Greg Scruggs
It's unclear the role that cities and civil-society groups will be allowed to play in the Habitat III negotiations this summer. (Christopher Swope) UNITED NATIONS — In a rebuke to efforts by outside groups to contribute expertise on negotiations over the future of urbanization, the Russian Federation last week questioned the presence of any stakeholders at a first round of formal talks here.
The negotiations were over the New Urban Agenda, the expected outcome of the Habitat III conference slated for October in Quito, Ecuador. Last week, diplomats began negotiating the provisions of this document.
[See: Stakeholders say they’re sidelined as New Urban Agenda negotiations begin]
Much of the content for the New Urban Agenda, a global strategy meant to guide sustainable urbanization over the coming two decades, has been prepared over the past 18 months in collaboration with city leaders, scholars, policymakers, researchers, activists and philanthropists. The conference’s secretary-general, Joan Clos, claims that over 10,000 people have been consulted thus far in the Habitat III process, whose wide range of inputs informed the agenda’s 21-page first draft, released two weeks ago.
However, after Habitat III co-chair Maryse Gautier of France gave the floor to five groups of stakeholders on Thursday at the end of the intergovernmental portion of the negotiations, the Russian delegate raised a point of order and demanded evidence that their participation was allowable. After some back-and-forth, the remaining four stakeholder groups were permitted to proceed, but further stakeholder participation is now on hold until the Habitat III Bureau establishes clear rules for the next round of negotiations, slated for early June.
The tête-à-tête between Russia and Gautier began after Emilia Saiz of United Cities and Local Governments, a global network that represents local authorities, delivered a statement on the potential contribution of city leaders to the negotiations over the New Urban Agenda.
Earlier in the week, over 100 local leaders had come to the United Nations for a landmark set of hearings to share their views on the New Urban Agenda’s first draft, though these were lightly attended by U. N. member states. Saiz’s hope was for the local government perspective to carry over from the hearings and inform the informal negotiations that will take place between now and late July.
[See: Cities clamour for a seat at the table of the U. N. countries club]
After Saiz spoke, the Russian delegate requested the floor before further stakeholder statements could proceed. He asked about the specific timing in which major groups and other stakeholders had been allowed to be present in the negotiating room. He also asked on what grounds they allowed to be there, voicing suspicion that their presence was in violation of the Habitat III rules of procedure.
In response, Gautier explained that she had announced in the morning that there would be five slots for stakeholders to speak at the afternoon conclusion of the intergovernmental negotiations. Before handing the floor to Saiz, she banged the gavel and formally closed the meeting; as such, the proceedings were technically an informal meeting between member states and stakeholders.
To speak and be heard
Much of this discussion goes back to a months-long debate last year between national governments, local authorities and civil society groups. Starting in April, formal rules for how the Habitat III negotiations would take place couldn’t be written due to a disagreement on how entities other than national governments would participate in the process; a particular sticking point was the growing push by cities to have a formal role in the discussions.
[See: PrepCom 2 stalls on rules of procedure, issue to await U. N. General Assembly]
Eventually the question was given over to the U. N. General Assembly, which discussed the Habitat III rules in November and December. Just before the end of the year, the General Assembly adopted a resolution that laid out who could participate in the Habitat III negotiations and how, including space for local authorities and civil society. The result of that resolution’s mandate is the series of informal hearings in May and June.
On Thursday, at the Russian delegate’s request, Gautier read the relevant section of the General Assembly’s resolution, known as 70/210. It states, “The provisions of Paragraphs 14 to 16 of General Assembly resolution 67/290 apply mutatis mutandis to the Conference and its preparatory process.”
Resolution 67/290 establishes the rules of procedure for a body called the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF), an annual review of progress toward the U. N.’s new Sustainable Development Goals. The U. N.’s process toward finalizing these new goals, which were agreed to by all member states in September, is widely considered to have been its most inclusive ever in terms of stakeholder participation. “Mutatis mutandis” means that the HLPF rules are applicable for Habitat III — in other words, stakeholder participation is guaranteed by the resolution.
Nevertheless, the Russian delegate requested that the U. N. Office of Legal Affairs look into the matter. The Argentine delegate also inquired about stakeholder accreditation.
[See: Stakeholders concerned over access to Habitat III negotiations]
“There is no violation of the rules here,” Gautier said before allowing the remaining four stakeholders to proceed. Her position subsequently was shored up by U. S. delegate Ian Klaus, who said, “We would like to thank the accredited observers and NGOs who have participated in this process and welcome hearing from them.”
The European Union’s Isabel Delattre added: “The E. U. has been pretty much supportive of [stakeholders’] involvement in this process and on agreeing on modalities that reflect the modalities that had been agreed for the High-Level Political Forum. We are thankful for their contribution, for their useful involvement in this process, we heard them and we will continue to listen to their contributions.”
Clarification requested
In response to the Russian intervention, the General Assembly of Partners (GAP), an umbrella group recognized by the U. N. General Assembly as the platform for Habitat III stakeholders, issued a letter to the conference co-chairs later on 19 May. The letter thanked the co-chairs for having responded positively to some of the GAP’s requests from an earlier letter, which Citiscope reported on last week. Specifically, the co-chairs had agreed to provide update drafts of the New Urban Agenda within a week of the conclusion of negotiating rounds and provided stakeholders with speaking slots.
“Your decisions have set a strong precedent for modalities, in accord with Resolution 70/210, that are transparent, inclusive, participatory and consultative,” the letter states. “We hope that the processes in the June and July informal intergovernmental negotiations will at least match this level of openness, if not go further as deliberations towards the New Urban Agenda progress.”
The letter also requests that the co-chairs inform member states of the rules for stakeholder participation ahead of the next round of negotiations.
“The Bureau was very content with stakeholder participation,” Gautier told Citiscope when asked for a response to the GAP’s letter. “We have not yet discussed modalities for June and July, but we will propose similar modalities.” She indicated that the decision will probably be taken in the coming weeks and announced before the June negotiations. Gautier’s fellow co-chair, Ecuador’s Helena Yanez, said that she had not seen the letter and declined to comment.
[See: The drafters: Meet the two women leading the Habitat III Bureau]
Despite the procedural chess game underway, Katherine Kline, who represents the older-persons constituency in the GAP, was complimentary toward the co-chairs. “The co-chairs have been uniquely responsive to our requests to be more involved,” she said. “The precedent has been building to include us.”
The next round of negotiations is slated for 8-10 June, immediately following two days of hearings with civil society on 6-7 June. In addition to the GAP, other groups are now offering recommendations on how these discussions should be structured.
The Major Group for Children and Youth — also represented as a GAP constituency — has extensive experience with U. N. negotiations. Last week its members sent a proposal to the Habitat III Secretariat and Bureau for the hearings portion of the June week. That letter outlines a system of funded stakeholders who would appear on panels alongside member states in an effort to build rapport between the parties.
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