Based on the succession principle, the Czech Republic has been a member of the UNECE since 19 January, 1993. The UNECE is one of five regional commissions of the UN. The UNECE’s major aim is to promote pan-European economic integration. The UNECE includes 56 member states in Europe, North America and Asia. However, all interested UN member states may participate in the work of the UNECE. Over 70 international professional organisations and other non-governmental organisations take part in UNECE activities.
The UNECE’s key areas of activity are:
• Economic Analysis
• Environmental Stewardship
• Housing Policy
• Urban Development
• Statistics
• Sustainable Energy
• Development of Trade Support
• Industry and Business
• Forestry and Transportation.
Technical cooperation focused on sharing experiences with countries with transition economies, especially South-eastern and Eastern European countries, the Caucasus and Central Asia, is also of major importance.
In July 2017, former Permanent Representative of Slovakia to international organisations in Vienna, Olga Algayerová, became the executive secretary of the UNECE. The plenary session of the UNECE at the highest level is held once every two years. Between these sessions, the Executive Committee (ExCom) acts as the governing body and meets approximately on a monthly basis. Its members are representatives of permanent missions to the UN in Geneva. The UNECE Sector Agendas are discussed in the “Subsidiary bodies”, which include the Committee on Housing and Land Management.
Aside from this Committee, in which the Ministry of Regional Development is active , there are seven other committees (for trade, statistics, transport, environment, forests and other sectors) operating within UNECE activities. Housing and urban development within the regions of the member states are addressed by the UNECE Committee on Housing and Land Management, in which the Czech Republic has a Bureau member position. Albania is the chair.
The Committee negotiated the text of the “The Geneva UN Charter on Sustainable Housing”. The Charter was officially approved by the UNECE plenum in April 2015 as the UNECE contribution to the “Habitat III” Summit.
The Charter is based on the “Strategy for Sustainable Housing”, which was approved by the Ministers of UNECE region member states for 2014-2020 at the meeting held in October 2013.
The importance of cities is crucial to the UNECE; this region is home to almost 1.5 billion people, which together represent 17% of the global population. There are over 260 cities with more than 0.5 million inhabitants, which generate over 40% of the global GDP.
The Committee’s work is oriented practically and its main activities focus on helping the least developed countries in the UNECE region, particularly the Balkan states and the Caucasian republics. A key element of the Committee working programme are the “Country profiles”, where international teams of experts provide analyses and recommendations to specific member states in relation to urban development, housing, the real estate market, urban planning, social cohesion, etc.
The Czech Republic (the Ministry of Regional Development) actively participates in the Committee work, especially by involving its experts in writing documents, participation in discussions during workshops, seminars, etc., or the organisation of these workshops in the Czech Republic.
The Ministry of Regional Development also cooperates with the Permanent Mission to the UN on an ongoing basis. Since 2000, the Ministry has paid a contribution of approximately EUR 13,000 to the Committee Trust Fund each year. The Trust Fund is used to finance the participation of representatives from the least developed countries in Committee events. The Czech Republic confirmed its proactive approach to the issue of housing and urban development within the framework of UN international cooperation by offering to organise the regional “European Habitat" conference for the 56 member states of the UNECE region in Prague in March 2016. The results of the Committee’s work were presented at the conference, which was very successful (there was a wide spectrum of accompanying events, distribution of the The Geneva UN Charter on Sustainable Housing, etc.).
In cooperation with the UNECE and the Faculty of Architecture of the Czech Technical University, the Ministry of Regional Development organised an international conference titled the “European Urban Forum”, which took place in October 2017. The conference was preceded by a meeting of the ECE Committee on Housing and Land Management at the ministerial level in Geneva, political ministerial proceedings and the adoption of a joint Ministerial Declaration on Sustainable Housing and Urban Development. The Declaration highlights support for previous relevant global and regional commitments, including enhanced mutual cooperation.
Official web site: http://www.unece.org/info/ece-homepage.html
Documents: The Geneva UN Charter on Sustainable Housing