The Global Platform for the Right to the City is excited to be participating in the 1st UN-Habitat Assembly!
The GPR2C believes that the focus of the Assembly, the Strategic Plan 2020-2025, makes steps in the right direction, it falls short in the key areas central to our mission. Make no mistake: The Strategic Plan 2020-2025 is right about embracing sustainable urbanization as the cornerstone of the different global agendas. The document also explicitly mentions youth, children, women and girls, older people, people with disabilities and other marginalized groups, including migrants and refugees. This is part of an overall Human Rights based approach that we celebrate, and that we acknowledge was not present in previous drafts.
However, it must go further. We will advocate at the Assembly that:
- The ‘Right to the City’, which is fundamental to achieving the SDG’s and NUA and which was explicitly enshrined in the latter, must be included in the SP2020-25; without this, it fails to pursue the paradigm shift needed to achieve these goals of fundamental importance.
- Women must be involved in urban planning, local governance and decision-making processes related to their urban environments.
- That Sustainable Development, mentioned throughout but not defined in the SP2020-25, must not be pursued at the expense of local democracy and metropolitan governance; both are mentioned only once throughout the entire document.
- The social function of land must be recognised, that the informal economy must be given greater attention, and that Housing and Land Property Rights should be seen within the context of the Housing Rights approach, including specific mention to individual and collective, traditional and state-based forms of tenure other than private property.
You can read the full GPR2C UN-Habitat 2019 Assembly Statement here!
Agenda for the Assembly
Between Monday 27 and Wednesday 29 May we shall be engaging in a wide range of valuable events, meetings, and talks, seeking to advance the Right to the City Agenda in line with the most pressing urban issues of our time. The full agenda will be as follows:
Monday 27
(Side Event) “Not just a roof: promoting spatial equality and justice through the right to adequate housing”, Ft. Ana Falu and Nelson Saul
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm (Classroom 2; co-organised by Polis Institute of Social Policy)
This side event aims to discuss housing rights solutions that ensure the right to housing, and prevent the violations that lead to spatial fragmentation, increase poverty and further limit the access to health, education, and job opportunities. The event will conclude with recommendations for national and local governments, as well as inspiring practices from civil society and marginalized groups in claiming their rights.
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm (Conference Room 6; co-organised by Shack Dwellers’ International (SDI), TECHO, Cities Alliance)
Drawing on examples from Africa, Asia and Latin America, this session will explore the power of community driven data collection via inclusive participatory approaches and low-costtechnology, such as GLTN’s Social Tenure Domain Model (STDM) and SDI’s community-driven slum data collection and mapping practices through the Know Your City campaign, a joint initiative of SDI, UCLG-A and Cities Alliance, demonstrating community-driven data innovations to reduce inequalities and participate in designing evidence-based poverty alleviation interventions.
Tuesday 28
1:15pm – 2:45pm (Conference Room 11; co-organised by Global Taskforce / UCLG)
This side-event wants to bring together representatives from central and local governments, to open a frank and fruitful debate about what are the current challenges on the local implementation of both global agendas (Agenda 2030 and the New Urban Agenda) and what ideas and innovative solutions are countries implementing to ensure a more effective distribution of responsibilities between all levels of government.
The side-event will bring together Mayors and Ministers from different countries of the world to share experiences and thoughts about what changes in urban governance are necessary to make the New Urban Agenda and the SDGs a reality for all.
Wednesday 29
UCLG Forum
[Details coming soon]Thursday 30
(Side Event) “Giving Voice: from Aspiration to Transformation. Gender Equality, Innovation and Agenda 2030”
6:00pm – 7:30pm (Conference Room 13; co-organised by Huairou Commission, Habitat for Humanity International, UCLG – Asia-Pacific)
You can read the full UN-Habitat Side events programme here: https://unhabitat.org/habitatassembly-side-events/
Cant be there in person? You can watch all the proceedings via livestream: Eng Fre Spa
See you there!
