Access to basic services: a new resolution was adopted

In the follow-up of Resolution 20/5 entitled “Access to basic services for all within the context of sustainable human settlements” (April 2005), the twenty-first session of the Governing Council of UN-HABITAT approved, with the support of the Group of 77 and China and the African Group, a resolution on “Guiding principles on access to basic services for all”. The resolution requests UN-HABITAT and its partners:
 To develop draft guidelines on access to basic services for all which should be submitted to the Governing Council for its consideration at its twenty-second session ;
 To assist interested Governments in adapting the guiding principles, where appropriate ;
 To develop tools and indicators as part of its support for the application of the guiding principles.

Lastly, the resolution recommends that the issue of basic services for all be considered by the United Nations Economic and Social Council with a view to promoting the use of the guiding principles among United Nations Bodies.

UNITAR will continue to bring its support to UN-HABITAT in each step of the implementation of the Resolution.

The text of the resolution is attached to this page.

Context

The Governing Council meets every two years to examine UN-HABITAT’s work and relationships with its partners. The Council is composed of 58 member states. It is a high-level forum of governments - at the ministerial level - during which policy guidelines and the organization’s budget are established for the next two-year period. The Governing Council reports to the General Assembly through the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) which coordinates the work of the subsidiary bodies of the General Assembly.

The twenty-first session of the Governing Council of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) was held from 16 to 20 April 2007 at the UN-HABITAT headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.

For more information, please contact Mr. Philippe Athanassiou