Nairobi, 27 April 2022 – Global stakeholders meeting earlier this month agreed on the need for action and commitment by UN-Habitat and the New Urban Agenda (NUA) partners to promote partnerships, build capacity, and provide data around stakeholder contributions in the implementation of the NUA.

“A multi-stakeholder consultative approach was used to develop the New Urban Agenda. As a result, if we are to speed its implementation in advancing the 2030 Agenda, monitoring and reporting procedures must include all stakeholders,” Raf Tuts, Director of UN-Habitat’s Global Solutions Division told the audience.

Prof. Siraj Sait provided an update on the 2022 Report of the Secretary-General on progress of the implementation of the New Urban Agenda—also known as the quadrennial report. The three focus points of the quadrennial report are: (1) elevating the New Urban Agenda, by taking stock of displacement and conflict and by focusing on human rights; (2) looking at the impact of COVID on multilateral government structures; and (3) housing and homelessness. the quadrennial report.

The two-day Stakeholder Advisory Group Enterprise (SAGE) consultations established a follow-up roadmap to key global level opportunities that respond to the NUA process, namely the Eleventh session of the World Urban Forum in Poland in June and the Urban October celebrations that showcase efforts of stakeholders at different levels.

The outcome of these consultations will be reviewed at the global stakeholder forum which will be held at the second session of the UN-Habitat Assembly in 2023.

The consultations were held so more then 270 participants from 180 organizations -- including academia, local and regional governments, U.N. entities, grassroots, persons living with disabilities, civil society, women, and the business community – could provide feedback on the progress of the NUA.

"The president of the 76th session of the General Assembly is committed to elevating the New Urban Agenda and incorporating contributions from non-state actors. This is consistent with the New Urban Agenda as it is not only governments that should be accountable for implementation, but also other constituencies that must collaborate with governments to reach transformative commitments and promote the core drivers of the New Urban Agenda,” said Christopher Williams, Director, UN-Habitat Office in New York.

The General Assembly will hold a High-Level Meeting in New York later this month to highlight the importance of the New Urban Agenda and encourage countries to be more involved and active in the process.

Noting that UN-Habitat has received 110 case studies from organizations in 92 countries, UN-Habitat Executive Director Ms. Maimunah Mohd Sharif told the two-day consultations that UN-Habitat welcomed the submission of additional case studies. She urged all participants to work together to build relationships that will broaden their reach as well as provide opportunities for lessons while capitalizing on available technical and financial resources.

UN-Habitat will collaborate with stakeholder representatives to create a reporting framework that will allow partners to report and upload their activities to the Urban Agenda Platform.

“A multi-stakeholder consultative approach was used to develop the New Urban Agenda. As a result, if we are to speed its implementation in advancing the 2030 Agenda, monitoring and reporting procedures must include all stakeholders,” stated Mr. Raf Tuts, the Director of Global Solutions Division at UN-Habitat.

Presentations, dialogues and engagement sessions

The 27 case studies presented at the consultations showed how different partners respond to a wide range of topics that were aligned with four main themes of the NUA: (a) poverty, inequality, and education; (b) shared prosperity; (c) environmental sustainability and resilience; and innovation, finance, technology, policy, and legislative change.

Highlighted recommendations

Recommendations proposed by participants sought to respond to the call for multi-stakeholder partnerships; Policy recommendations around the NUA; enhanced advocacy on sustainable housing and urban development; development of capacity building initiatives and other knowledge products on the NUA; mainstream social inclusion at all levels; and stakeholder engagement in UN-Habitat intergovernmental processes.  The outcome declaration is available at: https://unhabitat.org/hlm-new-urban-agenda.