The General Assembly, in resolution 67/216, encouraged effective contributions from and the active participation of all relevant stakeholders, including local governments, major groups as identified in Agenda 21, the relevant United Nations funds and programmes, the regional commissions and specialized agencies, the international financial institutions and other Habitat Agenda partners, at all stages of the preparatory process for the Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) and at the Conference itself.

In its resolution 69/226, the General Assembly emphasized the importance on wide participation of all relevant stakeholders, including local authorities, in the promotion of sustainable urbanization and settlements; as well as called upon member states to ensure effective participation in the preparatory process and in the Conference itself of local governments and all other stakeholders.

In the same resolution, the General Assembly decided that the major groups and the non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, as well as those accredited to Habitat II and the summit to be held in September 2015 for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda, shall register in order to participate in the Conference. Also decides that non-governmental organizations not in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council wishing to attend and contribute to the Conference, and whose work is relevant to the subject of the Conference, may participate as observers in the Conference, as well as in the preparatory meetings, in accordance with the provisions contained in part VII of Council resolution 1996/31 of 25 July 1996, and subject to the approval of the Preparatory Committee in plenary meeting, and that, while respecting fully the provisions contained in rule 57 of the rules of procedure of the functional commissions of the Council, such a decision should be made by consensus.

The deadline for submitting accreditation applications are:

  • Preparatory Committee, second session - 15 March 2015
  • Preparatory Committee, third session - 1 April 2016
  • Habitat III Conference - 2 May 2016

General Assembly of Partners

The General Assembly of Partners (GAP), which will carry out its work until the end of the Habitat III Conference in Quito, Ecuador in October 2016, is a special initiative of the World Urban Campaign. GAP aims to support stakeholders’ engagement and contributions to the conference. It consists of 14 Partner Constituent Groups (PCG) with members from the United Nations’ major groups and other relevant stakeholders.

GAP held its inaugural meeting on 13 April 2015 in Nairobi, Kenya where it adopted its Constitution and By-­laws. It elected the PCG chairs and engaged a process of outreach to all PCG constituencies. At this inaugural meeting, GAP adopted the Nairobi Declaration that outlines its commitments for contributing to the elaboration of the New Urban Agenda and that requests for recognition and engagement in the Habitat III process.

The General Assembly of Partners has three lines of work: •

  • Engaging in an inclusive dialogue to develop common positions on key principles and thematic areas to be articulated in the New Urban Agenda that build on The Future We Want, The City We Need and the future Framework for Post 2015 Development and consider inputs provided by the Partner Constituent Groups, Urban Thinkers Campuses, thematic, regional and other relevant meetings
  • Proposing a set of actionable recommendations supported by evidence and knowledge, exemplary urban solutions and experiences related to sustainable urbanization generated by practitioners from all backgrounds
  • Advocating for and publicizing the outcomes and collective positions that emerge within GAP to the Habitat III Conference and associated programs and processes via all available channels

The General Assembly of Partners will meet several times in different regions of the world: October, 2015 (New York), December, 2015 (Paris), March (TBA), 2015, Indonesia (July), 2016 and October (Quito), 2016.

The General Assembly of Partners welcomes new members and their active participation in Partner Constituent Groups. GAP looks forward to working with you.

For more information contact:

Accredited. Registration for the second Preparatory Committee

Accreditation criteria and procedures for organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council

Interested non-governmental organizations and major groups, including local authorities and other stakeholders, whose work is relevant to the subject of the Conference, that are currently in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council and wish to participate in the Conference or in sessions of its Preparatory Committee should pre-register on the website of the Conference to participate at the second session of the Preparatory Committee in April 2015, not later than 13 March 2015. Registration will open in the next days.

You can check your organization’s accreditation status here or at E/2014/INF/5 - List of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council as of 1 September 2014.

Accreditation criteria for organizations accredited to Habitat II and the summit to be held in September 2015 for the adoption of the Post-2015 Development Agenda

Organizations accredited to Habitat II and the summit to be held in September 2015 for the adoption of the Post-2015 Development Agenda, whose work is relevant to the subject of the Conference, and wish to participate in the Conference or in sessions of its Preparatory Committee should register to participate at the second session of the Preparatory Committee in April 2015, not later than 13 March 2015.

You can check if your organization was accredited to Habitat II in 1996 here.

For registration, please send an email to Habitat3Secretariat@un.org with the following information:

  1. Country
  2. Last name
  3. First name
  4. Email
  5. Organization
  6. Organization’s email
  7. Telephone
  8. Letter for proof by the organization (to be attached)

Not accredited - special accreditation

Accreditation criteria and procedures for organizations without consultative status with the Economic and Social Council.

Those non-governmental organizations and major groups not in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council but wishing to attend and to contribute to the Conference and its preparatory process may apply to the Conference secretariat for that purpose. Such special accreditation will be limited solely to the Conference and its preparatory process. Applications for special accreditation should be made on this website no later than 13 March 2015. The application requires the submission of the following information:

(a) Name of the organization and pertinent contact information, such as address and main contact details

(b) Purpose of the organization

(c) Programmes and activities of the organization in areas relevant to the subject of the Conference, indicating in which country or countries they are carried out

(d) Confirmation of the activities of the organization at the national, regional or international levels; (e) Copies of annual or other reports of the organization, with financial statements and a list of financial sources and contributions, including governmental contributions

(f) A list of the members of the governing body of the organization and their countries of nationality

(g) A description of the membership of the governing body of the organization indicating, as appropriate, the total number of members and, where applicable, the names of organizations that are members and their geographical distribution

(h) A copy of the constitution and/or by-laws of the organization

(i) A completed online registration form

Please take into account that special accreditations will be approved by the Preparatory Committee during the opening session of the second session of the Preparatory Committee on 14 April 2015.

An organization that has been granted accreditation to attend a session of the Preparatory Committee may attend all of its future sessions and the Conference itself.