SUMMARY OF PLENARY DISCUSSIONS AND OUTCOMES
DAY 1 – TUESDAY, 25 NOVEMBER 2025
On Tuesday, 25 November 2025, the third session of the Executive Board of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) for the year 2025 opened in Nairobi, Kenya.
Agenda item 1: Opening of the session
The Chair, H.E Sebastian Groth, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Kenya, opened the session, welcomed all delegates, and expressed his appreciation to Member States for electing Germany to preside over the meeting. He thanked participants for their presence and noted the Executive Board’s important role in guiding UN-Habitat’s priorities, before inviting the Executive Director to take the floor. Ms. Anacláudia Rossbach, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, welcomed delegates to the third session of the Executive Board for 2025. She emphasized the urgency of addressing global housing and urban challenges, noting that inadequate housing and climate vulnerabilities continue to affect billions. She highlighted UN-Habitat’s efforts to support resilient and inclusive cities, including through ongoing institutional reforms aligned with the UN80 Initiative. The Executive Director underlined persistent constraints in core funding despite progress in resource mobilization and called on Member States to strengthen financial commitments to safeguard critical normative work. She also drew attention to preparations for the 2026 midterm review of the New Urban Agenda, the importance of timely national reporting on the implementation of the New Urban Agenda, and the progress made by the Open-ended Intergovernmental Expert Working Group on Adequate Housing for All. Hon. Alice Wahome, Cabinet Secretary for Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development of Kenya, welcomed all delegates to Nairobi and emphasized the need to accelerate progress toward the 2030 Agenda. She commended the Executive Director’s leadership on the reform agenda and noted Kenya’s recent engagement under the Open-ended Intergovernmental Expert Working Group on Adequate Housing for All and hosting of a High-Level Roundtable of the Global Champions on Adequate and Affordable Housing on 24 September on the sidelines of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly. She outlined ongoing national initiatives, including the affordable housing programme and the slum upgrading programme, and reaffirmed Kenya’s strong support for UN-Habitat and its mandate. The Chair expressed appreciation for Kenya’s continued support, including in its capacity as Chair of the ad hoc working group on programmatic, budgetary and administrative matters.
Agenda item 2: Organizational matters
The Executive Board:
- Adopted the agenda and the workplan for the third session of the Executive Board for 2025.
- Adopted the report of the Executive Board on the work of its first session of the year 2025.
- Adopted the report of the Executive Board on the work of its second session of the year 2025
Agenda item 3: Report by the chair of the ad hoc working group on programmatic, budgetary and administrative matters of the Executive Board
H.E. Susan Nakhumicha, Permanent Representative of Kenya to UN-Habitat and Chair of the ad hoc working group on programmatic, budgetary and administrative matters, briefed the Executive Board on the group’s work since May 2025, focusing on key issues such as UN-Habitat’s financial position, the proposed 2026 work programme and budget, the UN-Habitat revised structure and monitoring framework, ongoing normative and operational activities, preparations for the thirteenth session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) and the midterm review of the New Urban Agenda, as well as outcomes from the Open-ended Intergovernmental Expert Working Group on Adequate Housing for All. She informed the Executive Board that the working group recommended approval of the monitoring framework for the Strategic Plan 2026–2029 and that it had prepared several draft decisions for the Board on financial matters, programmatic reporting and the 2026 work plan for final consideration by the Executive Board. The Chair acknowledged the progress made and invited further guidance from Member States. The Chair of the Executive Board confirmed receipt of the draft decisions and opened the floor for interventions.
Interventions by Member States
FRANCE welcomed the progress made in identifying key issues, including the coherence between the new human resources structure and strategic priorities, the sustainability of financial forecasts, and risks to the Organization’s normative capacity; encouraged continued in-depth dialogue within the working group to strengthen preparation of decisions submitted to the Executive Board; and recalled the importance of maintaining a technical and collaborative spirit within the ad hoc working group on programmatic, budgetary and administrative matters to ensure regular information exchange between UN-Habitat and Member States during a period of budgetary uncertainty and ongoing UN80 reform. MOZAMBIQUE, on behalf of the African Group, expressed appreciation to the Chair and the Executive Director for their continued support; requested that UN-Habitat continue to build on existing initiatives; and thanked the Chair of the ad hoc working group; and commended Kenya for its constructive engagement. THE EUROPEAN UNION thanked the ad hoc working group on programmatic, budgetary and administrative matters for its report and reaffirmed Member States’ agreement on the strategic direction set during the United Nations Habitat Assembly; expressed concern over the shortfall in financial resources available to fully implement UN-Habitat’s programme budget and encouraged strengthened dialogue between the Executive Director and Member States, particularly in Nairobi; welcomed UN-Habitat’s continued commitment to its normative work; underscored the importance of a human rights approach and stakeholder engagement; emphasized the need for an efficient, well-structured, and lean organization prepared for the UN80 reform while safeguarding UN personnel; stressed the need for solid baselines and realistic targets in the monitoring framework of the Strategic Plan 2026–2029; and looked forward to a successful outcome of the meeting.
Agenda item 4: Report by the co-chairs of the Open-ended Expert Working Group on Adequate Housing for All
The newly elected co-chairs of the Open-Ended Intergovernmental Expert Working Group on Adequate Housing for All (OEWG-H), Azerbaijan and Somalia, represented by H.E Mr. Anar Guliyev, Chairman, State committee on Urban Planning and Architecture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, briefed the Executive Board on the outcomes of its second session held on 22–23 October 2025 in Nairobi. The OEWG-H welcomed draft recommendations on social housing, informal settlements, tenure security and housing finance, which will be further refined ahead of its next session in 2026, and endorsed the proposed roadmap for 2025–2029, aligning future work with UN-Habitat’s Strategic Plan 2026–2029. It also provided guidance regarding the housing knowledge platform and its continued development, called for adequate human and financial resources to support the work of the OEWG-H, and considered thematic priorities for 2026, including housing sustainability, definitions of homelessness and informal settlements, and monitoring. Looking ahead, the co-chairs outlined plans to finalize the report of the second session and upcoming intersessional activities, including engagements during the thirteenth session of the World Urban Forum in Baku in May 2026, and proposed that the third session of the OEWG-H take place in November 2026 in Nairobi, to be confirmed by the Executive board in 2026. They expressed appreciation to the previous co-chairs France and Kenya.
Interventions by Member States
GERMANY thanked UN-Habitat for facilitating the OEWG-H and congratulated the new co-chairs; acknowledged the OEWG-H as a valuable platform for advancing understanding of housing as a social and human right, while raising concern about the sustainability of future work of the OEWG-H given the need for adequate resources; noted that documentation has been made available in only one UN official language at the last OEWG-H session; and called on the OEWG-H to develop clear, actionable recommendations, including on countering the financialization of housing, forced evictions and land tenure, while emphasizing the need for human rights based and socially just approaches. FRANCE thanked the Executive Board for the opportunity to co-chair the OEWG-H together with Kenya over the past year; congratulated Azerbaijan and Somalia on their election as new co-chairs, and offered them their full support. COLOMBIA emphasized its commitment to a people-centred global housing framework and highlighted the importance of recognizing informal settlements as a legitimate part of the city; noted the need for more inclusive and sustainable financing, including cooperative credit, while exploring new fiscal instruments for adequate co-financing; and reaffirmed its commitment to UN-Habitat, the OEWG-H, and its willingness to share relevant national experiences. COSTA RICA reiterated that housing is a pillar of sustainable urban development and highlighted the importance of incentives to address market inefficiencies to broaden access to housing for low income families; highlighted the importance of issues of informality, tenure security and accessibility; further supported the development of the housing knowledge platform; and confirmed it will contribute to the draft OEWG-H recommendations and roadmap. CAMEROON took note of the draft recommendations on tenure security, housing finance, social housing and informal settlements; emphasized the importance of the roadmap as a guiding framework and welcomed progress on the housing knowledge platform as a sustainable tool for accountability and knowledge exchange; encouraged Member States to contribute data, technical inputs and financial resources; and reaffirmed commitment to contribute to the work of the OEWG-H. MALAWI welcomed the report and its focus on inclusive housing strategies, integration of informal settlements and social protection dimensions; underscored the importance of equitable financing for housing, noting the existing imbalances; highlighted ongoing national work with UN-Habitat on housing profiles; requested clarification on how the proposed monitoring framework would be adapted to countries with limited data capacities and what support would be available for building national capacities; and reaffirmed commitment to contributing to the OEWG-H and the goals of resolution 2/7. MOZAMBIQUE commended the OEWG-H for the successful outcomes of its first session and noted persistent underinvestment in regions most affected by rapid urbanization, expansion of informal settlements and climate vulnerabilities; called for scaled investments in slum upgrading, equitable distribution of global housing finance, a context-sensitive global monitoring framework, strengthened land governance and secure tenure systems, integration of climate and disaster resilience in housing strategies, and better alignment of global tools with Agenda 2063 and the Cairo Call to action; urged a shift from isolated projects to systemic, programmatic approaches; and emphasized the need to recognize informality as a structural urban reality. ZIMBABWE highlighted the relevance of the OEWG-H’s focus areas, especially informality, climate vulnerabilities and resource constraints in the face of rapid urbanization in African cities; welcomed the emphasis on innovative financing, public-private partnerships, community involvement and improved data systems, noting the need for accessible global data platforms to support monitoring and shared learning and practices; called for more equitable global housing finance allocation; and reaffirmed willingness to engage fully in implementing the OEWG-H’s recommendations to ensure no one is left behind. ALGERIA expressed appreciation for UN-Habitat’s preparations and reaffirmed commitment to resolution 2/7; highlighted national housing challenges linked to rapid urbanization, informal settlements and structural issues, noting the need for diverse financing mechanisms and strengthened institutional frameworks; expressed support for the continuation and scaling of UN-Habitat’s flagship programmes; emphasized alignment with national priorities; and welcomed preparations toward the World Urban Forum as opportunities to strengthen implementation and global coordination. The Executive Board took note of the report of the co-chairs.
Agenda item 5: Financial, budgetary and administrative matters including updates on the structure and human resources of UN-Habitat and updated draft version of the scalability model for the non-earmarked budget of the United Nations Habitat and Human Settlements foundation
The Executive Director introduced the agenda item and thanked Member States for their support. UN-Habitat informed the meeting that, as of 30 September 2025, non-earmarked contributions totalled USD 2.6 million from 17 Member States, slightly below last year’s level, and confirmed that the remaining USD 1 million “inter-fund loan” would be repaid by year-end. It noted that the 2025 budget of USD 180.56 million largely consisted of earmarked technical cooperation and foundation contributions, accounting for over 80 per cent, while core resources remained minimal, at 12 per cent, including less than 3 per cent from the Foundation non-earmarked. UN-Habitat emphasized that core funding remains fundamentally essential for its strategic and normative functions and appealed to Member States to strengthen support to ensure effective delivery of its global mandate.
Interventions by Member States
MOZAMBIQUE expressed appreciation for the transparent information provided on the financial status and highlighted Africa’s urgent priorities amid rapid urbanization and climate vulnerability; welcomed increased African contributions but noted the region remains underrepresented in global funding despite high needs; called for predictable core funding, a balanced financing model, stronger regular budget allocations, and long-term financial sustainability; and urged all Member States to provide adequate and flexible resources to enable UN-Habitat to deliver on its mandate. NIGERIA opposed the proposal to abolish the scalability model and requested innovative approaches for generating sustainable financial resources, as well as a timely conclusion of the due diligence exercise for the Sustainable Cities and Communities Foundation. MEXICO noted similar challenges in Latin America and supported Mozambique’s observations; requested more details on the loan repayment; emphasized the importance of transparent reporting on funding; indicated that it does not support the scalability model; and encouraged Member States to consider more effective approaches to funding and reporting. FRANCE sought clarification on voluntary contributions, earmarked funding, and criteria for new job creation, and stressed alignment with strategic priorities and financial sustainability. JAPAN commended UN-Habitat for its transparency on the financial situation and noted significant financial improvement since 2022, including the first surplus in a decade and the highest net assets since 2016, and encouraged continued efforts to keep expenses within revenue and enhance management efficiency. GERMANY emphasized the importance of limiting expenses in 2025 to manage the expected shortfall of non-earmarked contributions and of securing financing for the normative work; noted the with concern the high reliance on earmarked funding and urged Member States to provide core contributions in a timely manner; emphasized the need for normative and operational synergy; and requested clarification on rising UNON administrative costs and the impact of UN Regular Budget cuts on conference servicing. MALAWI highlighted the persistent deficits in the core budget and encouraged innovative financing solutions including public-private partnerships, climate resilience funding, and collaboration with regional banks to ensure UN-Habitat’s long-term financial sustainability. SWEDEN, PORTUGAL, and PERU noted concern over the financial deficits and dependence on earmarked contributions, and stressed the need for realistic and sustainable budgets, enhanced efficiency and transparency, and robust monitoring to ensure sustainability. PORTUGAL also called for a different business model balancing normative and operational dimensions and preserving UN-Habitat’s comparative advantage and emphasized that human rights and social inclusion is not limited to advocacy and stakeholder engagement. THE NETHERLANDS highlighted concerns over increased travel costs for senior management; requested timelines for implementing audit recommendations; and asked how UN-Habitat would manage the USD 12.5 million net asset shortfall given that only USD 3 million is available in the emergency reserve. The Executive Board took note of the briefing and report of the Executive Director.