Participants
The Conference welcomed the participation and contributions of all Member States and relevant stakeholders, including parliamentarians, civil society organizations, regional and local government and municipality representatives, professionals and researchers, academia, foundations, women and youth groups, trade unions, and the private sector, as well as organizations of the United Nations system and intergovernmental organizations.
Over 30,000 people from 167 countries participated at the Conference. Habitat III had the strongest participation of civil society, stakeholders, and local authorities in the history of the United Nations. More than 2,000 representatives of local and regional governments received accreditation. This success was based on an inclusive and participatory preparatory process throughout the two years leading up to Quito.
Member States
The General Assembly, in Resolution 67/216, decided that the Habitat III Conference would be open to all Member States of the United Nations. Resolution 68/239 further invited Member States to facilitate participatory processes and wide stakeholder participation, including local authorities and their associations, when developing, revising, and implementing national urban policies, where appropriate, as a means for the preparation of Habitat III.
UN & IGOs
Habitat III was a unique opportunity for the United Nations family to meet with governments, mayors, and a range of urban stakeholders all over the world to discuss the challenge of how cities and towns can be better planned and managed, and fulfill their role as drivers of sustainable development.
UN Task Team
The United Nations Task Team on Habitat III is an inter-agency task force that cooperated on the preparatory process for the Conference.
Resolutions
The General Assembly Resolution 67/216 decided that the Habitat III conference and its Preparatory Committee would be open to members of specialized agencies and of the International Atomic Energy Agency and called for the promotion of inter-agency support to the maximum possible extent.
UN-Habitat’s Governing Council Resolution 24/14 invites the Secretary-General of the Conference to consider establishing an effective United Nations system-wide coordination mechanism so as to enable the effective participation and contributions of United Nations departments,
funds and programmes, the regional commissions and specialized agencies, and the international financial institutions, at all stages of the preparatory process and at the Conference itself.
Resolution 68/239 requested to mobilize the expertise of the United Nations system as a whole, including the regional commissions, and of other relevant international, regional and sub-regional organizations, for the Habitat III preparatory process.
Major Groups / Stakeholders
The General Assembly, in Resolution 67/216, encouraged effective contributions from and the active participation of all relevant stakeholders, including local governments, major groups as identified in Agenda 21, the relevant United Nations funds and programmes, the regional commissions and specialized agencies, the international financial institutions and other Habitat Agenda partners, at all stages of the Habitat III preparatory process and at the Habitat III Conference itself.
Participation of stakeholders from civil society and other non-state actors was organized according to the major groups structure articulated in Agenda 21. Representatives from major groups interested in participating in Habitat III were required to be accredited to the United Nations and register for the conference accordingly.
Accredited Organizations
Though anyone could register to attend the Habitat III Conference, only organizations that had consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) or that were accredited at the Habitat II Conference in Istanbul, Turkey in 1996, the UN Sustainable Development Summit in 2015, or at the Habitat III PrepCom3 in Surabaya, Indonesia, in July 2016 could request to speak and deliver statements at the conference plenaries.
The General Assembly of Partners
The General Assembly of Partners—or GAP—worked to support stakeholders’ engagement and contributions to the conference. It consists of 16 Partner Constituent Groups with members from the United Nations’ major groups and other relevant stakeholders.