1. New York, November 26th 2015
Dear Ms. Patricia Gimenez,
Habitat III is the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development to take place in
Quito, Ecuador, from 17 – 20 October 2016. The United Nations General Assembly decided to convene, in
resolution 66/207 and in line with the bi-decennial cycle (1976, 1996 and 2016), the Habitat III Conference
to reinvigorate the global commitment to sustainable urbanization, to focus on the implementation of a New
Urban Agenda, building on the Habitat Agenda of Istanbul in 1996.
The Habitat III Secretariat, in collaboration with the UNECLAC (Economic Commission for Latin America
and the Caribbean) and the UN-Habitat Regional Office for Latin America (ROLAC) is organizing two Expert
Group Meetings with the aim of sharing and discussing a draft of the Regional Report for Latin America and
the Caribbean and gather valuable inputs for the final draft, as part of the preparatory process of the
conference.
The first Expert Group Meeting will be held in Asuncion (Paraguay) on 2-3 of December 2015 in
partnership with the Ministry of Housing, and Habitat of Paraguay, who has generously offered to host it.
The Expert Group Meeting will focus on the South American sub-region.
We would be delighted if you could join the meeting and share your perspective, experience and knowledge
of the urbanization in the region, to enhance the quality and scope of the Habitat III Regional Report.
The Habitat III Regional Report is intended to capture how urban areas have been transforming since
Habitat II in 1996 and how they are changing towards the future, as well as highlighting implications for
urban policy making and outlining policy recommendations.
We hope you will be able to attend the meeting and contribute to Habitat III preparatory process. We
appreciate your attention and consideration.
Yours sincerely,
The Habitat III Secretariat
Attached:
- Concept note on Expert Group Meetings