strengthen and revitalize the UN Commission on Human Settlements (Habitat)."If ever there was a time for rebuilding and reinforcing Habitat, it is now," said Anna Tibaijuka, who was appointed as executive director of the Habitat by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan five months ago. "Over 30 years ago, at about the time when the U.N. Commission on Human Settlements was first established, there were only an estimated 1.5 billion urban dwellers out of a world population of about 4 billion people," Tibaijuka told the 18th session of the Habitat. Noting that today the urban population has doubled to 3 billion, half of the world's population, Tibaijuka said such rapid urban expansion has brought a lot of problems like increased poverty in urban areas. More than 1 billion urban dwellers now live without adequate shelter and basic services, she said. The Habitat has launched the Campaign for Secure Tenure and the Good Urban Governance Campaign, which were adopted by the 17th session of the Habitat in 1999. "These campaigns are central to the success of the revitalized Habitat," said Tibaijuka. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan also sent his message to the meeting, saying that in the Millennium Declaration adopted at the Millennium Summit last September, the specific pledge was to improve the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by the year 2020. The Habitat has a leading role to play in helping the international community to meet the challenge, Annan said. Among the key issues to be considered in the five-day meeting will be the revitalization of the Habitat, its work program and the proposed budget for the biennium 2002 to 2003. |
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