Recalling the recommendations adopted by Habitat: United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, which form the basis for national action and international cooperation in the field of human settlements,

Recalling also its resolution 32/162 of 19 December 1977, by which it established the Commission on Human Settlements and the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) in order, inter alia, to achieve greater coherence and effectiveness in human settlements activities within the United Nations system,

Noting with appreciation that the Commission on Human Settlements and the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), in line with the objectives and responsibilities set out in resolution 32/162, have succeeded in placing human settlements higher on the agenda for national action and international cooperation and in promoting increased understanding of the links between people, settlements, environment and development,

Noting that the successive work programmes of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) have addressed all the recommendations adopted by Habitat: United Nations Conference on Human Settlements and, in addition, have provided specific guidance in various fields of human settlements, such as shelter, urban management, the role of women, training, community participation, finance, building materials, environment and sustainable development,

Noting in particular that, since the establishment of the Commission and the Centre, Governments have achieved substantial advances in the planning, development and management of human settlements, thus improving the living conditions of a large number of people,

Noting also that bilateral and multilateral agencies and institutions have gradually increased their emphasis on and level of technical and other assistance in the field of human settlements,

Noting further that non-governmental and community-based organizations and the private sector have increased their contributions towards improving living conditions and building new shelters and settlements,

Recognizing that programmes such as the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless, observed in 1987, and the Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000, currently being implemented, provide the framework for focusing on the critical issue of shelter and services and have succeeded in substantially increasing awareness and in placing the provision of shelter and services in the broader context of social and economic development,

Noting with concern that in many developing countries achievements in policies, programmes and projects at the national level in the field of human settlements have not been sufficient to arrest or reverse deterioration in the living conditions of people in both urban and rural areas,

Recognizing moreover that past experience as well as current trends and developments and projections in human settlements and related fields of poverty, population, environment and development make it clear that there is a need for an in-depth review and assessment of the strategies that have been put in place,

Convinced that proper planning, development and management of human settlements will lead to economic and social progress and thereby alleviate poverty and promote development that is environmentally sound and sustainable in the long run,

Also convinced that a world-wide conference with broad, multidisciplinary and high-level participation can provide a suitable forum for considering the current situation in the planning, development and management of human settlements in the context of prevailing and expected social, economic and environmental conditions,

Considering that such a conference should, inter alia:

1. Review trends in policies and programmes undertaken by countries and international organizations to implement the recommendations adopted by Habitat: United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, held at Vancouver, Canada, in 1976;

2. Conduct a mid-term review of the implementation of the Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000 and, if necessary, make recommendations which would ensure the realization by the year 2000 of the objectives of the Global Strategy;

3. Review and determine the substantive role and contribution of the human settlements sector in the light of the experience gained and of the results of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, to be held at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 1 to 12 June 1992;

4. Review trends in economic and social development as they affect planning and development of human settlements and make recommendations for future action at national and international levels,

Bearing in mind its resolution 40/243 of 18 December 1985, on the pattern of conferences,

1.Decides to consider at its forty-seventh session the question of convening, possibly in 1997, a United Nations conference on human settlements (Habitat II) with a view to taking a decision at that session on the objectives, content, scope and timing of such a conference and the modalities and financial implications of holding it;

2.Requests the Secretary-General, in consultation with the Executive Director of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), to prepare a report on the objectives, content and scope of such a conference and preparations and other modalities for the conference, and to include a statement on the financial implications of the preparations for and convening of the conference;

3.Also requests the Secretary-General to submit the report to the General Assembly at its forty-seventh session.

78th plenary meeting
19 December 1991