SUMMARY OF PLENARY DISCUSSIONS AND OUTCOMES
DAY 1 – TUESDAY, 28 NOVEMBER 2023
On Tuesday, 28 November 2023, the third session of the Executive Board of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) for the year 2023 opened in Nairobi, Kenya.
Agenda item 1: Opening of the session
The Chair of the Executive Board, H.E. Mr. Silvio Albuquerque opened the session and welcomed all participants and delegates. He thanked the Executive Director for her professionalism, dedication, and her overall contribution to the remarkable success of UN-Habitat during her tenure.
Ms. Zainab Hawa Bangura, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON), commended the UN-Habitat Executive Director for turning UN-Habitat around by lifting its financial deficit and elevating UN-Habitat’s strategic programme globally. She further commented on the UNON Common Back Office (CBO), which provides operational support to UN-Habitat and other UN entities while maintaining high global standards of environmental sustainability as well as conference facilities.
In her remarks, Ms. Maimunah Mohd Sharif, UN-Habitat Executive Director, offered personal reflections on her journey at UN-Habitat. She extended special thanks to Member States whose dedication, involvement, and support were critical in helping UN-Habitat flip the script. She further called on all Member States to support the incoming Executive Director and the UN-Habitat team as she departs from the Programme in January 2024.
Hon. Alice Wahome, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development of Kenya, reaffirmed Kenya’s commitment to host UN-Habitat in Nairobi and support work on sustainable urban development. She recognized the pivotal role that Ms. Maimunah Mohd Sharif held in the transformation of UN-Habitat towards a positive financial position during her tenure.
Hon. Wahome reiterated the importance of UN-Habitat having consistent, predictable, and sustainable funding and encouraged Member States to make contributions to finance the organization’s work programme and budget. She further highlighted that Kenya had benefitted from UN-Habitat’s Rapid Own Source Revenue Analysis (ROSRA) tool and Affordable Housing programme, underlining the crucial role of UN-Habitat in delivering impact to cities and communities.
Interventions by Member States
Several Member States took the floor to thank the Executive Director for her service and praise the achievements of UN-Habitat over the course of her tenure.
The chair closed the agenda item without further comment or reservation.
Agenda item 2: Organizational matters
Under Agenda 18, the Executive Board added an item on the rotation of the Chair and Rapporteur; on the election of the Chair and Co-chairs of the ad hoc working group on Administrative, Budgetary and Programmatic matters; and on the election of the Chair and Co-chairs of the ad hoc working group on the Stakeholder Engagement Policy.
Concerning the report of the Executive Board on the work of its second session of 2023, it was clarified that the Bureau was extended until 2025.
The Executive Board then:
- Adopted the agenda and the workplan for its 2023 third session
- Adopted the report of the Executive Board on the work of its first session of 2023
- Adopted the report of the Executive Board on the work of its second session of 2023.
The chair closed the agenda item without further comment or reservation.
Agenda item 3: Reports by the chairs of the ad hoc working groups established by the Executive Board, including continuation of the work on the Stakeholder Engagement Policy
H.E. Ms. Jean Kimani, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kenya to UN-Habitat, Chair of the ad hoc working group on programmatic budgetary and administrative matters, and Vice-Chair of the Executive Board, briefed the Executive Board on:
- The roadmap towards the next strategic plan 2026-2029
- The Sustainable Human Settlements Foundation
- The financial status of UN-Habitat
- The Scalability Model
- Normative and operational activities including the SDG Cities initiative and the Sustainable Urban Resilience for the next Generation (SURGe) initiative
- The roadmap for developing the Smart Cities guidelines
- The status of the draft work programme and draft budget for 2024
- The status of UN-Habitat staffing including gender and geographical balance
- The draft terms of reference for the urban action funding window towards the need to achieve the implementation of United Nations Habitat Assembly resolutions in a balanced manner
- The draft outcomes to be considered by the Executive Board at its 2023 third session.
The Executive Board took note of the briefing by the Chair of the ad hoc working group on programmatic, budgetary, and administrative matters.
H.E. Mr. Silvio Albuquerque, Permanent Representative of the Federative Republic of Brazil to UN-Habitat, Chair of the ad hoc working group on the Stakeholder Engagement Policy, and Chair of the Executive Board, provided an update on the discussions of the ad hoc working group since the last session of the Executive Board.
He urged Member States through the ad hoc working group on the Stakeholder Engagement Policy to resume the second reading and recommend an agreed document for adoption by the Executive Board at its 2024 first session.
The Executive Board took note of the briefing by the Chair of the ad hoc working group on the development of a Stakeholder Engagement Policy.
Agenda item 4: Financial, budgetary, and administrative matters, including the implementation of the resource mobilization strategy in accordance with the strategic plan for the period 2020–2025; including a report on the fully costed scalability model and action by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) to address geographical and gender imbalances in the composition of its staff
Following the briefing by the Executive Director and UN-Habitat senior management on the financial, budgetary, and administrative matters of the Programme, including the new fully costed scalability model and actions to address geographical and gender imbalances among staff, Member States discussed these matters.
Member States began by broadly commending the Executive Director for her work over the past six years to return UN-Habitat to financial solvency. They specifically highlighted the transition of the Programme from deficit to a USD 6 million surplus in 2022 and continuous increases in the number of donors through 2023.
Member States also broadly supported the Programme’s financial strategy moving forward, including the fully costed scalability model that will be valid for the duration of the strategic plan, with a ceiling of USD 12 million and proposed budgets of USD 8 million in 2025, and USD 4 million in 2024. They also highlighted the importance of the seven thematic pillars outlined in the financial plan.
Several Member States emphasized the importance of increased non-earmarked contributions from Member States to provide UN-Habitat with the necessary flexibility and capacity to implement its mandate of promoting sustainable urbanization and highlighted their own consistent contributions in this regard.
Member States also consistently highlighted the importance of gender balance and equitable geographical distribution in staffing. Overall, staff representation stands at 52 per cent female staff and 48 per cent male staff. Similarly, regarding geographical representation, 104 Member States are within range, 29 are overrepresented, and 60 are under- or unrepresented. Women are under-represented in the most senior staff positions, at the P-5 and D-1 levels, and certain regions, including Latin America and the Caribbean, remain under-represented within the Programme, as noted by some Member States from the region.
In response to questions about geographic and gender balance in staffing, UN-Habitat highlighted the recent hiring of new women in senior staff positions, as well as 16 new positions in its regional offices, including in under-represented regions.
Regarding questions from Member States about the implementation of audit procedures and resource mobilization, UN-Habitat highlighted its progress in implementation of these procedures and commitment to implement more than half of these procedures by the end of 2026 as well as new positions in oversight capacities.
The chair closed the agenda item, and the report was adopted without reservation.
Agenda item 5: Discussion and possible approval of the draft work programme of UN-Habitat and the draft budget of the United Nations Habitat and Human Settlements Foundation for 2024
The Chair of the Executive Board gave his opening remarks on the draft work programme and budget 2024, noting that the Executive Board, via Decision 2023/1, requested the Executive Director to finalize the draft work programme and budget 2024 based on the feedback of the Committee on Programme and Coordination and Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions and to present it for consideration by the third session of the Executive Board. The draft work programme under document HSP/EB.2023/12 was presented by the Executive Director.
The Executive Director noted that the draft work programme 2024 continues the implementation of the Strategic Plan 2020-2025 and gives priority to areas such as adequate housing, municipal finance, climate action, and urban crisis prevention and response. She also noted that the draft budget shows a modest increase in the non-earmarked funding to USD 4 million and serves as a baseline for the scalability model.
UN-Habitat noted that the structure of the work programme is unchanged compared to previous years. The four sub-programmes set out in the strategy are updated each year, making sure to incorporate emerging priorities. Next year, more emphasis will be placed on transformative change to accelerate the realization of the SDGs.
The proposed budget of USD 4 million for 2024 includes a scaling up from 14 to 19 posts.
The present requirements are:
- Deputy Executive Director post
- Regional Representative Latin America and the Caribbean
- Upgrade of the senior Legal Officer post from P4 to P5
One P-2, one P-3, and two General Service positions to monitor the implementation of the New Urban Agenda.
Interventions by Member States
Several member states welcomed the proposed budget for 2024.
USA supported the USD 4 million increase for the Foundation non-earmarked budget, 20 per cent reserve budget, and took note of the planned budget for regular resources for cost recovery.
GERMANY noted that the proposed budget 2024 demonstrates a positive trend surpassing the previous years; indicated that UN-Habitat should not necessarily become debt free but should ensure that adequate and budget allocation is maintained.
KENYA noted that the 2024 work programme is rooted in recommendations of the Joint Inspection Unit on the administration of UN-Habitat and should serve as a resource to enhance the efficiency of UN-Habitat; acknowledged the benefits of the Voluntary Local Reviews training but urges UN-Habitat to prioritize the implementation of the New Urban Agenda; urges UN-Habitat to revitalize its role in building climate resilience; urges UN-Habitat to facilitate innovative and sustainable resource mobilization strategies.
BRAZIL welcomed UN-Habitat’s work on adequate housing; expressed hope that set targets of people living in slums with access to basic services by 2024 can be met; indicated that the increase of USD 0.9 million demonstrates a responsible approach in line with revenues received in the past and aligns with the scalability model.
ARGENTINA noted that the work programme 2024 aligns well with SDG 11 and specifically on the localization of SDGs in cities in Argentina; welcomed the new programme for cities and achieving SDGs.
COLOMBIA welcomed UN-Habitat’s work on reducing spatial inequality and poverty in communities across the rural continuum, which aligns with the national goals of Columbia; applauded the approach on inclusive cities and communities through urban regeneration; appreciated the involvement of community in urban regeneration.
FRANCE agreed with proposals in the four thematic areas of work of UN-Habitat; appreciated the substantive increase of 4.8 per cent in the Foundation non-earmarked budget.
In response to the comments by the Member States, UN-Habitat noted that it had made progress in the implementation of audit recommendations and looked forward to closing them by the first quarter of 2024. UN-Habitat indicated that it is exploring how to support programme development in line with corporate priorities as outlined in the work programme 2024.
The draft work programme of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme and draft budget of the United Nations Habitat and Human Settlements Foundation for 2024 was adopted without further comment or reservation.
Agenda Item 6: Discussion on the due diligence assessment of the Sustainable Human Settlements Foundation
UN-Habitat briefed the Executive Board on the engagement with the Sustainable Human Settlements Foundation (SHSF), noting that the SHSF is a not-for-profit charitable foundation that was conceived at WUF10 as an innovative financing solution for UN-Habitat; that the governance of SHSF includes an advisory board of Member States and independent experts; and that the chartered purpose is to strengthen the core funding of the Programme through contributions to the Foundation non-earmarked.
UN-Habitat summarized the activities undertaken so far with regards to engagement with the SHSF, both by the Executive Board and UN-Habitat.
UN-Habitat emphasized the need for a strong exit strategy as a risk mitigation measure among other measures recommended by the UN-Habitat Risk Oversight and Advisory Committee. This exit strategy makes note of the importance of maximizing the value proposition to investors, and therefore the revenue to UN-Habitat, whilst managing its reputational risk. This strategy also delineates the termination authority, nature and manner of termination, term of validity, and periodic reviews.
Interventions by Member States
Several Member States (ARGENTINA, FRANCE, GERMANY, KENYA, MOROCCO, NETHERLANDS, PORTUGAL, USA) gave their endorsement for UN-Habitat to enter into a contribution agreement with the Sustainable Human Settlements Foundation, subject to including the recommendations of the Risk Oversight and Advisory Committee and considering the Executive Board’s comments on this agenda item.
USA, GERMANY, FRANCE, PORTUGAL, and MOROCCO recommended that UN-Habitat considers proposing to SHSF to change its name to prevent potential confusion and reputational risk with UN-Habitat’s name (United Nations Human Settlements Programme). UN-Habitat noted the recommendation and indicated that it could be a challenge since UN-Habitat does not have the authority to change the name of a donor entity and that “(Sustainable) Human Settlements” is not trademarked by UN-Habitat.