§ Lord Brockwayasked Her Majesty's Government:
What were the conclusions of the conference of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) at Nairobi; whether they will co-operate in its plans to aid the poorest populations in urban areas in the third world, and whether they will raise in the United Nations Security Council the need for Governments to contribute an additional £5 million to enable the work of the centre to continue.
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Belstead)The Fifth Session of the United Nations Commission on Human Settlements was held in Nairobi in May. This is one of a series of annual meetings which are concerned with the planned growth and management of human settlements, both urban and rural. Two subjects were given special attention at the Fifth Session and these were planning for human settlements in disaster prone areas and transportation for urban and rural areas with emphasis on groups with limited resources. No conclusions as such were drawn at the session though a series of wide-ranging resolutions were adopted, mostly related to the work of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (HABITAT) in Nairobi.
The United Kingdom is not a member of the Commission on Human Settlements and does not contribute directly to the work of the Centre for Human Settlements, though we are a major contributor to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which is able to provide assistance in a wide variety of sectors in accordance with the priorities of recipient countries. We are also active, through our bilateral aid programme, in 220WA providing assistance, particularly to the poorest, in the field of human settlements.