Dar es Salaam, Tanzania – About 150 legislators, representatives of the civil society, the UN Habitat and environmentalists from across Africa are due in Arusha, northern Tanzania, this weekend to mark the Silver Jubilee of the Global Parliamentarians on Habitat (GPH), the secretariat of the East African Community (EAC) announced Tuesday.
Members of the Community’s legislative assembly, together with legislators from other countries, will take part in a two-day meeting of the GPH, starting 19 Aug., to discuss a wide spectrum of issues on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
An international organisation of parliamentarians from different countries around the world, GPH is committed to sustainable urban development.
Under the GPH umbrella, parliamentarian set themselves the goal of ensuring that their respective governments increasingly address issues on the global Habitat Agenda by focusing on housing, sustainable urban and city development, human settlements, water and sanitation.
“The objective of the meeting is to celebrate 25 years of GPH’s existence and to showcase significant achievements as well challenges and come up with feasible solutions on the way forward,” according to a statement by the EAC secretariat, which is hosting the event.
The meeting will also seek to bring influence to bear on decision-making processes in order to foster coordinated action by governments, communities, the private sector and non-governmental organisations and to raise awareness on adequate habitat.
The UN has launched a process to assess the performance of member states in attaining these goals by 2015 and for respective stakeholders to make input in the post 2015 development agenda.
Founded in Yokohama in 1987, which was the year of International Shelter for the Homeless, GPH has maintained close cooperation with UN-Habitat and held five global forums of parliamentarians as well as several regional council meetings for Africa, America, Asia, the Caribbean and Europe.
Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete is scheduled to address the GPH forum in Arusha.
Source: Pana – Photo: ONU Habitat
