CCGHS 2011

The next meeting of the ministerial-level Commonwealth Consultative Group on Human Settlements (CCGHS) will be held from 2pm to 5pm on Tuesday 12 April 2011 at the United Nations offices in Gigiri, Nairobi.

The CCGHS is a ministerial forum on human settlements. It meets every two years in the wings of the UN Habitat Governing Council sessions in Nairobi. The next session (23rd) of the Governing Council of UN-HABITAT (GC-23) will take place in Nairobi in the week of 11 to 15 April. Information on the Governing Council can be found at: http://www.unhabitat.org/categories.asp?catid=658). The focus of the CCGHS ministerial discussions will be on the need for pragmatic approaches to deliver secure tenure for slum dwellers and others in informal settlements in the urban areas of Commonwealth countries. It is hoped that this will stimulate a lively debate amongst ministers on priority actions in attaining the Commonwealth goal on secure tenure, and contribute to the theme for GC-23 which includes a debate around ‘equitable access to land’.

The CCGHS oversees the work of ComHabitat (http://www.comhabitat.org/), the Commonwealth’s partnership on human settlements. ComHabitat is a multi-stakeholder partnership which consists of a ministerial group – the Commonwealth Consultative Group on Human Settlements (CCGHS) – and a collaborative partnership of agencies from government, local government and civil society. Partners include: the Commonwealth Association of Planners; Commonwealth Foundation; Commonwealth Human Ecology Council; Commonwealth Local Government Forum; the Commonwealth Secretariat; and Homeless International.

The value of the partnership is that it brings together agencies from different sectors that are implementing the Habitat Agenda (government, local government, civil society and professional organisations). All of these groups are actively involved in addressing human settlements concerns within their own spheres, but they also collaborate through ComHabitat to achieve their goals through networking, advocacy, information sharing and the creation of partnerships to promote more integrated approaches. ComHabitat promotes implementation of the Habitat Agenda and is working towards the Commonwealth Goal of 'demonstrated progress towards adequate shelter for all with secure tenure and access to essential services in every community by 2015'.

View ComHabitat’s latest report via http://www.thecommonwealth.org/news/34580/34581/228668/160810urbangrowth.htm