Previous Year Question
With reference to the role of UN-Habitat in the United Nations programme working towards a better urban future, which of the statements is/are correct?
UN-Habitat has been mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities and to provide adequate shelter for all.
Its partners are either governments or local urban authorities only.
UN-Habitat contributes to the overall objective of the United Nations system to reduce poverty and to promote access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
1, 2 and 3
1 and 3
2 and 3
Only 1
Correct Answer: B
Detailed Solution
The formal name of UN-Habitat is the United Nations Human Settlements Programme.
It is the principal United Nations programme concerned with sustainable urbanization and human settlements.
The United Nations General Assembly has mandated it to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities and to work towards adequate shelter for all. Therefore, Statement 1 is correct.
UN-Habitat was established in 1978 and is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya.
Its establishment is linked to the first United Nations Conference on Human Settlements held in Vancouver, Canada, in 1976.
Its partners include not only national governments and local urban authorities but also civil society, communities, the private sector, non-governmental organizations and academic institutions.
Therefore, Statement 2, which restricts its partners only to governments and local urban authorities, is not correct.
UN-Habitat works to reduce poverty, improve the conditions of slums and promote inclusive urban development.
It also assists in improving access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. Therefore, Statement 3 is correct.
Its areas of work include housing, urban planning, land, urban governance, basic services and disaster-resilient cities.
UN-Habitat plays a major role in implementing Sustainable Development Goal 11—‘Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable’.
The ‘New Urban Agenda’ was adopted at the Habitat III Conference held in Quito, Ecuador, in 2016.
The New Urban Agenda provides global direction for planned, inclusive and environmentally sustainable urbanization.