UN-Habitat Assembly: Day two report

THE second day of the Second Session of the UN-Habitat Assembly (UNHA2) featured several First Ladies, UN-Habitat Executive Director Maimunah Mohd Sharif, and other female guests to discuss “women shaping cities and communities;” providing inspiring examples from Botswana, Kenya, and Türkiye. A special high-level thematic session was also held on universal access to adequate housing.

First Ladies High-Level Dialogue on “Women Shaping Cities and Communities”

President Meyer opened the session, introducing its moderator, Kenyan journalist Victoria Rubadiri.

Saying “we cannot achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) without women and girls,” Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director, UN-Habitat, stressed the importance of including women and girls in local planning and decision-making. She noted that UN-Habitat’s Her City Toolbox can help in this regard, stating “if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu.”

Delegates viewed a video about the work of Neo Jane Masisi, First Lady of Botswana, on gender-based violence, HIV and AIDS, youth drug dependency, and economic and social empowerment. This was followed by a video showcasing initiatives of Kenyan First Lady Rachel Ruto’s Mama Doing Good organization focusing on women’s economic empowerment, environment and climate action, and “faith diplomacy.” In a video message, Emine Erdoğan, First Lady of Türkiye, stressed the need for leadership in tackling urban waste issues and her championing of the Zero Waste Movement and Zero Waste Day.

High-level Session on Universal Access to Adequate Housing

Moderator Shipra Narang-Suri, UN-Habitat, opened the session by underscoring that housing is more than a roof and four walls, rather it encompasses people’s health, dignity, safety, inclusion, and wellbeing. Noting that slow progress in advancing the right to adequate housing “is a structural failure of our systems to deliver on the most fundamental promise to humanity,” she said the special session would showcase the role of adequate housing in unlocking multiple benefits and explore how to create a strong multilateral platform to operationalize the proposed UNHA2 resolution on delivering affordable housing for all.

In a keynote address, Ricky Burdett, Co-Chair, Council on Urban Initiatives, discussed how cities are reshaping cities and repositioning housing “at the center of a common good approach,” sharing examples from Barcelona, Bogota, Melbourne, Mumbai, Singapore and London.

Amna bint Ahmed Alrumaihi, Minister of Housing and Urban Planning, Bahrain, highlighted an initiative to design more inclusive and sustainable towns to tackle rapid population growth and resource challenges, underscoring the importance of building strong partnerships with the private sector.

Plenary

Dialogue on the Special Theme for UNHA2: The Secretariat introduced the Executive Director’s report on the special theme for the Assembly, “A sustainable urban future through inclusive and effective multilateralism: achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in times of global crises” (HSP/HA.2/7). Pointing to the UN Secretary-General’s Our Common Agenda report, he indicated it recognizes the transformative potential of cities. He noted eight pathways to support a sustainable urban future, inter alia: adequate housing as a right; integrated climate and biodiversity action; inclusive urban recovery frameworks; vertical and horizontal coordination and SDG localization; and an increased fiscal space. He stressed that cities be heard in multilateral fora, including the July 2023 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) and the SDG Summit scheduled for September 2023 during the UN General Assembly.