NGLS Roundup, no. 55, July 2000

FIRST PREPCOM SESSION FOR ISTANBUL+5 


INTRODUCTION
The second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), held on 3-14 June
1996 in Istanbul (Turkey), set out important changes in the approach to the development of
human settlements in an urbanizing world. The Habitat Agenda, the main document adopted
by the 171 UN member states in Istanbul, recognizes that adequate housing is a fundamental
human right. Member states agreed on a far-reaching programme to promote adequate shelter
for all and sustainable urban development, and to strengthen popular participation and civic
engagement in local and national governance. Habitat II and its preparatory process have been
regarded as one of the most participatory UN world conferences in recent years, giving strong
emphasis to the role of local authorities and partnerships with non-state actors, and giving
unprecedented scope for NGO contributions to the Habitat Agenda. 

Five years later, in June 2001, the UN General Assembly will convene a special session for an
overall review and appraisal of implementation of the Habitat Agenda (Istanbul+5). The first
substantive session of the Istanbul+5 Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) was held from 8-12
May at the headquarters of the UN Centre on Human Settlements (Habitat secretariat) in
Nairobi (Kenya). Intergovernmental negotiations at this first PrepCom mainly focused on
defining the scope to be covered by the review and appraisal process, including
recommendations for further action by the 55th session of the UN General Assembly later this
year. In addition, the PrepCom hosted three special dialogues with "Habitat Agenda partners"
including city and local authorities, youth, women, other NGOs and civil society
organizations. The dialogues focused on some of the main outputs proposed by the Habitat
secretariat for the Istanbul+5 exercise, namely: a declaration on the norms of good urban
governance, a World Charter of Local Self-Government, and a declaration on secure tenure
(see the three boxes on pages 1 and 2). 


CHALLENGE OF THE REVIEW
PrepCom chair Germ…n Garcia-Duran (Colombia) opened the plenary by stressing that during
the new century, cities will be the main engine of economic development and it will be
necessary to adopt an integrated approach to land management and combatting poverty. He
said the preparatory process for Istanbul+5 offers an opportunity to examine policies and
programmes as well as problems that hinder the sustainable and equitable development of
human settlements. For that purpose, he added, the Habitat Centre should be a strong and
efficient multilateral body with a mandate and renewed ability to coordinate and support
activities at national and local levels.

Acting Executive Director of the Habitat secretariat, Klaus Toepfer, noted that a century ago
only one in ten people lived in cities. Today, about three billion people--almost half of
humanity--are urban dwellers. He said the urban revolution will escalate over the next three
decades when urban populations will grow to twice the size of rural populations. Dr. Toepfer
also stressed the links between a rapidly urbanizing world and globalization, which he said is
increasingly shaping the world's ideas, economy and politics. "Instant access to information,"
he said, "has shrunk space and time, greatly expanding people's choices, linked with rapidly
decreasing mobility costs but also raising the possibility of huge repercussions of the telematic
cities in opening up a digital divide between rich and poor." He stressed that urbanization and
globalization, linked with growing access to information, have generated greater claims by
people to participate in decisions that affect their lives. "We are indeed already in a new era,"
he said, "and we have entered, faster than ever, the era of globalization of the economy and of
information, and of localization of social and political life--a phenomenon which has rightly
been described as  glocalization'." Dr. Toepfer argued that the city will be the political arena
of the future: "This is a fantastic challenge for the international community and for the UN
system. This is the context of our work. We must define the parameters. Therefore Istanbul+5
is timely, it is urgently needed; it cannot be allowed to be only a routine, to check off because
five years are gone. We have to use this challenge." 

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   Dialogue on the Declaration on Secure Tenure
   
   This dialogue provided delegates with an opportunity to review the normative
   aspects of secure tenure. Participants emphasized a rights-based approach to
   the Habitat Agenda and stressed issues such as women and land inheritance,
   slum upgrading and alternatives to forced evictions. In this way, the dialogue
   helped clarify a consultative process towards the development of a normative
   framework for security of tenure. Participants urged Habitat to utilize the
   preparatory process for Istanbul+5 to enhance the draft declaration on secure
   tenure, for example, by translating substantive elements into legal principles.
   However, it was noted that national legislation and international instruments
   needed to be accompanied by what some described as realistic, on-the-ground
   policy options and practical strategies. Participants also stressed that the
   application of such instruments, and the institutional and administrative
   capacity to implement them, were as important as their legal adoption.
   
***************************************************************************



Dr. Toepfer said that Habitat now follows a strategic vision focused on the two main themes
of the Habitat Agenda: adequate shelter for all and sustainable urban development. "We have
decided to adopt an advocacy approach that will allow Habitat to  punch above its weight' by
focusing on two campaigns, one for secure tenure, and the other for good urban governance
as strategic levers to move the Habitat Agenda's twin goals...forward." 

He noted that at its last session the Commission on Human Settlements agreed that good
urban governance is the foundation of sustainable urban development, and that more and more
evidence confirms it is also the basis for economically successful cities. He added that good
urban governance is going to become more important in the future as the processes of
globalization--"and its flip-side, social exclusion--become even greater compelling forces." He
said that the global campaign for secure tenure, for its part, goes directly to the heart of the
challenge of adequate shelter for all as laid out in the Habitat Agenda. The campaign
advocates granting secure tenure as the first housing right. He noted that "a recent success
here has been the decision of the UN Commission on Human Rights to appoint a Special
Rapporteur on Housing Rights, which is another step forward in the implementation of the
agreements of Istanbul."


SCOPE OF THE REVIEW PROCESS
While governments expressed their appreciation for and support to the two campaigns being
developed by the Habitat secretariat, many stressed that the thematic scope of the review
process should be broader to cover the 20 key commitments of the Habitat Agenda, which
they agreed will serve as the basis of their national reports to the special session (see box).
Some delegations also expressed strong reservations with regard to the proposed World
Charter of Local Self-Government; they said it does not reflect and speak to their
constitutional settings and political structures. In response a number of participants expressed
the hope that governments, mostly of countries with a federal structure, would be able to
agree in principle to such a charter and continue to contribute to its elaboration and the
negotiating process.

In its week of deliberations, the PrepCom formally agreed in Resolution 1/5 that the special
session should result in: "(a) reconfirmation of the goals and commitments of the Habitat
Agenda, and review of the status of  implementation, including the identification of progress,
gaps, obstacles and challenges;" and "(b) the setting of global priorities for future action." 
The PrepCom further agreed that the special session "should focus on sharing views on local,
national and regional experiences in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda, with a view to
improving national and local policies on sustainable urban development and adequate shelter
for all..." and "should concentrate, among other matters, on presentations, including thematic
presentations, on the implementation of the Habitat Agenda by a range of Habitat partners,
including representatives of local authorities, civil society, the private sector as well as the
United Nations, the Bretton Woods organizations and other multilateral organizations,
focusing on experiences and lessons learned since Istanbul." 

The PrepCom formally confirmed "the need, as stated in General Assembly Resolution 53/180,
to ensure substantive contributions to and active involvement in the special session by local
authorities, other Habitat Agenda partners and relevant actors of civil society, in particular the
private sector and non-governmental organizations." The secretariat was also asked to
prepare, in close consultation with member states, a draft declaration on "Cities and Human
Settlements in the New Millennium" to be submitted to the PrepCom at its second substantive
session, which will take place in Nairobi on 19-23 February 2001.


ACCREDITATION AND PARTICIPATION OF NGOS 
Some government delegates noted that Istanbul+5, like the other five-year reviews of the
1990s UN world conferences, will take the form of a special session of the General Assembly--thus requiring a decision by the GA at its 55th session on the modalities of NGO accreditation
and participation at the special session. On this basis, the PrepCom has submitted in
Resolution 1/3 the two following draft decisions to the General Assembly for consideration
and appropriate action.

1) Draft Decision on Accreditation:
"The General Assembly...decides that the accreditation to the special session and its
preparatory process should follow the rules of procedure for participation adopted by the
Habitat II Conference...[and] decides that the arrangements set out above concerning
accreditation of local authorities and non-governmental organizations to the special session
will in no way create a precedent for other special sessions of the Assembly."

The rules of procedure referred to in this draft decision state that NGOs in consultative status
with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) "shall be accredited for participation." In
addition, other NGOs wishing to be accredited may apply to the secretariat with information
on the organization's competence and relevance. After an initial review of applications by the
secretariat, the PrepCom will decide on all cases and proposals for accreditation. The rules
also specify that an NGO that has been granted accreditation to attend a session of the
PrepCom may attend all future sessions. 

Although one delegation expressed some reservations on the above draft decision, some
observers noted that these arrangements do not differ substantially from the ones adopted for
the General Assembly special session on the five-year review of the 1995 World Summit for
Social Development.

2) Draft Decision on Participation:
"The General Assembly...invites the President of the General Assembly, in his consultations
requested in paragraph 7 of General Assembly Resolution 53/180...to take into account the
recommendations of the Preparatory Committee that the rules of procedure of the United
Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) should apply to the special session of
the General Assembly, and that the rules concerning the participation of local authorities and
non-governmental organizations in the special session should not create a precedent for other
special sessions of the General Assembly."

The relevant rule concerning NGOs in the above draft General Assembly decision on
participation is Rule 62 of the rules of procedure of the Habitat II Conference, which reads:
 
"1. Non-governmental organizations accredited to participate in the Conference may designate
representatives to sit as observers at public meetings of the Conference and the Main
Committees.

2. Upon the invitation of the presiding officer of the body concerned and subject to the
approval of that body, such observers may make oral statements on questions in which they
have special competence. If the number of requests to speak is too large, the
non-governmental organizations shall be requested to form themselves into constituencies,
such constituencies to speak through spokespersons."


NGO PARTICIPATION IN THE DRAFTING COMMITTEE OF THE PREPCOM
The PrepCom Drafting Committee chair, Manfred Konukiewitz (Germany), proposed that the
same modalities for NGO participation in the drafting committees of the Habitat II process be
used for the drafting exercises of Istanbul+5. He said this would mean that NGOs would be
able to make oral interventions and submit written amendments, which they could explain
verbally from a designated NGO microphone. He said that the actual decisions on drafting,
however, would be exclusive preserve of government delegations. This proposal was met with
strong resistance by a large number of government representatives, many of whom had not
personally participated in the open-ended inter-governmental committees that drafted the
Habitat Agenda. After a long period of deliberations on the nature of when the process of
making a decision begins and ends, it was decided that NGOs would have one seat at the
drafting committee and would be allowed to make oral interventions, subject to the discretion
of the chair. NGOs would have to work with and through national government delegations for
proposed written text amendments.

While appreciative of the opportunity to have an NGO seat in the drafting committee, NGOs
attending the PrepCom noted that this decision was more restrictive than the practice of the
Habitat II process. During that process they had been allowed to submit and verbally explain
written text amendments, which they said allowed for both more meaningful and efficient
NGO participation in the drafting exercise. 

It was recalled that this practice had been initiated during the intersessional drafting committee
between the second and third Habitat II PrepComs in Paris in late 1995. This successful
experience had been again proposed and formalized at the third Habitat II PrepCom in
February 1996 in New York. The third PrepCom's Expanded Bureau decision on the matter
states that "NGOs can express their views in oral and written form or work through national
delegations. They are, however, not allowed to negotiate directly by opposing or supporting
positions of Governments when compilation texts are under review." It was also noted that at
Habitat II itself, the NGO compilation of text amendments submitted by the various NGO
caucuses was circulated at request of the secretariat as an official conference document
(A/CONF.165/INF/8), much of which was incorporated in the final version of the Habitat
Agenda. In addition, the statements of NGOs and other civil society organizations presented
to Committee II of the Habitat II conference, which was dealing with the role and contribution
of Habitat partners, were incorporated as part of the official conference proceedings. Thus
some NGOs asked whether General Assembly Resolution 53/180, which puts emphasis on
"the practice and experience gained at the Habitat II Conference," should not be interpreted in
this light.


INTERIM ARRANGEMENTS BY NGOS
At the start of the PrepCom, NGOs that had already organized themselves in caucuses were
the Women's Caucus (led by the Huairou Commission) and the Youth Caucus (led by the
Youth for Habitat International Network). An NGO Caucus was established for those
constituencies pursuing issues that would not necessarily be addressed in the youth or
women's caucus. The need for some form of all-encompassing NGO structure was reinforced
by the drafting committee's decision that only one microphone would be given to NGOs
(another was allocated to local authorities). In the course of the week, the NGO Caucus
decided to establish an Interim International Facilitating Group (IIFG), whose mandate and
functions would be purely facilitative and reviewed at the start of the second PrepCom. In
view of potentially important differences on substance, it was decided that the IIFG would not
undertake any substantive discussions or activities on the content or review of the Habitat
Agenda. This would be left to the NGO caucus and other thematic, constituency and regional
caucuses that may be established at the next PrepCom. The IIFG's interim functions include
information dissemination, liaison with official institutions, interaction with partners, and
convening the NGO Caucus at the next PrepCom. The contacts of some of the organizations
that volunteered to participate in the IIFG are listed below.


FOLLOW-UP
A number of draft decisions will be before the upcoming 55th session of the General
Assembly, which will specifically address implementation of the Habitat Agenda. The
coordination segment of this year's substantive session of ECOSOC, to be held in July in New
York, will be dedicated to the Habitat Agenda. A number of regional meetings in preparation
for Istanbul+5 are also planned (see below). The PrepCom for Istanbul+5 will meet again on
19-23 February 2001 in Nairobi, immediately after the 18th session of the Commission on
Human Settlements on 12-16 February, to finalize preparations for the special session. Items
on the provisional agenda for the second PrepCom include the following: 
n    preparation of a draft report on the overall review and appraisal of implementation of
the Habitat Agenda; 
n    preparation of a draft declaration on "cities and other human settlements in the new
millennium;"
n    proposal for structuring the discussion among the various Habitat Agenda partners at
the special session; 
n    recommendations of the Commission on Human Settlements at its 18th session and of
the year-2000 coordinating segment of ECOSOC; and
n    organizational arrangements for the special session of the General Assembly, including
its rules of procedure.

At an informal meeting between government officials and NGOs on 11 May, one government
delegate urged NGOs to make their views and proposals known to government delegations
well in advance of the next PrepCom, so that these can be taken into consideration before
governments firm up their positions.

The special session itself will take place in New York in June 2001; the exact dates will be
fixed by the General Assembly at its 55th session. 


REGIONAL MEETINGS IN PREPARATION FOR ISTANBUL+5
n    Regional meeting for ECE countries, 17-19 September 2000 (to be confirmed),
Geneva. Organizers: Economic Commission for Europe and Habitat

n    Regional meeting for Western Asia, 16-18 October 2000 (to be confirmed), Bahrain.
Organizers: Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia and Habitat

n    Regional meeting for Asia and the Pacific, 19-22 October 2000, Hangzhou (China).
Organizers: Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and Habitat

n    Regional meeting for Latin America and the Caribbean, 30 October-1 November 2000
(to be confirmed), Santiago de Chile (Chile). Organizers: Economic Commission for Latin
America and the Caribbean and Habitat

n    Regional meeting for Africa, 6-8 November 2000, Addis Ababa (Ethiopia).
Organizers: Economic Commission for Africa and Habitat