RES/35/24 Human rights in cities and other human settlements

GE.17-11949(E)



Human Rights Council Thirty-fifth session

6–23 June 2017

Agenda item 3

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 23 June 2017

35/24. Human rights in cities and other human settlements

The Human Rights Council,

Guided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and recalling the

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and other relevant international human rights

instruments,

Considering that the world urban population currently accounts for more than half of

the global population and that, by 2050, the number of people living in urban areas is

expected to nearly double, increasing this proportion to two thirds of the global population

and thus making urbanization one of the twenty-first century’s most transformative trends,

Recalling relevant resolutions of the Human Rights Council, in particular resolutions

31/9 of 23 March 2016, 33/10 of 29 September 2016, 34/9 of 23 March 2017 and 34/20 of

24 March 2017, and the resolutions of the General Assembly on the implementation of the

outcome of the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban

Development (Habitat III) and the strengthening of the United Nations Human Settlements

Programme, including resolutions 71/235 of 21 December 2016 and 71/256 of 23

December 2016,

Recognizing the need to build peaceful, just and inclusive societies that are based on

respect for human rights, including the right to development,

Taking fully into account the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including

the Sustainable Development Goals, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third

International Conference on Financing for Development, the Paris Agreement adopted

under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Sendai

Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, the Vienna Programme of Action for

Landlocked Developing Countries for the Decade 2014–2024, the SIDS Accelerated

Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway, the Istanbul Programme of Action for the Least

Developed Countries for the Decade 2011–2020, the Rio Declaration on Environment and

Development, the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the World Summit for

Social Development, the Programme of Action of the International Conference on

Population and Development, the Beijing Platform for Action, the United Nations

Conference on Sustainable Development and the follow-up to these conferences,

Welcoming the adoption of the outcome document of the United Nations Conference

on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III), entitled “New Urban

Agenda”, which is grounded in the vision that aims to achieve cities and human settlements

where all persons are able to enjoy equal rights and opportunities, as well as their

fundamental freedoms, guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United

Nations, including full respect for international law,

Noting the efforts of some national and local governments to enshrine this vision,

referred to as “right to the city”, in their legislation, political declarations and charters,

Reaffirming that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interrelated and

interdependent,

Noting that there are specific challenges in the promotion and protection of human

rights in cities and other human settlements,

Underscoring the need for an intersectoral, sustainable, resilient, integrated, people-

centred, age- and gender-responsive approach, based on international human rights law, in

the planning, formulation, development and execution of urban policies at all levels of

governance,

Bearing in mind that, in order to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty and

vulnerability, positive action needs to be taken, including in the form of policies that

address existing inequalities in the distribution of services, resources and infrastructure, as

well as access to food, health, education and decent work in cities and other human

settlements,

Underlining that the promotion of a human rights culture within public services, as

well as public servants’ knowledge, training and awareness, play a vital role in promoting

respect for and the realization of human rights in society, and stressing the importance in

this regard of human rights education and training for public servants at the local

government level,

Commending and taking into consideration the urban dimension of the 2030 Agenda

for Sustainable Development, particularly Sustainable Development Goal 11, on making

cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable, and the importance of

sustainable urban development as a critical step for realizing sustainable development in an

integrated and coordinated manner at the global, regional, national, subnational and local

levels, with the participation of all relevant stakeholders,

Recognizing the importance of the existing mandate of the United Nations Human

Settlements Programme as a focal point for sustainable urbanization and human

settlements, in collaboration with other United Nations system entities, including its role in

providing substantive and technical support to developing countries in areas related to

sustainable cities and human settlements as reflected in, inter alia, the New Urban Agenda,

1. Reaffirms the vision of cities for all, referring to the equal use and enjoyment

of cities and human settlements, seeking to promote inclusivity and ensure that all

inhabitants, of present and future generations, without discrimination of any kind, are able

to inhabit and produce just, safe, healthy, accessible, affordable, resilient and sustainable

cities and human settlements to foster prosperity and quality of life for all, that envisages

cities and human settlements that, inter alia, fulfil their social function;

2. Also reaffirms the need to promote equitable, affordable and accessible

sustainable basic physical and social infrastructure for all, without discrimination, including

affordable serviced land, adequate housing, modern and renewable energy, safe drinking

water and sanitation, safe, nutritious and adequate food, waste disposal, sustainable

mobility, health care and family planning, education, culture, and information and

communications technology, while ensuring that these services adhere to the human rights

obligations of States and respond to the needs of women, children and youth, older persons

and persons with disabilities, migrants, indigenous peoples, local communities and others

that are in vulnerable situations, and in this regard encourages the elimination of legal,

institutional, socioeconomic and physical barriers;

3. Reiterates that each country has primary responsibility for its own economic

and social development and that the role of national policies and development strategies

cannot be overemphasized, respecting each country’s policy space and leadership to

implement policies for poverty eradication and sustainable development, while remaining

consistent with relevant international rules and commitments;

4. Encourages States to strengthen urban governance, as appropriate, and urban-

rural linkages, with sound institutions and mechanisms that empower and include relevant

urban and related rural stakeholders, as well as appropriate checks and balances, providing

predictability and coherence in urban development plans to enable social inclusion,

sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth and environmental protection;

5. Urges States to take deliberate and effective steps to foster the progressive

realization of the right to adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate

standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context, by ensuring legal

security of tenure which guarantees legal protection against forced eviction, harassment and

other threats, and developing and implementing, at all levels, integrated housing policy

approaches that address the strong links between education, employment, housing and

health, preventing exclusion, discrimination and segregation, and by promoting inclusive

slum upgrading and prevention strategies that go beyond physical and environmental

improvements to ensure that slums and informal settlements are integrated into the political,

social, cultural and economic dimensions of cities;

6. Also urges States to consider promoting, adapting and implementing road

safety policies to protect persons in vulnerable situations, in particular children, youth,

older persons and persons with disabilities, in line with relevant United Nations legal

instruments, as appropriate, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;

7. Further urges States to promote safe, inclusive, accessible, green and quality

public spaces equally accessible to all without discrimination, that are multifunctional areas

for social interaction and inclusion, human health and well-being, and also promote

economic exchange and cultural expression and dialogue among a wide diversity of people

and cultures, and that are designed and managed to ensure human development and build

peaceful, inclusive and participatory societies;

8. Urges States to promote a safe, healthy, inclusive and secure environment in

cities and human settlements enabling everyone to live, work and participate in urban life

without fear of violence and intimidation, taking into account vulnerability and cultural

factors in the development of policies concerning public security and crime and violence

prevention, including by preventing and countering the stigmatization of specific groups as

posing inherently greater security threats;

9. Reaffirms that the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation as

components of the right to an adequate standard of living are essential for the full

enjoyment of the right to life as well as all other human rights;

10. Invites States to promote adequate public and private investments in

protective, accessible and sustainable infrastructure and service provision systems for

water, sanitation and hygiene, sewage, solid waste management, urban drainage, reduction

of air pollution and storm water management, and to seek to ensure that this infrastructure

is climate resilient and forms part of integrated urban and territorial development plans,

including housing and mobility, among others;

11. Calls upon States to foster ecosystem-based solutions, including in areas that

support cities and human settlements, to ensure sustainable consumption and production

and waste management patterns, in line with Sustainable Development Goal 12, so that the

ecosystem’s regenerative capacity is not exceeded, with a view to addressing the

unprecedented threats faced by cities and human settlements from loss of biodiversity,

pressure on ecosystems, pollution, natural and human-made disasters, and climate change

and its related risks, noting that these threats undermine the efforts to end poverty in all its

forms and dimensions and to achieve sustainable development;

12. Recognizes the need to move from reactive to more proactive risk-based, all-

hazards and all-of-society approaches to reduce disaster risks and build resilience in cities

and other human settlements by promoting the mainstreaming of disaster risk assessments

into land-use policy development and implementation, including urban planning, and

integrating “build back better” principles into the post-disaster recovery process, as well as

to build the capacity of local authorities to develop and implement disaster risk reduction

and response plans, such as risk assessments on the location of current and future public

facilities, and formulate adequate contingency and evacuation procedures in line with the

Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030;

13. Stresses the commitment of States to ensure full respect for the human rights

of refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants, regardless of their migration status,

and to support their host cities in the spirit of international cooperation, taking into account

national circumstances, and recognizes that, although the movement of large populations

into towns and cities poses a variety of challenges, it can also bring significant social,

economic and cultural contributions to urban life;

14. Reaffirms the commitments on means of implementation included in the 2030

Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third

International Conference on Financing for Development, and invites international

multilateral financial institutions, regional development banks, development finance

institutions and cooperation agencies to provide financial support, including through

innovative financial mechanisms, to programmes and projects for implementing the New

Urban Agenda, particularly in developing countries;

15. Encourages relevant special procedure mandate holders, in fulfilling their

respective mandates, to submit proposals that could support States in the implementation of

the New Urban Agenda and Sustainable Development Goal 11;

16. Underscores the importance of the high-level meeting of the General

Assembly, to be convened by the President of the Assembly during the seventy-first session

of the Assembly, to discuss the effective implementation of the New Urban Agenda and the

positioning of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme in this regard.

37th meeting

23 June 2017

[Adopted without a vote.]