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HIGH-LEVEL MIDTERM REVIEW OF THE COMMITTEE OF PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVES TO UN-HABITAT

SUMMARY OF PLENARY DISCUSSION AND OUTCOMES | 29 JUNE - 1 JULY 2021

Second Daily Journal

On Wednesday, 30 June 2021, the first open-ended high-level midterm review of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR) resumed at 09:00 a.m. East Africa time with consideration of progress in the implementation of the decisions and resolutions adopted by the United Nations Habitat Assembly.

Agenda item 4 - Progress in the implementation of the decisions and resolutions adopted by the United Nations Habitat Assembly at its first session

UN-Habitat highlighted progress made to date in implementing the resolutions and decisions adopted during the first UN-Habitat Assembly held in May 2019, as follows.

Resolution 1/2 on UN Systemwide Guidelines on Safer Cities and Human Settlements

  • UN-Habitat confirmed that a concept-note, with financial costings on the peer review process was developed and that ten (10) countries had already confirmed their engagement in the process. It was also noted that an inter-agency framework to implement the Safer Cities Guidelines as well as a partnership with the Global Network on Safer Cities had been established.
  • UN-Habitat updated that the COVID-19 pandemic confirmed the need for a multi-dimensional approach to safety, as well as the need to scale-up country interventions, which would require additional resources. Additional resources would also allow UN-Habitat to develop further capacity development activities, the testing of the Urban Safety Monitor, and the production of documentation and evaluations in support of cities policies.

Resolution 1/3 on Enhancing capacity-building for the implementation of the New Urban Agenda and the urban dimension of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

  • UN-Habitat shared that progress under this resolution had been accelerated in recent months following adoption of the capacity building strategy and its implementation plan by the Executive Board. In response to the COVID-19 crisis, UN-Habitat is engaged in the digitization of capacity building activities. Therefore, a digital capacity building strategy was being drafted and an online platform to host digital capacity building tools had been developed.
  • UN-Habitat stated that it has strengthened the integration of the work on capacity building through better alignment with the flagship programmes as well as strong partnerships with universities and the UN economic commissions.
  • Additional resources would allow UN-Habitat to further develop capacity building tools and to translate the New Urban Agenda Illustrated toolkit in the six UN official languages.

Resolution 1/4 on Achieving gender equality through the work of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme to support inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities and human settlements.

  • UN-Habitat stated that it has been developing mechanisms to ensure gender considerations are systematically included in the work delivered by the Organization. Gender markers had been included in the new Environmental and Social Safeguards System (ESSS).
  • Additional resources would allow UN-Habitat to expand collection and analysis of data as well as monitoring of impact of the gender component in its programmatic work.

Resolution 1/5 on Enhancing urban-rural linkages for sustainable urbanization and human settlements

  • UN-Habitat made most of the progress in Africa through support provided to nine countries focusing on urban-rural linkages in local policies and rolling out capacity development activities. Global compendiums and webinars were also organized to raise awareness on this issue globally. The COVID-19 crisis increased the relevance of this topic and the role of intermediary cities, especially in the field of food security, access to health and migration, amongst others.
  • Additional funding would allow UN-Habitat to further develop the programme beyond the African continent, to increase its capacity to collect and analyse data and undertake work on the impact of urban-rural linkages on sustainable urbanization.

Decision 1/3 on Arrangements for the transition towards the new governance structure of UN-Habitat

  • UN-Habitat provided an update on the stakeholder engagement policy. The draft policy is expected to be submitted to the United Nations Habitat Assembly in 2023 at its second session for consideration and approval.
  • UN-Habitat noted that progress on the draft stakeholder engagement policy has been limited, as the decision of the Executive Board has been to suspend meetings until such time as in-person negotiations may resume.
  • Additional resources would allow UN-Habitat to scale up in the following areas: investing in the strengthening of engagement with local governments, parliamentarians and the private sector; developing relations with new strategic partners; developing guidelines for effective stakeholder engagement in monitoring urban SDGs especially through data production to reach a target of 1,500 voluntary local reports by 2023; enhancing internal coordination between headquarters and out-posted areas.

Agenda item 5 - Report of the Executive Director on the implementation of UN-Habitat coronavirus disease (COVID-19) response plan

The Executive Director briefed the CPR on the UN-Habitat response to COVID-19 by first stating that the programmatic response focused on the three pillars of the UN-System Response: health, humanitarian, and socio-economic.

The response was done in close partnership with the relevant UN agencies, and focused on urban areas, which were hit particularly hard because of their density and the mobility and connectivity of their population.

UN-Habitat recalled that a total of USD 32 million had been mobilized for the UN-Habitat’s coronavirus disease (COVID-19) response plan, which corresponds to 44 per cent of the total amount pledged. UN-Habitat stated that some 75 projects in 37 countries and 300 cities, and over 10 million people benefited directly and indirectly from UN-Habitat’s work. UN-Habitat further noted that its work on data and mapping has benefited 1700 cities.

The Secretariat recalled that UN-Habitat was the lead UN agency on the Secretary-General’s Policy Brief on COVID-19 in an Urban World.

UN-Habitat informed Member States that the Level 3 emergency for the COVID-19 response had been suspended in March 2021 and that the Organization intended to focus on the following key areas:

  • Working with a coalition of global thought leaders and stakeholders in public and private spheres to increase focus on policies and actions to mitigate the local social and economic impact of COVID-19
  • Engaging through United Nations Country Teams (UNCTs), supporting the review and elaboration of socio-economic analysis of the COVID-19 impact and related response plans
  • Actively supporting the elaboration of Common Country Analyses (CCAs), and Cooperation Frameworks (CFs) building also on the Secretary-General Policy Brief

Interventions by Member States

Argentina thanked the Secretariat for the efforts made in response to COVID-19. Argentina highlighted the country’s engagement towards housing, sanitary infrastructure, home hygiene, access to food, care networks supported by community organizations and promotion of basic services to people in highly dense areas with the aim of generating employment and revenue through the construction sector.

Egypt expressed its support and appreciation of the work conducted by UN-Habitat, as presented in the report on UN-Habitat Covid-19 response plan. Egypt encouraged UN-Habitat to continue its engagement with Member States and partners on the best means to ensure the effective implementation of the response plan, noting that the severe consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and its possible related future socio-economic developments will require consistent revision and adaptation of the response plan.

UN-Habitat in its response:

  • Expressed appreciation of the support, feedback and guidance received from Member States.
  • Recognized the importance of the issues raised with regards to energy efficiency, physical space, gender violence, home hygiene and sanitation, which are all aligned and reflected in the UN-Habitat Strategic Plan as well as in the flagship programmes.
  • Reiterated the call to Member States to further support the response of UN-Habitat to the COVID-19 pandemic

Following conclusion of discussions on Agenda item 4, the meeting continued with National Statements.

National Statements

Botswana aligned itself with the statement of G77 and China and the African Group. Botswana commended the Executive Director and her team on the progress made so far in the implementation of the Strategic Plan. Botswana recalled the Memorandum of Understanding signed with UN-Habitat in December 2020 and shared the country’s appreciation of the support received from the UN-Habitat Regional Office for Africa. Botswana committed to submit a mid-term report on the implementation of the New Urban Agenda by end of July 2021.

Malawi aligned itself with the statement of G77 and China and the African Group. Malawi commended UN-Habitat on the progress made against the resolutions adopted by the UN-Habitat Assembly and recalled that Malawi submitted the country’s report on the implementation of the New Urban Agenda. Malawi also committed to maintaining their contribution to non-earmarked funding. Malawi stated that it had implemented projects in the field of green cities, resilience to climate related issues as well as slum upgrading. Malawi stated that it was cautious about the reference to the ongoing high-level midterm review as a hybrid meeting in terms of its format and requested that the meeting be re-qualified as “online” or “virtual”. Malawi expressed their concern regarding the impact of the online or virtual format when it comes to effective and equal engagement by Member States in negotiations.

Colombia stated its position which is that negotiations on substantive matters as part of the outcomes of the meeting be maintained even if meetings are conducted online.

Costa Rica echoed the statement from Colombia and expressed their wish to continue discussions regardless of the format of the meetings.

Switzerland supported the position of Colombia and Costa Rica and expressed their appreciation for the engagement of delegations attending the meeting online.

Algeria seconded the statement made by the African Group and the G77 and China. The Country also expressed their support to the activities conducted by UN-Habitat. Algeria echoed the statement of Malawi, while recognizing the flexibility of Member States to attend the meeting under the current circumstances. Algeria raised concerns with regards to the quality of the negotiations conducted under the online format and asked that these concerns should be kept in record.

South Sudan and the African Group concurred with the statements from Algeria and Malawi with regard to “virtual negotiations” and maintained the position by the African Group which stressed the challenges faced by some Member States to connect due to technical constraints.

Egypt aligned itself with the statements made by the African Group and the G77 and China, as well as South Sudan, Algeria and Malawi. Egypt stressed the difficulties and challenges faced to hold negotiations virtually and stated that the hybrid format should be limited until in-person meetings resume.

Zimbabwe aligned itself with the statements made by the African Group, Algeria, Egypt and Malawi, stressing that virtual negotiations on substantive matters might disadvantage countries facing connection challenges.

The Chair of the CPR took note of the concerns raised by the Member States with regard to the format of the meeting and requested flexibility from Member States given the circumstances to allow for consultations to take place online. There was no objection to the proposal by the Chair.

Dialogue on the reports “Cities and Pandemics: Towards a more just, green and healthy future” launched on 31 March 2021 and as a current issue for sustainable urbanization

The Executive Director opened the session by recalling that the mandate of UN-Habitat contains both field operations and research on adequate human settlement norms and standards, which has positioned the organization centrally in the ongoing global debates on the impacts of the pandemic on cities and urban communities.

The Executive Director further mentioned that UN-Habitat collaborated with CitiIQ to set up a digital city response tracking service that provides data on the state of cities before the pandemic, the impact of the pandemic and cities responses to the pandemic. This has allowed for analyses of the realities of COVID-19 in urban areas and has led to the publication of the UN-Habitat Cities and Pandemics Report.

UN-Habitat made a keynote introduction to the dialogue focused on “Strengthening synergies between the Strategic Plan implementation and the pandemic recovery in urban areas 2021-2023 - Priority areas of work of the Strategic Plan for 2021-2023”. UN-Habitat presented the key findings from the report Cities and Pandemics: Towards a Just, Green and Healthy Future, which considers the pandemic an issue for sustainable urbanization.

UN-Habitat indicated that the post-COVID-19 recovery needs to be inclusive, equitable, green, and resilient, must help overcome social hardship, vulnerabilities and risks, and build the capacity of cities to overcome future such crises.

Interventions by Panellists

Intervention by Dr. Etienne Krug (World Health Organization)

Dr. Krug noted that cities were and are at the frontline since the beginning of the pandemic, and that they were not prepared for such a health crisis.

Dr. Krug suggested that lessons should be learnt from COVID-19, noting that healthy and livable cities are usually better prepared and more resilient in the face of health crises. Dr. Krug recalled that the World Health Organization (WHO) had published these conclusions as early as May 2020.

Dr. Krug highlighted the need to intensify cooperation in the future, stating that cities need to learn from one another in order to transform. Intensified efforts need to include capacity building, awareness raising, urban data gathering and collection, impact measures, as well as the support to decision making in cities.

Intervention by Prof. Mariana Mazzucato (University College London & Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose)

Prof. Mazzucato stated that the pandemic had demonstrated how ill-prepared the world was for managing a global health crisis, highlighting a variety of issues including underpayment of health workers, the digital divide, but also uneven global access to vaccination programmes.

Besides the global health crisis associated with COVID-19, Prof. Mazzucato recalled that there are several other crises that are equally important and equally threatening, including the climate crisis, the economic and financial crisis that may result from the global pandemic, and the looming biodiversity crisis. Prof Mazzucato urged to find systemic and structural solutions that address underlying problems and not just fight the symptoms.

Prof. Mazzucato suggested that public investments and public procurement, in particular related to the recovery programmes, present an opportunity to become catalyzers for sustainable development. Such public procurement can be mission-oriented, goal-oriented, aiming for instance at reducing carbon emissions, reducing the digital divide, or contributing to the rethinking of social contracts.

Intervention by Governor Lee Kinyanjui (Nakuru, Kenya)

Governor Kinyanjui stated that the global pandemic had led to significant negative impacts locally in Kenya. This includes lockdown measures, which have had economic implications and meant hardship for nearly everyone, but especially for the urban poor. The lockdown often made work impossible, impacting the income of workers and making payment of services and rents difficult.

Governor Kinyanjui noted that the problem was felt even more in cities than in the rural countryside. Kenya has been confronted with an increase of gender-based and domestic violence during the lockdowns. Problems in informal settlements included in particular overcrowding but also poor sanitation which amplified the effects of COVID-19.

Governor Kinyanjui informed CPR members that the county government in Nakuru tried to address these issues through urban planning, but also through the planning of public transportation. The county government also attempted to improve poor ICT infrastructure in order to allow access to digital learning and technology in general.

Governor Kinyanjui shared the conclusions of the county which include the need to plan or replan urban centers as well as the need to put a stronger emphasis on more sustainable financial and fiscal management in cities in order to be more resilient in the event of such public health crises.

Intervention by Prof. Rajagopal Balakrishnan, Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing

Prof. Rajagopal stated that the global pandemic of COVID-19 was significantly amplified by inadequate housing conditions. He recalled that people living in informal settlements, homeless people, but also migrant labourers were particularly hard-hit by the pandemic.

Prof. Rajagopal suggested that cities should take a human rights-based approach to housing, especially now, and that evictions should be banned. He stressed that no one should be left behind and that marginalization and discrimination, which flared up during the pandemic, should be tackled as a priority. He suggested that homeless people should be provided with permanent housing, advised that there should be caps on rent, and suggested to focus on stabilizing the housing market as far as rental costs are concerned. Prof. Rajagopal suggested that the private sector should be constrained in such a way that speculation with housing and land is minimized so as to not aggravate the situation.

Summary of interactions

Panellists answered questions from Victoria Rubadiri, Senior News Anchor at Royal Media Services.

Q: How to integrate health in a practical sense when thinking through urban environments?

Dr. Krug Etienne mentioned that in an ideal world, we would start from scratch and build a city where we can transport ourselves in a healthy way. While we are not in an ideal world, in some cases the situation can be retrofitted. He added that the pandemic has been terrible in terms of deaths and the economic crisis it is causing, but that it has also brought the world lessons. Many cities have taken positive steps towards replicating these lessons in other places, taking the opportunity to think about equity.

Q: There is a need to replan our urban centers considering more than half of the urban population in Sub-Saharan Africa is living in slums. Looking at the African context, what needs to be done as we look at the bigger picture?

Governor Lee Kinyanjui responded by saying that replanning is not that easy but instead requires consolidated efforts. He stated that the first thing to do is consider a pandemic as an event that can occur anytime and be able to prepare for it. He also highlighted that it is a mindset issue, with the possibility to have open spaces for social activities, and where it should be possible to stay indoors for several days without endangering our mental health.

Q: When it came to government responses to the pandemic, in many cases they lacked the tools, budget and even autonomy to respond adequately. Moving forward, how can we deal with scenarios and structures like that, especially from a policy perspective to ensure cities are able to respond adequately even with policy constraints as seen during the pandemic?

Prof. Mariana Mazzucato responded by sharing an initiative by Camden Council that has adopted across the board a perspective around mission-oriented policies with four objectives to be achieved by 2025: 1) every young person will have access to economic opportunity that enables them to be safe and secure; 2) by 2030 those holding positions of power and Camden are going to be as diverse as the community; 3) by 2030 everyone will eat nutritious, affordable and sustainable food, and; 4) by 2030 Camden state housing estate and its neighbourhood will be healthy and sustainable. She added that co-creation is the hardest part, as policies can be devised but a stakeholder-driven process is much more difficult to attain.

Interventions by Member States

Costa Rica shared an initiative, the Costa Rica National Urban Environment Agenda, a coordination mechanism for main strategic intervention in cities.

Colombia thanked the panellists and highlighted the health and environmental challenges in cities, and how they need to be addressed urgently. Costa Rica stressed the need for innovative approaches through ICT and wonders how the youth can be involved in the midst of the new challenges.

Agenda item 6 - Preparations for the eleventh session of the World Urban Forum

UN-Habitat presented the key preparations for the Eleventh Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF11) taking place from 26 to 30 June 2022 in Katowice, Poland. UN-Habitat indicated that the theme of the session will be Transforming our cities for a better urban future.

Poland thanked the Executive Director and the WUF Coordination Office for their efforts to prepare for WUF11. Poland noted that preparations for the session have progressed well in coordination with the Government of Poland and the City of Katowice despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Poland invited the Executive Director to visit the country in September 2021 to advance preparations for the session.

The Executive Director thanked the Government of Poland as well as the City of Katowice for hosting WUF11 and indicated that she would be pleased to visit Poland if the COVID-19 situation permits in September 2021. The Executive Director further noted that a concept note of WUF11 would be shared with Member States in July 2021.

Agenda item 7 - Alignment of the planning cycles of UN-Habitat with the quadrennial comprehensive policy review process

The Executive Director provided an update on the progress made to align the UN-Habitat Planning Cycles with the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR) pursuant to Habitat Assembly resolution HSP/HA.1/Res.1.

UN-Habitat recalled the role of the QCPR, which aims to provide an overall UN-wide reference for agencies developing their strategic plans to ensure greater coherence across the UN system. UN-Habitat emphasized that while the Strategic Plan of UN-Habitat, covering the period 2020-2023, is not yet aligned with the QCPR process, the Domains of Change identified in the Strategic Plan are reflected in the QCPR, making the UN-Habitat Strategic Plan consistent with the QCPR 2021-2024.

UN-Habitat indicated that the Executive Board and its Ad-Hoc Working Group on Programmatic, Budgetary and Administrative Matters is currently reviewing two scenarios align UN-Habitat planning cycles with the QCPR.

  • Scenario 2: In this scenario, the UN-Habitat Assembly would retain the UN-Habitat Strategic Plan 2020-2023, as is, adopt an interim two-year UN-Habitat Strategic Plan for the period 2024-2025, and then adopt a full, four-year UN-Habitat Strategic Plan 2026-2029. This would enable UN-Habitat to align with the QCPR mechanism but not until the QCPR 2025-2028. As part of this scenario, however, the UN-Habitat Assembly would take note of the QCPR instrument.
  • Scenario 3: In this scenario, the UN-Habitat Assembly would extend the UN-Habitat Strategic Plan 2020-2023 to a period of six years covering 2020-2025. For this to take effect, the UN-Habitat Assembly may meet as scheduled in 2023 and effect the extension. The UN-Habitat Assembly would meet in 2025 for a third session to adopt the next four-year UN-Habitat Strategic Plan 2026-2029. This would enable UN-Habitat to align with the QCPR mechanism but not until the QCPR 2025-2028. As part of this scenario, however, the UN-Habitat Assembly would also take note of the QCPR instrument.

UN-Habitat noted that these two scenarios would have different impacts on the governing framework, which were analyzed by the Executive Board to reflect on costs-effectiveness and the potential proliferation of meetings, and on the impact on the four-year cycle of the UN-Habitat Assembly to ensure approval of the aligned Strategic Plan in 2025. UN-Habitat informed Member States that the Executive Board is expected to further review the scenarios during its second session of the year 2021.

Interventions by Member States

Egypt expressed support for the alignment and in particular for the development of an interim Strategic Plan in 2023 (scenario 2). Egypt expressed the availability for further consultations on a proposal to be submitted to the UN-Habitat Assembly.

UN-Habitat in its response took note and expressed its appreciation of the feedback from Egypt, confirmed that the issue will be further discussed by the Ad-Hoc Working Group on Programmatic, Budgetary and Administrative Matters, and expressed the hope that a final recommendation by the Executive Board for consideration by the UN-Habitat Assembly would be made by the end of 2021

Credits:

UN-Habitat

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