SUMMARY OF PLENARY DISCUSSIONS AND OUTCOMES
DAY 3 – FRIDAY, 6 DECEMBER 2024
On Friday, 6 December 2024, the second session of the Executive Board of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) for the year 2024 resumed in Nairobi, Kenya.
Agenda item 10: Update by the Executive Director on the preparations for the resumed second session of the UN-Habitat Assembly
The Executive Director referred to the second session of the United Nations Habitat Assembly held from 5 to 9 June 2023 in Nairobi, during which it was decided, in Decision 2/2 on the dates of the resumed second session, and in line with Rule 9 of the Rules of Procedure, to adjourn the Assembly’s second regular session and resume it for two days on 29 and 30 May 2025, in alignment with the UN-Habitat planning cycle with the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR).
With guidance of the joint Bureaux of the UN-Habitat governing bodies, specifically the Bureau of the CPR, UN-Habitat indicated that preparations were underway for the resumed second session of the Assembly, and that the notification of the Executive Director for the resumed session would be sent to Member States and partners in December 2024, in line with the Rules of Procedure.
UN-Habitat indicated that the resumed second session would present an opportunity for UN-Habitat’s highest governing body to ensure continued oversight of the Organization’s work by Member States. Specifically, UN-Habitat indicated that the Assembly, among other matters, would be expected to approve the Strategic Plan 2026-2029 and elect the 36 members of the Executive Board which will regularly engage with the Organization in the intersessional period until 2029, when third session of the United Nations Habitat Assembly is expected to take place.
UN-Habitat further provided an update on the preparations for the resumed second session of the Assembly. The Bureau of the CPR reviewed the provisional agenda of the resumed second session of the Assembly and made minor changes, proposing two edits on agenda items 4 and 9 for clarity.
In line with the recommendations of the Bureau of the CPR, UN-Habitat indicated that the third meeting of the Open-ended meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives – to prepare for the resumed second session – would be held for three days, just prior to the Assembly, from 26 to 28 May 2025. This third meeting would include elements of a mid-term review as part of the efforts to fully align with the planning cycles of UN-Habitat with the QCPR.
As recommended by the Bureau of the CPR, UN-Habitat indicated that the outcomes of the resumed second session would focus on the unfinished business of the adjourned second session of the Assembly. As part of the outcomes of its resumed session, UN-Habitat further indicated that the Assembly would elect the 36 members of the Executive Board for a four-year term until 2029 and its new Bureau for a four-year term until 2029.
In 2025, the following elections, which were postponed from 2023, would be anticipated to take place:
- Elections of the Bureau of the CPR for a two-year term, from 2025 to 2027
- Elections of the Bureau of the Assembly for a four-year term, from 2025 to 2029
- Elections of the 36 members of the Executive Board for a four-year term, from 2025 to 2029
- Elections of the Bureau of the Executive Board for a one-year term, from 2025 to 2026
UN-Habitat concluded by briefing the Executive Board on the process towards elections in 2025.
With no interventions from Member States, the Chair closed the agenda item.
Agenda item 11: Report of the Office of Internal Oversight Services to the Executive Board and results of the assessment of the organizational effectiveness of UN-Habitat by Multilateral Organization Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN)
The Executive Director opened the session by appreciating and highlighting the importance of recommendations from both the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) and the Multilateral Organization Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN). She presented the findings of the OIOS report to the Executive Board, highlighting key recommendations on internal governance, staffing, monitoring and evaluation, among others.
This presentation was followed by a prepared statement from Spain, introducing the MOPAN assessment of UN-Habitat as a co-leader of the exercise along with Germany. Spain emphasized the importance of the independent assessment in improving the effectiveness of UN-Habitat for the delivery of its mandate, including on the New Urban Agenda and the localization of the SDGs.
The MOPAN team next presented the preliminary findings from their assessment. These included areas of commendable performance as well as areas for improvement for the Organization such as better defining roles and responsibilities, addressing gaps in knowledge management and communications, and enhancing evaluation and results-based management.
Interventions by Member States
GERMANY highlighted the importance of the MOPAN assessment in improving the development of UN-Habitat’s Strategic Plan, emphasizing the need for increased core funding and operational management to address assessment findings; raised questions about UN-Habitat’s strategy for engaging Member States on the MOPAN assessment outcomes and improving evaluation coverage for centralized and decentralized evaluations.
USA expressed appreciation for the OIOS and MOPAN assessments and emphasized the importance of Member States increasing their core contributions to UN-Habitat, highlighting the doubling of its own contributions.
SWEDEN welcomed the MOPAN assessment as a credible tool for learning and improvement, beneficial for both Member States and UN-Habitat.
KENYA appreciated the report by MOPAN and OIOS and recognized UN-Habitat’s leadership on various areas of normative and operational work highlighted in the reports.
BRAZIL appreciated the MOPAN and OIOS assessments, acknowledging UN-Habitat’s strengths and recent progress on recommendations while noting persistent challenges like staff shortages and unclear roles; encouraged addressing funding gaps and improving monitoring, evaluation, and results-based management for organizational learning.
FRANCE commended MOPAN’s findings, highlighting improvements in resource mobilization and financial stability; stressed the importance of addressing gaps in organizational structure and project evaluations, reaffirming its commitment to supporting UN-Habitat.
RUSSIAN FEDERATION welcomed the MOPAN report outcomes, highlighting its expertise, and announced a voluntary contribution of approximately USD 300,000, corresponding to a near doubling of its core contributions.
The Chair closed the agenda item and the report was adopted without further comment or reservation
Agenda item 12: Report of the Ethics Office to the Executive Board
The Executive Director opened the agenda item by reaffirming her support for the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA).
UN-Habitat explained that the Organization worked alongside the UN Ethics Office for ethics-related functions and support on the same, with the Legal Office serving as a focal point and carrying out these functions with support of the Office of the Executive Director, Human Resources Liaison Office, and the Conduct and Discipline Focal Point.
UN-Habitat provided an overview of the ethics-related cases received from 2023 to 2024, involving allegations on abuse of authority, discrimination, harassment and unsatisfactory conduct. UN-Habitat indicated that most of these cases were referred to UN-Habitat by OIOS for its action, and no outstanding case remained from 2023.
UN-Habitat also presented to Member States the activities undertaken on ethics, such as workshops related to unsatisfactory conduct for all managers at the D1 level and officers carrying out fiduciary functions. In addition, as an enhancement of the Executive Director’s delegation of authority to manage unsatisfactory conduct, UN-Habitat indicated that the Executive Director could now issue disciplinary sanctions and other administrative measures without referral to OHRM. UN-Habitat indicated that it would continue its efforts to promote good conduct and ethics compliance through trainings and outreach activities, including staff trainings to promote awareness of rules and regulations, as well as to encourage reporting of corruption.
In relation to staff recruitment, UN-Habitat highlighted that there was a rigorous process in place, done in collaboration with the UN Ethics Office in New York and with support from the Office of the United Nations Ombudsman and Mediation Services, to ensure compliance.
UN-Habitat noted the findings of the MOPAN report, which included areas for improvement related to PSEA, and stated that it had organized trainings and outreach activities on ethics and PSEA in Senegal, Kenya, and Mozambique.
UN-Habitat further stressed the need for adequate funding to enable its Legal Unit to serve as an independent investigative unit and carry out ethics trainings and activities, in addition to civility and PSEA trainings.
Interventions by Member States
BRAZIL thanked UN-Habitat for the presentation and stated that the statistic showing that 1 in 5 people reported violence and harassment in the workplace showed it was still a major issue for the Organization; shared that the International Labour Organization (ILO) Violence and Harassment Convention (C190), adopted in 2019, sets clear and standardized definitions of this phenomena; requested UN-Habitat to provide information on: (1) outcomes of disciplinary measures for cases of unsatisfactory conduct; (2) mechanisms against predators and perpetuators, especially on moral harassment, and underreporting due to fragile reporting mechanisms and fear of retaliation; (3) steps to address what it stated was overcomplicated reporting systems; (4) support for victims of harassment and abuse, including moral harassment; (5) initiative to create a culture against SEA and harassment; (6) campaign to raise awareness among staff and beneficiaries; (7) steps to secure funding for the establishment of independent focal points. Brazil also recommended an inter-agency dialogue involving ILO, WHO and other agencies that have been working on these issues to share their experiences.
USA expressed appreciation of the work of the Legal Unit in relation to PSEA and reiterated its support; requested more information on the SEA case; enquired about the criteria for the location selection of PSEA trainings; asked how the PSEA training is integrated into the planning of the Organization and Standard Operating Procedures, as well as timeline for training completion for new staff; expressed support to the suggestion of an inter-agency dialogue proposed by Brazil.
The Chair closed the agenda item, and the report was adopted without further comment or reservation.
Agenda item 13: Follow up on implementation of the report of the UN Joint Inspection Unit on the review of management and administration in the United Nations Human Settlements Programme
The Executive Director opened the agenda item by recognizing the importance of the review of the UN Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) to improving management and administration at UN-Habitat. She reaffirmed her commitment to implementing the JIU recommendations and reporting to the Executive Board on progress at its final session each year.
UN-Habitat presented the findings of the JIU report, highlighting its 8 formal and 24 informal recommendations to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of UN-Habitat. The recommendations specifically focused on governance reform, sound financial management, organizational restructuring, and increased capacity for internal oversight and evaluation, in the context of the resource constraints faced by the Organization.
UN-Habitat indicated that as of September 2024, six of the formal recommendations were implemented (up from four as of September last year), while one was in progress, and one was not accepted. UN-Habitat indicated that it anticipated that all 30 accepted recommendations would be implemented by the end of 2025, within the three-year time frame requested by JIU since the issuance of the report in 2022.
Interventions by Member States
BURKINA FASO appreciated the presentation and requested an update on gender and geographic representation across the Organization.
USA commended the recommendations from JIU and asked UN-Habitat how Member States could best support the Organization in monitoring, harmonizing and ultimately achieving the recommendations from JIU, the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), the Multilateral Organization Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN), and the Board of Auditors (BOA).
KENYA appreciated UN-Habitat for its report and requested to receive both a copy of the risk register and a more comprehensive update on the progress on geographic and gender balance in staff composition, including at the P-5 and D-1 levels.
The Chair closed the agenda item, and the report was adopted without further comment or reservation.
Agenda item 14: Consideration and adoption of the outcomes of the session, including the provisional agenda for the first session of the Executive Board of 2025
The agenda item was adopted without comment or reservation.
The Chair closed the agenda item.
Agenda item 15: Other matters
The Executive Director and several Member States expressed their gratitude to Mr. Chris Mensah, departing Secretary to the Governing Bodies, for his dedicated service.
A representative of SERAC-Bangladesh, in partnership with the UN-Habitat Youth Advisory Board and the Bangladesh Urban Youth Councils Network, highlighted their global advocacy for urban youth engagement, including the Urban Youth Council model supported by UNDEF and UN-Habitat. They expressed appreciation for the Executive Board’s deliberations and acknowledged support from Sweden, the United States, and Germany in advancing civil society’s role and finalizing the Stakeholder Engagement Policy. They emphasized the need to prioritize vulnerable populations, such as those in informal settlements, in the new Strategic Plan 2026–2029. Key areas for improvement were identified, including stakeholder consultations on the Strategic Plan, integration of the Pact for the Future, and strengthening cross-cutting groups. They proposed establishing a Future Generations Unit within UN-Habitat to foster intergenerational collaboration and urged Member States to scale up successful youth-led governance models like the Urban Youth Council.
A representative of Shelter Afrique Development Bank (ShafDB) commended the Minister of Housing of Nigeria, Arc Musa Dangiwa, for his leadership during the session and congratulated the Executive Director on the completion of her first Executive Board session. They reaffirmed ShafDB’s commitment to collaborating with UN-Habitat on initiatives aligned with SDG 11, including the Housing Compact for Africa, the Project Preparation Facility in partnership with UN-Habitat’s Cities Investment Facility, and policy development to advance affordable housing and urban development across Africa. They emphasized ShafDB’s role as a pan-African housing finance institution committed to promoting sustainable urban development and affordable housing solutions.
Agenda item 16: Closure of the session
The Executive Director expressed gratitude for the commitments of Member States and their participation in the second session of the Executive Board meeting, reaffirming a shared mission to advance sustainable urbanization and improve the lives of communities around the world. She also conveyed appreciation for the inputs by Member States to the Strategic Plan 2026-2029, work programme, budget, and normative and operational work, assuring that UN-Habitat would analyse these inputs and translate them into actionable strategies. In summarizing the outcomes of the meeting, the Executive Director highlighted three key areas of consensus, namely, the direction for the Strategic Plan 2026-2029, the dual impact of UN-Habitat’s normative and operational work, and the need to strengthen the Organization’s role.
The Executive Director announced the opening of the call for expression of interest to host the fourteenth session of the World Urban Forum (WUF14) in 2028. She concluded by expressing gratitude to the Chair of the Executive Board for his leadership and commending colleagues at UN-Habitat and the UN Office in Nairobi (UNON) for ensuring the success of the meeting.
In his closing remarks, the Chair noted that the 2024 sessions had been highly productive, generating constructive ideas and suggestions to strengthen the Organization despite challenges. He commended all Member States for their cooperation and valuable contributions, and on behalf of the Executive Board, expressed appreciation to their commitment and collective efforts in addressing urban challenges. He also thanked the Executive Director for her leadership of UN-Habitat, expressed confidence in her abilities, and reaffirmed the Executive Board’s full support. Finally, he expressed gratitude to Mr. Chris Mensah, departing Secretary to the Governing Bodies, for his dedicated service.
The Chair closed the agenda item and the 2024 second session of the Executive Board.