Thirty-six percent of UN member states have already submitted their Voluntary National Reports, Edlam Abera, Head of the Knowledge and Innovation Branch of the UN-Habitat, said at the event titled “Our Joint Efforts for the Next 10 Years on the New Urban Agenda (NUA)” held within the framework of the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13), APA reports.
According to him, the New Urban Agenda will be implemented until 2036.
“Although 10 years may seem like a long period, we know that it is not, because we came very quickly from 2016 to 2026. Let me briefly tell you what UN-Habitat has been doing regarding the evaluation of progress after 10 years: for months, we have been working with many stakeholders and decision-makers from all over the world to assess progress. We have had several different methods for evaluating this progress. One of the most important ways of assessing this progress is the Voluntary National Reports of member states,” Edlam Abera emphasized.
According to him, the positive aspect in this regard is that more reports have been submitted by member states.
“I think the fact that 70 member states submitted national reports and allocated time and resources to this process demonstrates their commitment to the New Urban Agenda, its implementation and their obligations for the next 10 years. This means 36% of UN member countries. Therefore, we consider this extremely positive. This is an increase compared to the time when we reported on progress four years ago, and we are very pleased to see this increase,” Edlam Abera stressed.
