PARLIAMENTARY SUPPORT TO THE SECOND UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON HUMAN SETTLEMENTS (HABITAT II)

Resolution adopted without a vote by the Inter-Parliamentary Council at its 158th session
(Istanbul, 20 April 1996)

The Inter-Parliamentary Council,

Noting that the UN General Assembly, by its resolution 47/180 of 22 December 1992, decided to convene the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) in Istanbul, Turkey, from 3-14 June 1996,

Further noting that the Inter-Parliamentary Union has followed the Habitat II preparatory process with particular attention and that it was represented at the three substantive sessions of Conference Preparatory Committee held in Geneva (11-22 April 1994), Nairobi (24 April - 5 May 1995), and New York (5-16 February 1996), respectively,

Bearing in mind the objectives of Habitat II, dubbed "the City Summit", which aims at increasing global and national awareness of the problems and potentials of human settlements as important inputs to social progress and economic growth, and at encouraging the world's leaders to make commitments towards making cities, towns and villages healthy, safe, just and sustainable,

Recalling that, on many past occasions, the inter-parliamentary community and its world organization - the IPU - have addressed issues of human settlements, urban management, housing and shelter, and that this was done in particular with regard to the Union's contribution and follow-up to such major UN fora as the Conference on Environment and Development (Rio de Janeiro, June 1992), the International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, September 1994), the World Summit for Social Development (Copenhagen, March 1995), and the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, September 1995),

1. Supports the holding of the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, and hopes that the "City Summit" will promote new policies and strategies for urban management, housing development and solution of urban environmental problems, adequately reflecting them in the "Habitat Agenda" to be adopted by the Conference;

2. Expresses its belief that the success of Habitat II will depend on its capacity to set realistic and attainable goals to which all nations can subscribe and which all cities can implement;

3. Stresses that the "City Summit" should take full account of and carry further forward the thrust of recommendations drawn up by the continuum of world fora convened by the United Nations in recent years;

4. Points out that many of the human settlements problems will require legislative action and that participation of national parliaments and their members in the implementation of the Habitat II commitments will therefore be vitally important;

5. Invites parliaments and individual MPs to keep themselves informed about issues placed on the agenda of Habitat II so as to contribute to discussions under way in this respect and influence the working-out of their respective countries' positions with regard to the "City Summit";

6. Calls on parliaments to ensure that MPs are also included in national delegations to Habitat II;

7. Requests the Union's Executive Committee to envisage appropriate action by which the Union and its members could contribute to the implementation and follow-up of the Habitat II decisions.