HABITAT INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT TO THE CPR ON COUNTRY ACTIVITIES BY MRS ANNA TIBAIJUKA THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR HSP/CPR/33/5

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1 UN HABITAT INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT TO THE CPR ON COUNTRY ACTIVITIES BY MRS ANNA TIBAIJUKA THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR HSP/CPR/33/5 Nairobi 11 June 2009

2 COUNTRY ACTIVITIES Statement to the CPR Excellencies, The overall objectives of UN-Habitat country-level activities are the following: (a) To promote policy reforms consistent with internationally agreed development goals and global United Nations agendas (e.g., the Habitat Agenda and the Millennium Declaration); (b) To build institutional and human capacities at the national, municipal and local levels and to test, validate and disseminate norms, strategies, policy options and practical tools through demonstration projects; (c) To support the implementation of local and national plans of action and mobilize or leverage corresponding national resources. All country-level activities of UN-Habitat are described in a specific 2009 report (HSP/GC/22/INF/3) made available to the Governing Council during its twenty-second session. For UN-Habitat the need to perform this crucial function raised the issue of establishing, for the first time in its history, a country presence without which becoming an integral part of a collective and sustained national strategic process would prove impossible. As a result, UN-Habitat and UNDP, the agency responsible for country-level coordination of development assistance, signed a memorandum of understanding in October 2002 to establish the positions of Habitat programme managers in selected developing countries, with a focus on least developed countries. The General Assembly welcomed the Habitat programme manager initiative in its resolution 57/275 of December The memorandum was updated and renewed in October An evaluation of the Habitat programme manager initiative was carried out in 2006 and submitted to the Governing Council at its twenty-first session, in April 2007 (HSP/GC/21/INF/4). It recommended the formulation of Habitat country programmes in selected countries. 33 Habitat Country Programme Documents have been formulated in 2008 in cooperation with host Governments and United Nations country teams. These documents constitute a first but key step in implementing the integrated programme of country-level normative and operational activities called for in the medium-term strategic and institutional plan. These activities are demand-driven and extra-budgetary. That is, they are developed in response to government requests and are undertaken only when funds have been identified and made available. UN-Habitat also promotes sub-regional, regional and interregional initiatives in support of country-level activities. South-south cooperation and triangular cooperation play an important role in policy dialogue, knowledge sharing and the dissemination of best 2

3 practices in all areas of housing and urban development and should be strengthened in the future. In view of its global mandate as the United Nations agency for cities and other human settlements, UN-Habitat should ideally be able to respond to requests for technical assistance emanating from any member State. Limited human and financial resources, however, and the need to focus on well-defined priorities consistent with the mediumterm strategic and institutional plan and the biennial work programmes, constitute major parameters which must be taken into account in responding to requests. The need for geographical balance and for efficiency in the delivery of support services should also be acknowledged. We intend to provide the list of new country projects on a regular basis to the CPR. See Annex. Thank you. 3

4 ANNEX TO SPEECH Project Country Region Year Sustainable cultural tourism in Namibia Namibia ROAAS 2009 Strengthening county institutional capacities for services delivery Liberia ROAAS 2009 Water and Sanitation Master Planning and Capacity Building Programme Iraq ROAAS 2009 Emergency housing rehabilitation and reconstruction in the Gaza Strip OPT ROAAS 2009 Provision of shelter-related technical and material assistance to returned IDPs Eritrea ROAAS 2009 Korogocho Slum Upgrading Programme Kenya ROAAS 2009 Support to Establishment and Initial Functioning of the Land Commission Liberia ROAAS 2009 Employment initiatives that augment social infrastructure in areas of high reintegration needs Liberia ROAAS 2009 Private Sector Development Programme Iraq ROAAS 2009 Khartoum State urban planning and development programme Sudan ROAAS 2009 Earthquake-resistant Reconstruction of Hongshe Primary Schools China ROAP 2009 Aceh Sanitation Assessment and Assistance Programme (ASAAP) Indonesia ROAP 2009 Affordable Housing for All Maldives ROAP 2009 Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction in the Cyclone Nargis Affected Areas Myammar ROAP 2009 Community Water Supply and Sanitation Recovery Project Myammar ROAP 2009 The Provision of Vocational Training for Returning IDPs Affected by the Koshi Flood Nepal ROAP

5 Emergency Transitional Shelter Provision for Baluchistant Earthquake Victims Pakistan ROAP 2009 Emergency Shelter Interventions for Vulnerable IDP Families Living with Host Families in NWFP Pakistan ROAP 2009 Emergency Shelter for IDPs living with host families in North West Frontier Province (NWFP) Pakistan ROAP 2009 WASH Intervention for IDPs in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Federally administered Tribal Areas (FATA) Pakistan ROAP 2009 Strengthening Philippine City Capacities to Address Climate Change Impacts (MDTF Ref. no. MDTF1656-E-03e-PHL) Philippines ROAP 2009 Preparing CDS/SUS Proposals for Fiji Islands, Samoa and Papua New Guinea Regional ROAP 2009 Enhancement of Technical Cooperation Towards Environmentally Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific Regional ROAP 2009 Rebuilding Sustainable Communities in Posttsunami Kalmunai Sri Lanka ROAP 2009 National Dialogues for Decentralization Argentina ROLAC 2009 Support to the Community Development and Youth Entrepreneurship in Vila Brasilandia Brazil ROLAC 2009 National Dialogues for Decentralization Colombia ROLAC 2009 Towards a Neighbourhood Improvement and Slum Eradication Policy Costa Rica ROLAC 2009 Governance in the Water and Sanitation Sector within the Framework of the MDGs Ecuador ROLAC 2009 National Dialogues for Decentraliation Jamaica ROLAC 2009 National Dialogues for Decentralization Mexico ROLAC 2009 Strengthening the Effective and Democratic Management of Water and Sanitation to Support the achievement of the MDGs in Periurban Contexts Mexico ROLAC