BRIEF ON THE 26TH SESSION OF THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF UN-HABITAT
- 8:00 AM
- VENUE: UN Gigiri
The Governing Council of UN-HABITAT is a bi-annual meeting that was established by the General Assembly resolutions 32/162/ of 19 December 1977 and 56/206 of 21 December 2001. It is a high-level forum of governments at the ministerial level that sets UN-HABITAT’s policy and approves the agency’s work programme and budget for the next two years.
Currently, the Governing Council is composed of 58 Member States, which represent 5 regional groups. Republic of Kenya is one of them and its membership expires on 31st December 2019. Member states are elected by the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for a period of four years.
The objectives of the Governing Council meeting of UN-Habitat include the following:-
- To promote integral and comprehensive approach to human settlements;
- To assist countries and regions with human settlements problems; and
- To strengthen co-operation and co-participation in all countries on human settlement issues.
The theme of the GC 26 is “opportunities for effective implementation of the New Urban Agenda” with 3 subthemes as follows:
Sub-theme 1: ‘Towards inclusive, sustainable and adequate housing for a Better future’
Sub-theme 2: ‘Synergies and financing for sustainable urbanization’
Sub-theme 3: ‘Integrated human settlements planning for sustainable urbanization’
Participation in the Governing Council meeting is open to all Member States and relevant Habitat Agenda Partners, including parliamentarians, civil society organizations, local authorities, professionals and researchers, academia, foundations, women and youth groups, trade unions, indigenous people’s organizations, financial institutions,n private sector as well as organizations of the United Nations system and Intergovernmental Organizations.
The occasion officially opened by H.E President Uhuru Kenyatta on 8th