UN Meet at Nairobi concludes with resolutions on gender equality, sustainable cities

The first UN-Habitat Assembly concluded in Kenya's capital, Nairobi recently with delegates endorsing resolutions to enhance the renewal of world's cities.

Over 3,000 delegates who attended the five-day meeting adopted a three-year strategic plan whose implementation will strengthen the health of cities and towns. "The delegates also adopted guidelines on safer cities and human settlements," Martha Delgado, UN-Habitat Assembly president said during the closing ceremony.

According to Martha Delgado, the delegates resolved to promote gender equality and support inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities and human settlement and enhance urban-rural linkages for sustainable urbanization and human settlements.

She said that delegates agreed to enhance capacity-building for the implementation of the new urban agenda and the urban dimension of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as reported by Xinhua.

Delgado said that the resolutions will give the UN-Habitat powers to inject new and innovative thinking in the management of cities and urban centers globally.

"With the latest upgrading of the UN-Habitat to an assembly, the UN agency is expected to gather and share best practices into making urban and cities better human settlement areas," Delgado cited.

Maimunah Mohd Sharif, UN-Habitat executive director, said that the resolutions gave the UN agency a new beginning and a paradigm shift toward enhancing new urban agenda. "We intend to encourage sustainable urban development in cities globally and look at issues pertaining to climate change, migrants and displaced persons," Sharif said.

She said that the UN agency will continue attracting best ideas from stakeholders in order to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Sharif assured delegates that the UN agency will work very closely with member states and other stakeholders to implement the resolutions agreed at the assembly.

The UN-Habitat Assembly was established by the UN General Assembly through a resolution endorsed in December 20, 2018, to help strengthen UN-Habitat's mandate as its agency and focal point on sustainable urbanization.

During the conference, 21 member states made pledges amounting to 152 million U.S. dollars to boost the operations of the UN agency.

The countries that made pledges include China, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, France, the Gambia, Germany, Kenya, Xinhua noted.

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