| At 9:00 am, the Chair of the Delegation of Finland, Kimmo Sasi (pictured
below, center), opened the 25th Special Session
of the General Assembly. A moment of silence was observed
in memory of the King and Queen of Nepal. |
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| Harri Holkeri of Finland (on the left) was elected President of the
Special Session, and in general remarks he emphasized that
the Special Session is innovative because the Thematic Committee
allows delegations to share experiences and learn from one
another. |
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Holkeri's
opening address |
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UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan's opening address
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UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan noted that partnerships
with local authorities, nongovernmental organizations and
women’s groups are particularly important for the eradication
of poverty in urban areas. |
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PrepCom
Chair Germán García-Durán (Colombia) presented the report
of the Commission on Human Settlements (CHS)
acting as the preparatory committee for the special session
of the General Assembly for an overall review and appraisal
of the implementation of the outcome of the United Nations
Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) (A/S-25/2). |
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Gennady
Novitsky, Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus delivering the
first address by a national delegation to the Istanbul+5 UNGASS |
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| Bird's-eye
view of the General Assembly, from the upper balcony. |
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Thematic
Committee:
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| The Chair of the Thematic Committee, Habeddine Belaid (Tunisia) highlighted
the Committee’s sub-themes of housing, social development,
balanced structures for human settlements, environmental management,
economic development, governance, financing for urban development
and strategies for development of cities. |
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| SOUTH
AFRICA: Sankie Mthembi-Mahanyele
(far right), Minister of Housing for South Africa, presented
a video showing how a rights-based approach to housing is
being addressed in both urban and rural areas nationwide.
Strategies include legislation preventing unfair evictions,
upholding the right to adequate housing and addressing the
needs of women and the disabled. |
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EGYPT: Mohamed Ibrahim Soliman, Egyptian Minister of Housing Utilities and
Urban Communities, presented three urban rehabilitation and
relocation projects, and attributed their success to the emphasis
placed on cultural factors and stakeholder participation at
all stages.
Excerpts
from Soliman's presentation
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SENEGAL: Seydon Sy Sall (near right), Minister of Town Planning and National
and Regional Development of Senegal, described a pilot project
to secure land tenure, improve basic services and develop
local economic bases in several squatter towns.
Excerpt
from Sall's presentation |
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| INDIA:
Sheela Patel of SPARC, a Bombay partnership of local actors, discussed
a program successfully initiated in three cities whereby municipalities
pay for sustainable sanitation facilities created and managed
by communities. |
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