SUMMARY OF PLENARY DISCUSSIONS AND OUTCOMES
DAY 2 – TUESDAY, 7 MAY 2024
On Tuesday, 7 May 2024, the first meeting of the Executive Board of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) for the year 2024 resumed in Nairobi, Kenya.
Agenda item 6: Update on the preparation of the strategic plan of UN-Habitat for the period 2026-2029
The Chair opened the meeting by recalling the request by Member States during the second session of the United Nations Habitat Assembly for the Executive Director of UN-Habitat to initiate preparations for the development of the new strategic plan for the period 2026-2029, in consultation with the Executive Board.
The meeting began with a presentation by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) on its mid-term evaluation of UN-Habitat’s 2020-2025 strategic plan. Speaking through a video address, Ms. Fatoumata Ndiaye, Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services, noted that the report assessed the relevance, sustainability, impact and coherence of the plan. The report found that while the four domains of change in the current strategic plan are highly relevant and contribute to improving the lives of beneficiaries, the plan’s implementation has been constrained by insufficient resources and progress tracking. She further highlighted the six key recommendations of the report, which were accepted by UN-Habitat.
Mr. Juan Carlos Peña of OIOS complemented this address by noting that these findings were produced through a combination of desk reviews, surveys, interviews of staff, stakeholders, and beneficiaries, and on-site project visits to six different countries where UN-Habitat operates.
UN-Habitat next presented an overview of its progress in initiating the new strategic plan for the period 2026-2029. UN-Habitat highlighted the five guiding principles and four emerging priorities of the plan. UN-Habitat further underscored that the new strategic plan will draw on existing goals and frameworks including SDG 11, the New Urban Agenda, and resolutions adopted at the United Nations Habitat Assembly.
UN-Habitat shared a proposed roadmap engagement with Member States on the development of the 2026-2029 strategic plan, including the next retreat on 30 May 2024 to solicit further guidance and feedback on the scope and goals of the 2026-2029 strategic plan prior to which a background paper will be circulated. UN-Habitat aims to circulate the first draft of the new strategic plan by the end of September 2024. The final draft of the plan will be presented at the next United Nations Habitat Assembly in 2025.
Interventions by Member States
COLOMBIA, EUROPEAN UNION, KENYA, NIGERIA, and SWEDEN commended UN-Habitat for the consultative process for the development of the new strategic plan.
ARGENTINA, COLOMBIA, THE EUROPEAN UNION, FRANCE, INDONESIA, MOROCCO, PORTUGAL and SWEDEN underscored the need for the new strategic plan to take into consideration lessons learnt from the current strategic plan and the recommendations provided by OIOS.
UNITED STATES and ARGENTINA asked UN-Habitat for clarity on how the six OIOS recommendations will be incorporated into the new strategic plan. UN-Habitat clarified that these recommendations have all been accepted and confirmed its commitment to incorporate all of them into the new plan.
BRAZIL, GERMANY, MEXICO, and PORTUGAL highlighted that insufficient non-earmarked funding remains a key impediment for the effective implementation of the strategic plan.
MOROCCO encouraged UN-Habitat to align its new plan with the priorities of the New Urban Agenda; highlighted its own national urban priorities of balanced territorial and economic development, inclusive access to basic services and housing, sustainability and greening and disaster resilience; and stressed the need to develop a realistic implementation plan for the new strategic plan based on an accurate assessment of anticipated financial resources.
BRAZIL highlighted the limitations arising from reliance on earmarked funding resulting in insufficient focus on critical areas such as housing and slum upgrading; echoed the two OIOS recommendations related to the need for localization and operational alignment; asked for clarifications on some of the concepts used in the report; called for more explicit references to slums; requested that Member States be more frequently updated on progress in implementation of the recommendations; and requested greater prioritization of challenges faced by developing countries.
SENEGAL encouraged UN-Habitat to continue exploring new priorities for significant impact and to devise an effective fundraising strategy to implement the plan with regional tailoring; emphasized adequate housing as a priority taking into account climate effects; recommended greater integration of results-based management frameworks in the plan, sharing of best practices and solutions between cities and regions and more tailored capacity-building support for stakeholders.
NIGERIA underlined the need to enhance field presence and address the limited staff capacity of UN-Habitat’s Regional Office for Africa while calling for an implementation plan that allows for delivering results at the grassroots scale.
COLOMBIA recommended adoption of a more regional approach in the plan to better address the unique challenges and opportunities of different regions, countries, and urban areas; expressed its hope for an ambitious, realistic and responsive plan; and emphasized the OIOS recommendations on enhanced strategic delivery architecture and enhanced monitoring.
UNITED STATES commended the positive initial positive indications emerging from the MOPAN assessment and its anticipation of the final results; and queried UN-Habitat to clarify its plan and timeline to address the six OIOIS recommendations and how these would inform the preparations of the new strategic plan 2026-2029.
FRANCE indicated that the new strategic plan should be an operational tool to combat poverty and climate change in the context of urbanization; called for a plan that enables efficiency and is accessible to both UN organizations and funders; recommended a reform of the organization structure, noting that a lack of alignment in the organization’s structure with the current four domains of change has resulted in organizational disconnect, lack of clear accountability, and inefficient resource allocation.
MEXICO emphasized the risk of overreliance on earmarked funding; underlined the importance of urban regeneration as a means to promote social inclusion, energy efficiency and territorial planning in human settlements; noted the need for adequate resources for implementation and echoed calls for a stronger monitoring framework to track the progress of the plan.
EUROPEAN UNION supported the proposed process, guiding principles and the roadmap; expressed support for a focused strategic plan with a limited number of new priorities and clear, measurable and implementable goals; noted the need for the plan to emphasize UN-Habitat’s unique expertise and capacities in the UN system; and conveyed support for stakeholder engagement in the plan’s formulation.
SWEDEN welcomed the guiding principles of the new strategic plan; noted the size and funding limitations of UN-Habitat and the need to be focused and clearly define UN-Habitat’s role in the UN system; and noted the need to keep the normative agenda at the centre.
ETHIOPIA underscored the importance of sustainable urban development for Africa’s socioeconomic development priorities; and provided details on the preparation of the first African Urban Forum that will take place in Addis Ababa from 4 to 6 September 2024.
ARGENTINA noted the need for a robust results framework together with sufficient resources and more implementation accountability; expressed support for the key principles; asked for the use of existing globally agreed multilateral language; emphasized the need to integrate New Urban Agenda priorities across the plan; and asked UN-Habitat to clarify the actions to implement the OIOS recommendations and incorporate the same into the new strategic plan; while requesting for a more elaborate and clear roadmap of Member State engagement.
GERMANY supported the guiding principles; noted the need to focus on the distinctive competencies and capacities of UN-Habitat and formulate a focused plan; encouraged UN-Habitat to consider the strategic plan as an opportunity to increase commitment and engagement from Member States on the work of the organization and emphasized the challenges of overreliance on earmarked resources as a constraint for the implementation of the strategic plan and its vision.
KENYA emphasized that the new strategic plan should be ambitious, relevant, and responsive to the needs of Member States, particularly those in the Global South; highlighted its priorities including access to adequate housing, inclusive urban prosperity, climate action and effective governance which are central to sustainable urban development in Africa; proposed the plan is anchored in the New Urban Agenda and Agenda 2030; and encouraged continued engagement with Member States, other UN agencies and stakeholders.
PORTUGAL noted that the plan should be measurable, accountable and prioritized; highlighted that the new strategic plan was an opportunity to attract funding; expressed the need for UN-Habitat to attract more non-earmarked funding; and emphasized that the plan should remain focused on the key expertise of UN-Habitat.
RUSSIAN FEDERATION raised concerns with the lack of clarity with some terms used in the report of the Executive Director on the strategic plan, such as the use of “urban regeneration”; and highlighted the importance of including the economic and social pillars of sustainable development, particularly in the context of developing countries.
INDONESIA recommended that UN-Habitat reformulate the first guiding principle of its new strategic plan and encouraged further assessment and incorporation of the needs of developing countries.
BURKINA FASO recommended that UN-Habitat develop a new engagement mechanism to enable Member States who are not part of the Executive Board to provide their input and feedback on the development of UN-Habitat’s strategic plan; further recommended that UN-Habitat take into consideration the outcomes of the upcoming World Urban Forum and use the strategic plan as an opportunity to grow and elevate the organization.
Following the discussion, the Chair closed the agenda item and thanked Member States for their participation.
Agenda item 7: Implementation of the normative and operational activities of UN-Habitat, including reporting on its programmatic activities in 2023 and the implementation of subprogrammes, flagship programmes and technical cooperation activities
The Acting Executive Director of UN-Habitat introduced key topics including updates on the ‘Inclusive Communities, Thriving Cities’ flagship programme, the Sustainable Urban Resilience for the Next Generation (SURGe) initiative, and urban crises prevention and response initiatives and activities for the period July-December 2023.
Following a short video, which included testimonies from Helsinki (Finland), Nairobi (Kenya), and Fortaleza (Brazil) sharing their experience on urban regeneration, UN-Habitat provided updates on the flagship programme ‘Inclusive Communities, Thriving Cities.’ This includes the development of 15 knowledge products, engagement of 60 partners in 32 countries, adoption of urban regeneration policies by 64 cities in 22 countries, and USD 9.6 million mobilized and in the pipeline, with two successful ongoing projects in Cancun (Mexico) and Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) highlighted. In the next 20 months, UN-Habitat will complete related global normative guidance on urban regeneration, develop a global Atlas featuring cases and best practices, collaborate with the private sector to co-create an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) monitoring framework, establish strategic partnerships with aligned stakeholders, and cooperate with the SDG Localization initiative of UN-Habitat.
Updates on the SURGe initiative were provided, specifically on its progress and on the three options for future development: maintaining it as a network (hereinafter referred to as “Option 1”), positioning it as a catalyst for accelerated climate action (hereinafter referred to as “Option 2”), or transforming it into a global coordination platform (hereinafter referred to as “Option 3”).
Regarding urban crisis prevention and response, UN-Habitat highlighted advancements under its institutional plan for addressing internal displacement, including strategic partnerships with various entities such as the Office of the Secretary-General's Special Advisor on solutions to internal displacement, UNHCR, IOM, the World Bank, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), and NGOs. Notably, UN-Habitat indicated that the organization played a prominent role at the Global Refugee Forum, co-leading multistakeholder pledges on housing, land and property and sustainable human settlements. At the country level, UN-Habitat indicated that it is establishing an office in Kyiv, Ukraine, to assist local governments in recovery planning for areas like Borydianka and Makaiv, in collaboration with the United Nations Innovation Technology Accelerator for Cities (UNITAC).
UN-Habitat further presented a report on the Gaza Strip crisis response, detailing recovery and reconstruction challenges based on the assessment of the impact of the war on human settlements, with lessons learned from previous interventions in other countries and three post-war scenarios in the Gaza Strip. Proposed next steps include a follow-up report with neighbourhood-based assessments and strategies for ‘building back better.’
Interventions by Member States
General:
CAMEROON emphasized the importance of financing to implement UN-Habitat's normative and operational mandate, and suggested engagement with regional financial institutions and banks, especially in sustainable affordable housing, particularly in Africa.
MALAWI highlighted the significance of climate change and pledged collaboration with UN-Habitat and neighbouring countries to tackle climate-induced disasters.
MOROCCO stressed that flagship programmes should contribute to the localization of SDGs, addressing informal settlements, urban regeneration, adequate housing, urban planning, and resilience.
On flagship programme ‘Inclusive Communities, Thriving Cities’:
COLOMBIA, COSTA RICA, GERMANY and UNITED STATES commended the progress of the flagship programme ‘Inclusive Communities, Thriving Cities.’
COSTA RICA commended the collaboration with UN-Habitat in the Miravalles neighbourhood under the flagship programme ‘Inclusive Communities, Thriving Cities’ and stressed the importance of the ongoing partnership.
NIGERIA expressed concerns regarding the concept of "urban regeneration," emphasizing the need for differentiation from other concepts such as "localization of SDGs" and "nature-based solutions," highlighting its absence in the New Urban Agenda.
On the SURGe initiative:
GERMANY and UNITED STATES commended the progress of the SURGe initiative.
CAMEROON, FRANCE and GERMANY recommended Option 2 as the future direction of the SURGe initiative.
FRANCE advocated for a gradual operationalization of the SURGe initiative and noted the need to specify the governance modalities for implementation.
GERMANY appreciated UN-Habitat's collaboration with other agencies under the SURGe initiative, requested more information on future collaboration with ICLEI, advised against Option 3, and emphasized the need to expand donor bases; while proposing UN-Habitat reports on progress with SURGe at the first session of the Executive Board in 2025.
KENYA stressed that the SURGe initiative should support actions to reduce the vulnerability of the urban poor; complement existing initiatives such as the Building Climate Resilience for the Urban Poor (BCRUP); and expressed support for Option 3.
ARGENTINA expressed reservations about the SURGe initiative, citing its misalignment with the UN Resolution on Climate Change, advocated for Option 1 as the future direction of the SURGe initiative, and advised against Option 2 and 3.
JAPAN noted that Option 2 and 3 of the SURGe initiative would require additional funding and called for realistic financial planning.
COLOMBIA suggested expanding the SURGe initiative at the global and local levels.
On urban crisis responses:
GERMANY expressed concerns about the situation in Gaza, emphasized the valuable role of UN-Habitat in the area, urged UN-Habitat to operate within its capacity, and requested more information about the partners UN-Habitat will be collaborating with in the area; further requested for more information about UN-Habitat’s actions in rebuilding Ukrainian cities, and similar activities in other countries.
ISRAEL stressed that any discussion on the reconstruction in the Gaza Strip would depend on the situation with the conflict; that resources should not be misused; raised concerns on whether the UN-Habitat report took into consideration the whole situation on the ground and its evolution; while expressing the need for a coordinated and agreed reconstruction approach.
MOROCCO underscored the challenges in planning and reconstruction in the Gaza Strip and urged UN-Habitat to generate additional reports on the extent of destruction in the area.
UKRAINE appreciated UN-Habitat’s role in urban recovery and reconstruction at the local government levels in Ukraine; highlighted and called for the strengthening of the unique mandate and contributions of UN-Habitat to human settlements recovery in conflict situations.
UNITED STATES noted that the preliminary report on the Gaza Strip provides valuable information for the next steps.
STATE OF PALESTINE expressed gratitude to UN-Habitat for its efforts to rebuild human settlements in Gaza; commended endeavours in conflict-affected areas; and stressed the importance of using proper terminology, data collection, and field missions to assess the situation in Gaza; while calling for effective cooperation and international aid.
The Chair closed the agenda item and Member States took note of the report without further comment or reservation.
Agenda item 9: Update on the implementation of all the resolutions adopted by the United Nations Habitat Assembly of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme
The Chair of the Executive Board provided his opening remarks and asked the Acting Executive Director to provide an update on all resolutions adopted at the United Nations Habitat Assembly.
The Acting Executive Director stressed that the implementation of resolutions continues to be constrained by limited dedicated resources, noting that more open-ended resolutions have greater difficulty in attracting funds. He highlighted that the ongoing implementation of Resolution 2/10 is underway to enable enhanced tracking of resolution implementation and establishment of the Urban Action Funding Window.
UN-Habitat briefed on the various levels of progress on the resolutions from the first and second sessions of the United Nations Habitat Assembly. Whereas resources were mobilized to the extent possible internally, limited new funding remained a significant obstacle to resolution implementation. Notable exceptions to this include: Resolution 2/1 on people-centred smart cities, wherein contributions enabled the convening of an in-person expert group meeting in Strasbourg, France, and the ongoing development of the World Smart Cities Outlook; Resolution 2/5 on urbanization and climate change resilience, wherein funding enabled UN-Habitat to co-chair the Local Climate Action Summit and the Ministerial Meeting on Urbanization and Climate Change on the sidelines of the Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC (COP 28), enhance the RISE-UP portfolio, and operationalize efforts in the context of sustainable urban resilience for the next generation (SURGe); Resolution 2/6 on localization, wherein resources contributed have enabled the development of a corporate capacity-building offer to be piloted in five countries, the application of an urban monitoring framework in 80 new cities, and the opening of an office in Bilbao, Spain. UN-Habitat called upon Member States to enhance the provision of urgently required extra-budgetary resources, particularly non-earmarked and soft-earmarked funds. Detailed information on the progress in resolution implementation may be found in HSP/EB.2024/8.
Interventions by Member States
MOROCCO welcomed UN-Habitat’s efforts in the context of Resolution 1/3 on capacity-building and queried the scope as it relates to the New Urban Agenda; noted the relevance of and growing interest in smart city development as it relates to Resolution 2/1, including in Morocco; encouraged UN-Habitat to pursue efforts in re-establishing the emergency response fund for urban crises; and recommended the accelerated implementation of the resolution on urban planning and sustainable infrastructure.
FRANCE appreciated the progress made with implementation of Resolution 2/1 on people-centred smart cities and the progress enabled therein with their hosting of the first in-person expert group meeting in Strasbourg, France, in April 2024; and welcomed the planning of the working group meeting towards implementation of Resolution 2/7 on adequate housing.
MEXICO recommended a schedule of work to monitor Resolution 1/4 on gender equality and increased cooperation with other United Nations entities to bolster implementation of Resolution 2/1 on people-centred smart cities; and welcomed reactivation efforts of the emergency response fund for Resolution 2/9 on urban crises.
KENYA, on behalf of the African group, called for balanced implementation of the resolutions; noted with concern the ongoing regular budget liquidity crisis which impedes implementation of the resolutions; called on more non-earmarked contributions from Member States and raised the expectation that clear progress be demonstrated in the next session of the Executive Board on the utilization of previously unused and unspent balances within the context of Resolution 2/10 and the resulting Urban Action Funding Window.
UNITED STATES requested a more timely update on resolution implementation, including with financial information; queried when the action plan on Resolution 1/4 on gender equality would be shared with Member States; and requested clarifications on the methodology applied in the costing of Resolution 2/10 on equitable financing. UN-Habitat provided the requested clarifications regarding Resolution 2/10 and notified Member States that the action plan is to be updated by fall of 2024. UN-Habitat further indicated that the internal plan for Resolution 1/4 on gender equality could be shared with Member States if interest is expressed.
BAHRAIN called on Member States to prioritize and provide support to Resolution 2/7 on adequate housing, as they are doing themselves. UN-Habitat welcomed the offered support.
COLOMBIA reiterated its support for biodiversity protection per Resolution 2/4 on biodiverse and resilient cities and noted ongoing efforts in the Latin America and Caribbean region in this regard; and expressed the importance of continuing to mainstream urban safety in UN-Habitat’s work. UN-Habitat emphasized its intention to continue work related to urban safety and the corresponding need for resource mobilization.
ARGENTINA called for equitable financing for the implementation of resolutions; recognized the efforts required by the extensive mandates of the resolutions, particularly with limited funding; and requested a gap assessment of resources available/required and lessons learned from resolutions with limited/sufficient funds. UN-Habitat noted that mandates are drawn from various Member State fora, including but not limited to the General Assembly and the United Nations Habitat Assembly. UN-Habitat further responded that capacity gaps are both human and financial in nature.
BRAZIL, while welcoming progress in some of the resolutions, called for balanced implementation of resolutions; emphasized the need for non-earmarked funding for the implementation of all resolutions. UN-Habitat expressed its appreciation for continued discussions through the ad hoc working group on programmatic, budgetary and administrative matters.
PORTUGAL proposed high-level discussions on the implementation of the resolutions; queried whether the number of resolutions stretch the limited resources of UN-Habitat and if they adequately reflected the agency’s work on the ground; and urged for the equitable implementation of resolutions. UN-Habitat noted that mandates and quantity thereof are within the purview of Member States and not for UN-Habitat to comment upon.
SOUTH AFRICA noted with concern the limited funding for Resolution 2/2 on the transformation of informal settlements and slums; informed other Member States of active efforts in the Southern African region towards adequate housing (Resolution 2/7); and encouraged other Member States to promote and champion similar efforts.
AZERBAIJIAN expressed enthusiasm at the idea of fostering linkages between activities to be held at the twelfth session of the World Urban Forum and at COP29, and at partnering on people-centred smart cities.
The Acting Executive Director noted the shared frustration regarding the implementation of resolutions while highlighting the efforts made by UN-Habitat towards their implementation, even under limited resources. He further indicated that enhancements by both UN-Habitat and Member States with regards to prioritization and resource management are continuously sought in discussions with Member States. The Acting Executive Director recalled the programme budget implications that were provided ahead of the United Nations Habitat Assembly and their purpose towards costing resolutions. He called upon Member States to lend voice to UN-Habitat’s mandate in the imminent discussions in the General Assembly Second Committee.
The Chair closed the agenda item without further comment or reservation.