A/RES/42/190 GA

158 General Assembly-Forty-second Session 3. Notes also the efforts that the United Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office has made in the face of these ob- stacles to assist, on behalf of the United Nations Environ- ment Programme, the Governments ofthe countries ofthe region in combating desertification, under a joint venture between the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Development Programme; 4. Commends the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme and the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme for the sustained and co-ordinated manner in which they have continued to develop the joint venture through the U nited Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office; 5. Recommends to the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme and the Gov- erning Council of the United Nations Development Pro- gramme that they continue, increase and intensify their ef- forts to mobilize resources for the United Nations Sudano- Sahelian Office in order to make it more capable of re- sponding adequately to the pressing needs of the countries of the Sudano-Sahelian and adjacent regions; 6. Expresses its gratitude to all Governments, and ali organizations and foundations that have contributed to the implementation in the Sudano-Sahelian region of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification; 7. Draws the attention of the international community to the pressing need to increase the efforts to implement the Plan of Action in the Sudano-Sahelian region and urges it to contribute to the implementation through ap- propriate means, including the United Nations Trust Fund for Sudano-Sahelian Activities, and to respond favourably to requests for assistance from the Govern- ments ofthe countries ofthe region that are most affected; 8. Requests the Governing Council of the United Na- tions Environment Programme to report to the General Assembly at its forty-fourth session, through the Eco- nomic and Social Council, on the progress made in the im- plementation in the Sudano-Sahelian region of the Plan of Action. e 96th plenary meeting 11 December 1987 FINANCING AND OTHER MEASURES IN SUPPORT OF THE PLAN OF ACTION TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION The General Assembly, Recalling its resolution 40/198 of 17 December 1985, l. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the implementation and financing of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification;65 2. Urges Governments as well as organs, organiza- tions and programmes of the United Nations system, other multilateral development-assistance institutions, non-governmental organizations and prívate foundations to take the necessary decisions to mobilize the funds re- quired before the desertification process destroys more arable lands and it becomes too late to stop the process; 3. Urges relevant research institutions, as appropriate, in co-operation with the United Nations Environment Programme, to give maximum priority to work in the field of desertification; 4. Takes note of the fact that the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme, in its deci- sion 14/15 D of 18 June 1987,46 requested the Executive Director of the Programme to discuss with Governments the feasibility of adopting a new and realistic approach that would encourage them and international financing in- stitutions to contribute directly or indirectly to the Special Account to finance the implementation of the Plan of Ac- tion to Combat Desertification; 5. Requests the Executive Director of the United Na- tions Environment Programme to examine, in the context of the evaluation called for in Governing Council decision 14/15 C of 18 June 1987,46 ways and means ofenhancing the efficiency of the Consultative Group for Desertifica- tion Control in pursuance of its mandate as contained in the pertinent resolutions of the General Assembly; 6. Requests the Secretary-General to keep under re- view actions at the national and regional levels as well as the issues pertaining to the financing of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification and to consult further with in- terested Governments on the proposals contained in his report.65 D 96th plenary meeting 11 December 1987 REPORT OF THE SECRETAR Y-GENERAL CONCERNING THE PLAN OF ACTION TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION The General Assembly Requests the Secretary-General to report to it at its forty-fourth session, through the Economic and Social Council, on the implementation of resolutions A, B and C above. 96th plenary meeting 11 December 1987 42/190. Living conditions of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territories The General Assembly, Recalling the Vancouver Declaration on Human Settle- ments, 1976, 70 and the relevant recommendations for na- tional action71 adopted by Habitat: United Nations Con- ference on Human Settlements, Reca//ing also its resolution 40/201 of 17 December 1985, Grave/y alarmed by the continuation ofthe Israeli settle- ment policies, which have been declared null and void and a major obstacle to peace, 1. Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Sec- retary-General on the living conditions of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territories;72 2. Takes note also of the statement made on 27 Octo- ber 1987 by the observer of the Palestine Liberation Or- ganization;13 3. Rejects the Israeli plans and actions intended to change the demographic composition of the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly the increase and ex- 70Report of Habitat: United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, Vancouver, 31 May-11 June 1976 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.76.IV.7 and corrigendum), chap. l. 71/bid., chap. 11. 72 A/42/183-E/1987/53. 73 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Forty-second Session, Second Committee, 25th meeting, and corrigendum. V. Resolutions adopted on the reports of the Second Committee 159 pansion of the Israeli settlements, and other plans and ac- tions creating conditions leading to the displacement and exodus of Palestinians from the occupied Palestinian ter- ritories; 4. Expresses its alarm at the deterioration, as a result of the Israelí occupation, in the living conditions of the Palestinian people in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967; 5. Affirms that the Israeli occupation is contradictory to the basic requirements for the social and economic de- velopment of the Palestinian people in the occupied Pales- tinian territories; 6. Requests the Secretary-General to prepare an in- depth study on future needs in the field of infrastructure for the Palestinian people in the Palestinian territories oc- cupied since 1967; 7. Also requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its forty-fourth session, through the Economic and Social Council, on the progress made in the implementation of the present resolution. 96th plenary meeting 11 December 1987 42/191. Global Strategy for Shelter to the Y ear 2000 The General Assembly, Bearing in mind the Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlements, 197670 and the recommendations for national action71 adopted at Habitat: United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, Recalling its resolution 35/56 of 5 December 1980, the annex to which contains the International Development Strategy for the Third United Nations Development Decade, in which, ínter alía, the importance of the provi- sion of basic shelter and infrastructure was stressed, Recalling also its resolution 41/190 of 8 December 1986 on the International Y ear of Shelter for the Homeless, Taking note of the reports of the Executive Director of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habi- tat) entitled "Shelter and services for the poor -a call to action"74 and "A new agenda for human settlements",75 as well as the comments made by Governments at the tenth (commemorative) session ofthe Commission on Hu- man Settlements, Recognizing that adequate and secure shelter is a basic human right and is vital for the fulfilment of human aspi- rations, Recognizing further that a squalid residential environ- ment is a constant threat to health and to life itself and thereby constitutes a drain on human resources, a nation's most valuable asset, Noting that this lamentable situation can adversely af- fect the social and political stability of countries, Deeply concerned about the present alarming situation, in which, despite the efforts of Governments at the na- tional and local levels and of international organizations, more than one billion people find themselves either com- pletely without shelter or living in homes unfit for human habitation, and that, owing to prevailing demographic trends, these already formidable problems will escalate in the coming years unless concerted, determined measures are taken immediately, 74 HS/C/10/3. 75 HS/C/10/2 and Corr.1 and 4. Fully aware of the multidimensional nature of the shel- ter problem, which has its main roots in poverty and, in many countries, is aggravated by the scarcity of resources, inadequate institutional capacities and the lack of a legal and financia! framework for alleviating the problem, Realizing that the problem manifests itself in slums and shanty towns, with inadequate social and technical ser- vices, and in a general deterioration of the living environ- ment in rural settlements, Conscious of the vital role of the self-help efforts of the poor to house themselves and the multiplier effects of shel- ter development, based on the full mobilization of local re- sources, and their importance to the economic develop- ment of a country, and the lost opportunities for development represented by the neglected shelter sector, Convinced that the continuous, co-ordinated and widely based efforts of all relevant agencies, bodies, organizations and individuals, when guided by an appropriate strategy, will reverse the alarming trends and produce clear and vis- ible improvements in the shelter and neighbourhoods of the poor and disadvantaged by the year 2000, Encouraged by action already taken in many countries to prepare national shelter strategies and launch other measures that will promote achievement of the goal of shelter for ali, 1. Decides that there shall be a Global Strategy for Shelter to the Y ear 2000, including a plan of action for its implementation, monitoring and evaluation; 2. Further decides that the objective of the Strategy should be to stimulate measures that will facilitate ade- quate shelter for ali by the year 2000; 3. Requests the Executive Director of the United Na- tions Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) to prepare a proposal for a Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000 and its implementation, including its financia) im- plications, for consideration by the Commission on Hu- man Settlements at its eleventh session; 4. Requests the Commission on Human Settlements to formulate a Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000, to be drawn up within existing resources, for submission, through the Economic and Social Council, to the General Assembly at its forty-third session; 5. Urges ali Governments to commit themselves to the objectives of the Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000 by adopting and implementing shelter strategies in accordance with the guidelines contained in section I of the annex to the present resolution, which will permit the mobilization of all forces and resources in the country for the attainment of the objectives of the Strategy, and to renew this commitment annually by, ínter alía, announc- ing on World Habitat Day the concrete actions to be taken and targets to be achieved during each successive year; 6. Requests ali United Nations bodies and agencies and the international community at large to support the for- mulation and implementation of the Global Strategy along the lines defined in section II of the annex to the present resolution. 96th plenary meeting 11 December 1987

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