Member States gathered in New York for the High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly on 28 April 2022 to review progress on the implementation of the New Urban Agenda six-years after its adoption at the Habitat III Conference in Quito, Ecuador. The HLM offered an opportunity for Member States to take stock and identify ways to revitalize the implementation of the New Urban Agenda, to utilize the transformative commitments and drivers of the NUA to achieve the outcomes of Agenda 2030 and of the Paris Agreement on Climate Action.

The High-Level Meeting on the implementation of the New Urban Agenda focused on action. Member States, local and regional governments, and other constituencies of the New Urban Agenda such as professional associations, grassroots organizations, and business leaders utilized the platform to highlight policy directions and programmatic initiatives they have been engaged in. They also put forward concrete commitments for the next two years. 

 

Declared actions and commitments of the High-Level Meeting

87 Member States reaffirmed their commitment to the implementation of the New Urban Agenda by submitting statements on progress achieved. All submitted statements were analyzed to highlight actions taken by Member States over the past six years to implement the New Urban Agenda and their commitments made on future actions.

These statements are grouped under six thematic areas:

1. Importance of the NUA in achieving the SDGs
2. The provision of adequate and affordable housing is among key social security measures during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
3. Contributions by cities to mitigate climate change, adapt equitably to the effects of climate change and halt environmental degradation.
4. Urban Displacement and Crisis
5. Urban Prosperity and Sustainable Finance
6. Multi-Level governance and localization

These key areas of action have also been identified in the reports on progress in the implementation of the New Urban Agenda submitted by Member States, the United Nations system, and by diverse partner networks for the preparation of the Quadrennial report of the Secretary-General.

 

Key resources

• The President of the General Assembly's summary report of the high-level meeting
• To watch the full recordings of the High Level meeting, here are Part 1 and Part 2.
• Click here for featured infographics based on the High Level Meeting

 

These key elements informed the discussions during the High-Level Meeting

1. The quadrennial report of the Secretary-General on progress in the implementation of the New Urban Agenda, published 15 March 2022 [ العربية | 中文 | English | Français | Pусский | Español ]
2. Inputs based on deliberations of five regional forums for sustainable development that will be made available to Member States in April 2022
3. The summary of an ECOSOC special meeting, that took place on 21 April 2022
4. Dedicated side events on affordable housing, climate adaptation, business innovation, and local governments, organized immediately prior to the High-Level Meeting that took place from 25-27 April 2022
5. UN-Habitat position paper on the New Urban Agenda UA tomorrow_today_together
6. Action framework for the New Urban Agenda (Afinua).

Source: UN-Habitat