Mrs. Tibaijuka demands better legislation to underwrite women’s empowerment Nairobi, 31 January 2006—UN-HABITAT Executive Director Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka on Monday called on world governments to enact legislation that will ensure that women achieved gender equality in accessing human settlements.   United Arab Emirates to build 1,000 homes for Sri Lanka tsunami victims Colombo, 27 January 2006 – The Red Crescent Society of the United Arab Emirates this week signed two agreements with UN-HABITAT to provide funding for the construction of 1,000 houses in areas of Galle, Trincomalee, Ampara and Kattankudy devastated by the December 2004 tsunami killer wave. The agreements were signed by Mr. Abdullah Al-Mahmood of Red Crescent Society, UAE and Mr. Lalith Lankatillake, Regional Advisor of UN-HABITAT. Remembering the Holocaust Nairobi, 27 January 2006 — United Nations staff, members of the diplomatic community and hundreds of school children on Friday gathered in a solemn candle lighting ceremony to mark the first ever International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust.   A new Arab League Representative to UN-HABITAT Nairobi, 27 January 2006 – The new Permanent Representative of the League of Arab States to UN-HABITAT, Mr. Salim Mohammed Al-Khussaibi, on Thursday presented his credentials to the Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka. UN-HABITAT’s Deputy Executive Director receives Francophone ambassadors Nairobi, 27 January 2006 – UN-HABITAT’s Deputy Executive Director, Ms. Inga Bjork-Klevby, on Thursday received ambassadors from Francophone countries to reassure them that the agency was doing all it could to take French language considerations into account at its major meetings like the forthcoming Third Session of the World Urban Forum in Vancouver, Canada.   UN-HABITAT calls for stricter building regulations in wake of Nairobi disaster Nairobi, 26 January 2006— UN-HABITAT ‘s Executive Director, Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka, on Wednesday called on city authorities in the Kenyan capital to suspend all ongoing multi-storey building work until better inspection measures are enforced. Her comments were made during a visit to the ruins of a building that collapsed this week claiming at least 14 lives, and leaving more than 100 injured with an unknown number of people still unaccounted for. Social Housing competitions launched in Serbia and Montenegro Belgrade, 24 January 2006 – UN-HABITAT, the Ministry for Capital Investments and the Union of Architects in Serbia has successfully launched a series of competitions in local cities for new social housing designs aimed and consolidating reforms in the housing sector.   Kisumu declared world’s first Millennium City Kisumu, 24 January 2006 – The western Kenyan city of Kisumu on the shores of Lake Victoria has been officially designated the first United Nations Millennium City in the world. Developing a national strategy to harvest rainwater in Nepal Kathmandu, 19 January, 2006 – More than 100 people this week discussed ways of devising a new national strategy to harvest rainwater in towns and settlements in the Kathmandu Valley and other parts of Nepal. Italy releases further funding for Serbian housing programme Belgrade, 17 January 2006 – UN-HABITAT has received 8.5 million dollars from the Italian Government for a social and housing integration programme for tens of thousands of war refugees and other vulnerable people in Serbia. Algeria to build 1 million new housing units Nairobi, 17 January 2006 — The Algerian Government is to build one million housing units to ease accommodation problems in the country. UN-HABITAT signs new social housing improvement programme for southeast Europe Brussels, 16 January 2006 – UN-HABITAT and the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe signed a co-operation agreement this week paving the way for improving urban development and social housing in southeast Europe. Boosting secure tenure and good urban governance in the Middle East Cairo, 16 January 2006 – Delegates at an Arab cities meeting held in Cairo last month agreed to promote UN-HABITAT’s campaigns for secure tenure and good urban governance and stressed the need for land strategies for the region. UN-HABITAT Deputy Executive Director Assumes Office Nairobi, 5 January 2006 - The new year begins on a high note with Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka, the Executive Director, welcoming Ms. Inga Björk-Klevby, the new Deputy Executive Director to UN-HABITAT. Africa after 2005 Nairobi, 5 January 2006— “As 2005, the year of Africa concludes successfully, it is important not only to celebrate the many achievements of the Commission for Africa, in highlighting the problems and possibilities of Africa, but also to remember that 2006 is the year of implementation of the recommendations put forward by the Commissioners,” said Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka, the Executive Director of UN-HABITAT and one of the Commissioners for Africa who advised Prime Minister Tony Blair on policies to improve the situation on the continent. Nepal hosts landfill workshop Katmandu, 21 December 2005— The city of Katmandu recently played host to some 88 delegates for a UN-HABITAT facilitated workshop that deliberated on landfill design and operation. BASF support to tsunami victims Galle, Sri Lanka 21 December 2005—The German chemical company BASF is working with UN-HABITAT in Sri Lanka and India in its continuing support to the tsunami devastated communities bordering the Indian Ocean UN-HABITAT, Sweden join hands in new Kosovo municipal programme Pristina, 14 December 2005 – UN-HABITAT is launching a new Municipal Spatial Planning Support Programme in Kosovo to help improve the standard of living in secondary towns and cities and bring them into line with modern European and international standards UN agency meets donors on shelter recovery in Pakistan and Zimbabwe Nairobi, 15 December 2005 – Within the framework of the UN Consolidated Appeals Process, UN-HABITAT today called a donor consultation to raise funds for shelter recovery to aid those who have been evicted from their homes in Zimbabwe and the survivors of the Pakistani earthquake. Russia and Slovakia pledge more support for UN-HABITAT Nairobi, 13 December 2005 – The Permanent Representatives of the Russian Federation and the Slovak Republic to UN-HABITAT have pledged more support for the agency in meetings at which they presented their credentials to the Executive Director Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka. New envoys from Norway and Belgium Nairobi, 8 December 2005 Fukuoka, 16 November 2005 – The new Permanent Representatives of Norway and Belgium presented their credentials to the Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka on 29 November. They are Ms. Elisabeth Jacobsen of Norway and Ms. Cristina Funes-Noppen of Belgium. UN-HABITAT and Southeast Asian partners discuss water education in schools Cha Am, Thailand, 7 December 2005 — UN-HABITAT and its partners held a three-day conference to help senior officials in Southeast Asia gain a better understanding of the agency’s Water for Asian Cities Programme and the idea of bringing the concepts of water conservation, sanitation and hygiene into school classrooms across the region. Norway and UN-HABITAT hold two-day annual meeting Nairobi, 7 November 2005 – A five-member Norwegian delegation led by Mr. Jostein Leiro, Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Tuesday concluded a two-day annual meeting with the Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka, and other officials on progress in the agency’s work programme. Global Internet discussion on urban problems draws thousands to the Habitat Jam Nairobi, 5 December 2005 — From internet cafes in the slums of Nairobi, New Delhi and Lima to flashy office blocks in Europe and north America, thousands of people from around the world at the weekend beamed into the Habitat Jam for a global internet discussion of urban problems aimed at bringing fresh ideas from ordinary people to leaders and experts preparing for the third session of UN-HABITAT’s World Urban Forum in Vancouver next June. UN-HABITAT unveils new human security programme in Afghanistan Kabul, 22 November 2005 —The director of UN-HABITAT’s Regional Office for Asia Pacific, Mr. Madhab Mathema on Monday told a news conference in Kabul that UN-HABITAT was forging ahead with a new human security project aimed at upgrading informal settlements in the three Afghan cities of Kandahar, Mazar, and Jalalabad. At UN Summit, States agree on actions to get information technology to poor Tunis, 18 November 2005 Governments meeting at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) agreed on a range of measures to give poor communities around the world better access to information networks and computer technology. UN-HABITAT’s Executive Director visits Japanese quake zone Fukuoka, 16 November 2005 – UN-HABITAT Executive Director Mrs. Tibaijuka, visited Genkai Island off Fukuoka to see at first-hand the damage wrought by an earthquake on 20 March this year and to take stock of reconstruction efforts. East African officials discuss affordable housing Kampala, 16 November, 2005 – Representatives from banks, finance, land and housing ministries from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda gathered in Kampala with American and UN officials for the first regional meeting devoted to promoting innovative financing for affordable housing. Legislators seek debt relief to finance shelter Rabat, 14 November 2005 – Over 170 legislators from Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America attending the Fifth Global Parliamentarians on Habitat Forum in Morocco last week adopted the Rabat Declaration advocating debt relief to help finance housing and urban infrastructure. Mrs. Tibaijuka addresses International Conference on Sustainable Urban Development Nanning, 11 November 2005 – UN-HABITAT Executive Director Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka on Friday addressed the International Conference on Sustainable Urban Development with a call for better welfare as a means to achieving sustainable urban development. Using the Internet to make your voice heard Nairobi, 11 November 2005 – In a lead-up to the third session of the World Urban Forum (WUF), to be held in Vancouver, Canada, in June 2006, UN-HABITAT, in collaboration with IBM and the Canadian Government is holding what it hopes will be the world's biggest Internet discussion to date from 1-3 December 2005. Africa’s first Hip-Hop Summit Johannesburg, 9 November 2005 – Shouting their message in full volume to more than 500 participants at the first African Hip-Hop Summit in Newtown, Johannesburg, leading Hip-Hop artists from around the world teamed up with UN-HABITAT last month to help give young people a voice in their affairs. Tibaijuka receives European Permanent Representative Nairobi, 7 November 2005 – The Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka, on Monday received the credentials of the Permanent Representative of the European Commission to UN-HABITAT, Mr. Eric Jacob van der Linden. New UN-HABITAT collaboration with Sweden Stockholm, 3 November 2005 – The Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka, and the Managing Director of the Swedish Cooperative Centre (SCC) in Stockholm, Mr. Lennart Hjalmarson, have agreed to start a new collaboration aimed at helping developing countries promote security of tenure, better housing and service provision for poor people. Kenyan and Swedish students hold exhibition on sustainable development Nairobi, 3 November 2005 – Some 31 students from Kenyan and Swedish universities on Thursday held a one-day exhibition at UN-HABITAT’s Nairobi headquarters showcasing their work towards addressing sustainable urban development. Urban development meeting adopts new declaration on cities Geneva, 2 November 2005 – The International Platform on Sustainable Urban Development, has adopted the “Geneva Declaration for a viable future in cities” with the objective of creating a world solidarity network for better human settlements. Mrs. Tibaijuka addresses UN General Assembly New York, 1 November 2005 – UN-HABITAT Executive Director Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka on Tuesday addressed the second committee of the sixtieth General Assembly of the United Nations, introducing the Secretary General’s report on the implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) and strengthening of the agency. Striving for more city parks, sports facilities Cologne, 2 November 2005 – UN-HABITAT is teaming up with the International Association of Sports and Leisure Facilities (IAKS) to push for more parks, sports facilities and urban recreational spaces in towns and cities around the world. Even as spotlight falls on Pakistani quake, UN pushes ahead with tsunami aid New York, 26 October 2005 – Even as United Nations relief operations focus sharply on aiding millions of survivors affected by this month’s devastating earthquake in Pakistan, the world body’s agencies are pressing on with their efforts to help rehabilitate the vast region ravaged by last December’s Indian Ocean tsunami. Despite post-tsunami shelter progress in the Maldives, a funding shortfall Maldives, 25 October 2005 – Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of UN-HABITAT this week visited Maldives where UNDP and UN-HABITAT are jointly rebuilding homes on 58 islands in the Indian Ocean archipelago devastated by last December’s tsunami. Secretary-General appoints deputy executive director of UN-HABITAT New York, 20 October 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today announced the appointment of Swedish Ambassador Inga Björk-Klevby as Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) in Nairobi, Kenya. Tibaijuka receives credentials from two new envoys Nairobi, 17 October 2005 – The Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka, last week received credentials from two new envoys to the organization, the Permanent Representative of Denmark, Mr. Bo Jensen, and the Permanent Representative of Bangladesh, Mr. Syeed Ahmed. UN-HABITAT launches secure tenure campaign in Thailand Bangkok, 11 October 2005 – During the week of World Habitat Day 3-8 October UN-HABITAT launched its Global Campaign for Secure Tenure and Cities without Slums programme in Thailand. UN-HABITAT pledges Pakistan earthquake recovery support Nairobi, 11 October 2005 – Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, this week offered the agency’s immediate support with emergency relief and recovery following a massive earthquake in Kashmir on Saturday that claimed more than 33,000 lives. Major Norwegian boost for UN-HABITAT water and sanitation trust fund Nairobi, 11 October 2005 – Norway will grant UN-HABITAT’s Water and Sanitation Trust Fund nearly US$ 7 million in 2005 to help alleviate the water and sanitation crisis confronting millions of slum dwellers across Africa and Asia. Iranian Delegation visits UN-HABITAT Nairobi, 10 October 2005 – A delegation from Iran consisting of government officials and representatives of the International Art and Architecture Research Association (IAARA) visited UN-HABITAT headquarters on Friday and met the Executive Director, Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka. Colourful Ceremony Marks WHD in Kenya Athi River, 4 October 2005 — It was pomp and glamour as dances, poem recitals and performance by a local television drama group took the centre stage during the World Habitat Day national celebrations held at Athi River, a satellite town near the Kenyan capital Nairobi. World Habitat Day observances Jakarta, October 3, 2005 – World Habitat Day was celebrated in towns and cities around the world on Monday at ceremonies, seminars and meetings attended by many government and local authority representatives to reflect on the state of human settlements, especially the living conditions of the urban poor and their basic right to adequate shelter. World Habitat Day Jakarta, 30 September, 2005 - The United Nations has designated the first Monday of October each year as World Habitat Day to reflect on the state of human settlements, especially the living conditions of the urban poor and their basic right to adequate shelter. Local authorities for peace and social integration Nevsehir, Turkey, 26 September 2005 – Hundreds of delegates representing local authorities from around the world, governments, NGOs and academic experts gathered in Nevsehir this week to discuss peace and social integration in human settlements. Striving for cities without slums Nairobi, 27 September 2005 – Delegates from across east, central and southern Africa on Friday concluded a two-day UN-HABITAT workshop on providing the poor with decent, liveable housing through the Cities Without Slums Programme. Cities Without Slums Workshop Opens in Nairobi Nairobi, 22 September 2005 – Some 80 delegates from east, central and southern Africa gathered at UN-HABITAT headquarters in Nairobi on Thursday for a two-day meeting on the Cities Without Slums Programme. New movie explains urban water conservation to Nepalese television viewers Kathmandu, 22 September 2005 – A new movie explaining the importance of urban water conservation based on a love story has been aired to a nationwide television audience in Nepal as part of a campaign to help broaden public understanding of clean water and sanitation. Second Weihai Habitat Festival draws thousands Weihai, 19 September 2005– Thousands of people both from China and abroad at the weekend thronged the opening of the Second Weihai International Habitat Festival, aimed at promoting the exchange of ideas on improving the living environment. UN World Summit prioritizes slum prevention and upgrading New York, 19 September 2005 – World leaders at the United Nations World Summit resolved to achieve significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020 and recognized the urgent need for increased resources for affordable housing and housing-related infrastructure. Summit highlights – a home in the city New York, 16 September 2005 – UN-HABITAT experts told officials gathered for the world summit in New York this week how innovative new financing mechanisms could have a major impact in reducing urban poverty and improving the lives of slum dwellers. >World Summit highlights – the Millennium Development Goals and the City New York, 16 September 2005 – In the lead-up to the UN World Summit in New York, UN-HABITAT participated in a public symposium on “The Millennium Development Goals and the City” – the theme of World Habitat Day on Monday 3, October. Annan opens Summit with plea for world's poorest New York, 14 September 2005 – The 2005 World Summit, the largest gathering ever of international leaders, opened at United Nations Headquarters in New York today with a warning from Secretary-General Kofi Annan that “millions of lives and the hopes of billions” rest on fulfilling the pledges contained in the meeting’s outcome document. UN-HABITAT releases major new report on urban financing London, 12 September 2005 – By the year 2030, an additional 3 billion people making up about 40 percent of the global population will need housing, according to UN-HABITAT’s latest flagship report released on Monday, Financing Urban Shelter: Global Report on Human Settlements 2005. Annan warns world mayors on urban poverty New York, 9 September 2005 – UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan told a gathering of world mayors and other city officials on Thursday that over the next 30 years virtually all of the world’s population growth would occur in the urban areas of low and middle-income countries. Tibaijuka thanks Britain for support to UN-HABITAT Nairobi, 9 September 2005 – UN-HABITAT’s Executive Director, Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka, this week expressed appreciation to the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for its support for the organization. New Chinese aid for Maldives Malé, Maldives, 15 August 2005 – The Government of Maldives on Monday launched a project financed by the Government of China that will provide half a million US dollars worth of aid to two remote islands in the Maldives that were devastated by last year’s tsunami. UN Special Envoy on Zimbabwean evictions briefs Security Council New York, 27 July 2005 – The United Nations Special Envoy on housing evictions in Zimbabwe, Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka, today briefed the Security Council on her two-week visit to the southern African country where the demolition of housing and markets have left some 700,000 people without homes or businesses. Tsunami assistance in Thailand Bangkok, July 27 2005 - – UN-HABITAT and UNDP have signed an agreement to support local government organizations in participatory rehabilitation planning in areas of Thailand hit by last December’s tsunami killer wave. Zimbabwe’s evictions carried out with ‘indifference to human suffering,’ Mrs. Tibaijuka says New York, 25 July 2005 - UN Special Envoy and Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka presented her report to the Secretary General on Friday with calls to the Government of Zimbabwe to stop the demolition of homes and markets, pay reparations to those who have lost housing and livelihoods and punish those who, “with indifference to human suffering,” carried out the evictions of some 700,000 people. Tsunami shelter relief in Somalia Nairobi, 21 July 2005 - UN-HABITAT and UNICEF have announced a major project to provide shelter for over 2,400 people living in the tsunami-affected town of Hafun, North Eastern Somalia. Under a recently-signed agreement, a 12-month project, slated to begin next month and worth just over USD 1.35 million, Zimbabwe: UN report on recent evictions on way to Government New York, 20 July 2005 – A UN report on the humanitarian aspects of a demolition and eviction campaign in Zimbabwe that rendered hundreds of thousands homeless and unable to earn a living has been sent to the Government of Zimbabwe for its consideration, a United Nations spokesperson said. Major Japanese funding for human settlements upgrading in Afghanistan Nairobi, 18 July 2005 – The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security have announced that they will provide over 3 million US dollars towards upgrading homes and urban community facilities in informal settlements in the three Afghan cities of Kandahar, Mazar-e-Sharif and Jalalabad.