General Assembly Session 60 meeting 91

The President

As stated in the Secretary-General's note (A/60/895), the General Assembly, in its resolution 56/206 of 21 December 2001, decided to transform the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements into the secretariat of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).

In the same resolution, the Assembly also decided that the UN-Habitat secretariat should be headed by an Executive Director at the level of Under-Secretary-General, to be elected by the Assembly for a term of four years upon nomination by the Secretary-General after consultation with Member States.

It is further stated that the General Assembly, by its decision 56/324 of 23 July 2002, on the proposal of the Secretary-General, elected Ms. Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka of the United Republic of Tanzania as Executive Director of UN-Habitat, at the Under-Secretary-General level, for a term of office of four years beginning on 1 September 2002 and ending on 31 August 2006.

In accordance with General Assembly resolution 56/206, the Secretary-General nominates Ms. Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka as Executive Director of UN-Habitat for another term of four years, beginning on 1 September 2006 and ending on 31 August 2010.

Accordingly, may I take it that the General Assembly wishes to elect Ms. Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka as Executive Director of UN-Habitat for another term of four years, beginning on 1 September 2006 and ending on 31 August 2010?

The President

I now call on the representative of South Africa, speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.

Mrs. Zia (South Africa)

On behalf of the Group of 77 and China, we would like to concur with the Secretary-General's decision to nominate Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka as Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) for another term of four years.

Since her appointment as Executive Director of UN-Habitat, she has proven herself worthy of leading that important Programme by working hard to analyse the issues and challenges to sustainable urbanization -- an issue that is of great relevance to the developing world. Her leadership qualities, which have guided issues of sustainable urbanization, prompted the General Assembly to upgrade the old United Nations Centre for Human Settlements into a full-fledged programme of the United Nations. The Group of 77 and China hold that decision dear, as it was sponsored by the Group.

The Group of 77 and China commend the progress made in the first four years of UN-Habitat in its new capacity as a Programme. Ms. Tibaijuka has untiringly raised the visibility of the issues and the Programme. In particular, we have noted with satisfaction the active role being played by UN-Habitat in assisting Member States to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, especially target 10 on water and sanitation and target 11 on slum upgrading. In that regard, we urge our development partners to give the Executive Director of UN-Habitat the financial support required.

The youngest programme in the United Nations system plays an important role towards achieving sustainable development. Unfortunately, the resources dispensed to the Programme are disproportionate to its task.

We are all acutely aware of the problems facing the world. Recently, at the third session of the World Urban Forum in Vancouver, Canada, we were once again alerted to the fact that one of the most pressing issues we face today is rapid urbanization in a world where half of humanity lives in cities and where, in the next 50 years, that proportion is expected to reach two thirds of the global population. Most of that urban growth is taking place in developing countries, where the major challenge is to combat poverty and provide better access to basic shelter and services, such as clean water and sanitation.

The Group of 77 and China would like to emphasize that, during the ongoing reform process within the United Nations, such programmes as UN-Habitat, which have a clear and unique mandate, should not be sacrificed or diluted by that exercise. Instead, such programmes, which are so intricately linked to sustainable development in a rapidly globalizing world, should be bolstered and strengthened.

Once again, we wish to renew our confidence in the leadership of Ms. Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka, as she has proven herself in her last term to be a champion of the cause of sustainable urbanization. We particularly commend her participation in the follow-up to the work of the Commission for Africa on urbanization in Africa. Her humanity and humility were so aptly expressed at the third session of the World Urban Forum, where she introduced to the gathering her student and her old teacher, to whom she attributed her professional success, as it was due to that person's encouragement that Ms. Tibaijuka excelled in her debating team and so developed the requisite skills for promoting and creatively leading such a programme.

We look forward to the next four years of her visionary approach around issues of sustainable urbanization, as well as to finding the balance between urban-rural linkages, so touchingly depicted by the little Kenyan Moipei sisters singing at the third session of the World Urban Forum.

The Group of 77 and China wish Ms. Tibaijuka every success in her new term, and we look forward to working with her once again.

Ms. Bahemuka (Kenya)

My delegation associates itself with the statement just delivered by the representative of South Africa on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.

I take this opportunity to welcome and congratulate Ms. Anna Tibaijuka following her reappointment to the post of Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) at this morning's 91st meeting of the General Assembly.

The appointment of Ms. Tibaijuka is a true indication of the trust and confidence we, the States Members of the United Nations, have in her abilities. Of course, she has eloquently justified that trust and confidence through her diligent, dedicated and unwavering engagement at the helm of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme since her first appointment in 2001.

The importance of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme cannot be overemphasized, given the issues that it is handling. Issues of human settlements are at the core of sustainable development, as they are closely linked to shelter, which, in its true sense, is indeed a basic need.

We well know that millions of people in the world today either have no shelter at all or live in substandard and inhuman conditions. Equally important are the very worrying rate of urbanization and the associated threatening rate of slum development. It is estimated that, today, over 1 billion people live in slums, and that number is likely to double in about 10 years unless urgent measures are taken. We know well that those are issues on which UN-HABITAT has developed immense competence, especially during the tenure of Ms. Anna Tibaijuka. It is important therefore that the UN-HABITAT programme be adequately supported, both technically and financially, to enable it to face the challenges before the world in the areas of human settlements, slum prevention and slum upgrading.

Closely linked to the work of UN-HABITAT are the health and environmental aspects -- water and sanitation and environmental management and sustainability -- of the housing and human settlements area. It is, however, important to note that, by working closely with other United Nations agencies and programmes, UN-HABITAT has been able to integrate those important aspects into its work. That is commendable, as it has greatly contributed to the improvement of human livelihoods through an integrated approach to human settlements and related environmental aspects.

I wish to applaud the Executive Director for her great work in those areas, including in particular her efforts in implementing the Habitat Agenda and the related Millennium Development Goal programmes and projects in Kenya. She has been instrumental in supporting my Government in slum-upgrading programmes. More striking is the fact that she is the first UN-HABITAT Executive Director to have established an office in one of the largest slums in the world, the slum of Kibera in Kenya. I believe, Mr. President, that you yourself visited the Kibera slums during your recent visit to Nairobi and saw the challenges, as well as the efforts that are being made jointly by the Government, UN-HABITAT and other development partners in partnership with grass-roots organizations and non-governmental organizations.

Hence, I call upon Member States to reaffirm their support for the Executive Director in her endeavours to implement the Habitat Agenda and the related Millennium Development Goals in all our countries, especially in the developing world.

My delegation, I personally and Kenya, which is host to UN-HABITAT, reaffirm our support and will facilitate the work of UN-HABITAT and of the United Nations Office at Nairobi to the fullest extent possible.

Let me end by noting the excellent work done by the Executive Director in spearheading very important initiatives, which include organizing the second session of the World Urban Forum, held in 2004 in Barcelona, Spain, and the Forum's third session, which concluded just last week in Vancouver, Canada.

I wish the Executive Director well; we shall give her the fullest support.

Mrs. Taj (Tanzania)

The delegation of the United Republic of Tanzania wishes to join the first two speakers in extending our warmest congratulations to Ms. Anna Tibaijuka on her re-election as Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT). Ms. Tibaijuka has done a commendable job in raising the profile of urbanization challenges in all parts of the world.

My delegation wishes specifically to emphasize the importance of capitalizing the United Nations Habitat and Human Settlements Foundation and its Slum Upgrading Facility. That call was made in paragraph 56 (m) of the 2005 World Summit Outcome (resolution 60/1). Our Vice-President, His Excellency Mr. Ali Mohammed Shein, who delivered a keynote address at the third session of the World Urban Forum, which just ended in Vancouver, has correctly observed that, unless good urban policies are followed by commensurate investment resources at the local level, it will be very difficult to translate ideas into action. We urge Ms. Tibaijuka to enhance her efforts in the challenging task of capitalizing the Habitat and Human Settlements Foundation. We appeal to donor countries to continue their efforts to assist the Executive Director in that task by providing sufficient and predictable resources in a timely manner, in order to enable her to fulfil her obligations as mandated by Member States.

Tanzania will do all that is within its power to assist the Executive Director to discharge her responsibilities successfully.

Mr. Lolo (Nigeria)

Let me begin by associating Nigeria with the statement made by the representative of South Africa on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, and in particular by congratulating Ms. Anna Tibaijuka on her good work and her strong leadership of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), in recognition of which the Secretary-General recommended her re-election, which the General Assembly has just endorsed. That is a reflection of our collective faith in Ms. Tibaijuka and our satisfaction with her excellent work. Since her assumption of office, Ms. Tibaijuka has worked tirelessly to place the critical issues of shelter and urban environmental sustainability on the front burner of the global agenda, particularly in Africa, where the challenge of rapid urbanization is most acute.

Nigeria is very pleased at the support that UN-HABITAT has given to the African Union, and more especially the establishment of the African Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development as the vehicle to facilitate the implementation of the Habitat Agenda and the relevant Millennium Development Goals. UN-HABITAT has also been instrumental in launching the Cities Programme of the New Partnership for Africa's Development and is working with the African Development Bank to ensure the realization of sustainable shelter objectives in Africa. Indeed, Nigeria has been working very closely with UN-HABITAT on the sustainable cities initiative and sustainable urban governance, and it is very happy to house the UN-HABITAT support office in Abuja to further those goals. We look forward to expanding our cooperation and would like to emphasize the need for adequate funding of the core budget of UN-HABITAT to enable the Programme to fulfil its mandate.

The President

I think I can safely say that we in the United Nations can congratulate ourselves on the re-election of Executive Director Anna Tibaijuka. During my visit to Nairobi in April, I saw for myself the impact of her leadership on the United Nations Human Settlements Programme and on the important issues of human settlements, urbanization and development.

The General Assembly has thus concluded its consideration of sub-item (d) of agenda item 112.

The President

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