Global Report on Human Settlements 2007 - PoA-ISS

INTRODUCTION
A series of case studies was commissioned by UN-Habitat
specifically for this <strong>Global</strong> <strong>Report</strong> on each of the three
threats to urban safety and security addressed in the report
(i.e. crime and violence, insecurity of tenure and forced
evictions, and natural and human-made disasters). For each
of these threats – covered in Parts II, III and IV of the report,
respectively – case studies illustrate empirical conditions and
trends; as well as effective policy responses. An attempt has
been made to ensure adequate coverage of all of the world’s
geographic regions.
This part contains summaries of 25 of these case
studies. The original case studies may be found, in full, at
UN-Habitat’s website (www.unhabitat.org). Many of the
illustrative boxes contained in the different chapters of this
report are based on these case studies, while some of the
experiences described in the case studies – including related
empirical evidence – are also directly integrated within the
text of the chapters.
A typical illustrative box in this report uses only a
portion of the full case study, so that the ‘full story’ of the
experience on which the box is based may not be apparent
to the reader. The summaries contained in this part thus
provide the reader with a fuller picture of the experiences
described in the illustrative boxes, including the geographical
and socio-economic context of the case; the full scope of
the experience described; and the main conclusions or
lessons from the case.
THE HUMAN SECURITY
PERSPECTIVE
Enhancing urban safety and human security
in Asia through the United Nations Trust
Fund for Human Security
In March 1999, the Government of Japan and the United
Nations Secretariat launched the United Nations Trust Fund
for Human Security (UNTFHS), from which the Commission
on Human Security prepared the Human Security Now
report in 2003 as a contribution to the United Nations
Secretary-General’s plea for progress on the goals of
‘freedom from want’ and ‘freedom from fear’. The main
objective of the UNTFHS is to advance the operational
impact of the human security concept, particularly in
countries and regions where the insecurities of people are
most manifest and critical, such as in areas affected by
natural and human-made disasters.
Growing inequalities between the rich and the poor,
as well as social, economic and political exclusion of large
sectors of society, make the security paradigm increasingly
complex. Human security has broadened to include such
conditions as freedom from poverty and access to work,
education and health. This, in turn, has necessitated a
change in perspective, from state-centred security to peoplecentred
security. To ensure human security as well as state
security, particularly in conflict and post-conflict areas where
institutions are often fragile and unstable, rebuilding
communities becomes an absolute priority to promote peace
and reconciliation.
With the rapid urbanization of the world’s population,
human security as protecting ‘the vital core of all human
lives in ways that enhance human freedoms and human
fulfilment’ increasingly means providing the conditions of
livelihood and dignity in urban areas. Living conditions are
crucial for human security since an inadequate dwelling,
insecurity of tenure and insufficient access to basic services
all have a strong negative impact on the lives of the urban
population, particularly the urban poor. Spatial discrimination
and social exclusion limit or undermine the rights to the
city and to citizenship.
In this context, UN-Habitat is coordinating three
UNTFHS programmes in Afghanistan, northeast Sri Lanka
and Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia, all focusing
on informal settlements upgrading. On the assumption that
community empowerment is crucial for reconstructing waraffected
societies, all programmes have adopted the
community action planning method – a community-based
consultative planning process – and have established
community development councils as the most effective
approach to improving living conditions and human security
in informal settlements.
■ Upgrading informal settlements in three
cities in Afghanistan
The programme’s main objective is to improve the urban
environment in informal settlements by:
• providing security of tenure and adequate access to
basic infrastructure; and
• empowering the communities to directly implement
specific projects and to negotiate with central and
municipal agencies.