40/202. Human settlements
A
REPORT Of THE COMMISSION ON HUMAN SETILEMENTS
The General Assembly,
Reca/ling its resolutions 320 I (S-VI) and 3202 (S-VI) of l May 1974, containing the Declaration and the Programme of Action on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order, 3281 (XXIX) of 12 December 1974, containing the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties ofStates, and 3362 (S-VII) of 16 September 1975 on development and international economic co-operation,
Recalling also its resolutions 32/162 of 19 December 1977 on institutional arrangements for international co-operation in the field of human settlements and 341116 of 14 December 1979 on the strengthening of human settlements activities,
Conscious of the very substantial gap between the resources available through voluntary contributions to the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) and the needs of developing countries requesting assistance from the Centre,
Having considered the report of the Commission on Human Settlements on the work of its eighth session,
1. Takes note of the report of the Commission on Human Settlements on the work of its eighth session;
2. Takes note with appreciation of the progress which the Commission and its secretariat, the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), have continued to make in providing guidance and assistance to Governments in their efforts to provide adequate shelter and services to their people, particularly the poor and disadvantaged;
3. Calls upon all Governments to accord the requisite priority in their development and development assistance programmes to human settlements activities as a preved means of promoting economic and social development, as well as to the fair distribution ofthe benefits ofsuch development to all segments of the population;
4. Takes note of Commission on Human Settlements resolution 8/12 of May 198588 and, in that context, urges the international community, including multilateral institutions and agencies, to consider, as appropriate, more flexible strategies in lending for human settlements projects and programmes;
5. Commends those Governments and others that have made voluntary financial contributions to the United Nations Habitat and Human Settlements Foundation, particularly those that have done so on a regular basis, and appeals to those that have not contributed to do so at the earliest opportunity;
6. Decides, in accordance with Commission on Human Settlements resolution 8/4 of 8 May 1985, to designate the first Monday of October of every year as "World Habitat Day".
119th plenary meeting
17 December 1985
"The major urban challenges of the twenty-first century include the rapid growth of many cities and the decline of others, the expansion of the informal sector, and the role of cities in causing or mitigating climate change. Evidence from around the world suggests that governments at all levels are largely failing to address these challenges."
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Message on World Habitat Day, 2009
On 17 December 1985, the UN General Assembly decided to designate the first Monday of October of every year as World Habitat Day.
The theme of this year's World Habitat Day is "Planning Our Urban Future".
It is acknowledged that cities are one of the major contributors of greenhouse gas emissions. Cities therefore have a key role to play in climate change mitigation by promoting energy efficiency through more appropriate land-use planning, more efficient urban management and green building practices.
At the same time, the vulnerability of cities to the effects of climate change is a critical issue of concern. The importance of creating awareness of the implications of climate change for all aspects of human living cannot be overemphasized. As in the case of the financial crisis, those who contribute the least to the problem, namely the urban poor, are those who are the most severely affected by it. Such trends, within the context of a rapidly urbanizing world, point to a defining moment in the convergence of the human settlements and environmental agendas and the need to bridge what has been long perceived as two distinct arenas for policy and action.
Fuentes:
http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/RESOLUTION/GEN/NR0/479/09/IMG/NR047909.pdf?OpenElement
http://www.un.org/en/events/habitatday/