The Global Taskforce calls for a renewed global governance partnership on World Habitat Day

New Urban Agenda
02 October 2016

On World Habitat Day 2016, the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments celebrates the landmark inclusion of a reference to the Right to the City in the New Urban Agenda and calls on the international community to#Listen2Cities at the World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments and create a renewed global governance partnership to achieve sustainable development.

World Habitat Day, celebrated on the first Monday of October of every year, is an opportunity to reflect on the state of our towns and cities, and the right to adequate shelter. The theme of World Habitat Day 2016 is Housing at the Centre, one of the main elements of the Right to the City, one of the main recommendations of the Global Taskforce to the Third UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III).

The Global Taskforce would like to take the opportunity of World Habitat Day to celebrate the landmark inclusion of a reference to the Right to the City as part of a shared vision of “cities for all” in paragraph 11 of the Quito Declaration. We would also like to highlight the recognition of the World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments in paragraphs 8 and 169 of the Agenda. The World Assembly will be a vital mechanism in the follow-up and review of the Agenda.

The World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments on the 16th of October in Quito will be the opportunity for our constituency to commit to support the achievement of the New Urban Agenda, and to make a joint statement to the Habitat III conference on our commitments and recommendations going forward.

Today, on World Habitat Day 2016, the Global Taskforce and its networks reaffirm our commitment to guarantee the right to housing for all and to make the New Urban Agenda a success.

We are confident that a renewed governance partnership between regional governments and the UN post-Habitat III will support us to work with our national and international counterparts to make the right to housing, and the right to the city, a reality in cities and territories across the globe.