THE HABITAT NEWSPAPER NO. 9 10 JUNE 1976 CRITICISM OF SECOND DRAFT 0 WOMEN went out of thewindow ent as an issue The seconddr aft came outin supportof dimensions when the NGOs resumed debate at the a new institution in the second, notably the Forum yesterday to co-ordinate thework of relationship between on theirsecond statement organisations bringing resources water supply and to the official Conference. The to bearon pollution. two-page the solution of human settlementsproblems. The draft had grown an extra page, but there The first document called for a concurrent was apparently had only urged governments to effort to provide water no roomfor women in it, and avoid duplication of effort and reduce pollution barely for education. A growing when decidingon associated with intensiveagriculture based numberof new structures for international co­ NGOsdissociated themselves from thedraft operatif>n. on "indiscriminate use of inorganic fer­ . as not representative of the tilizers and insecticides whose production group as a Wa�, which was to be clean by 1990, whote, andChairman J .G. van Puttenfaced non-profitand . and distribution is controlled principally by renewed linkedto agrarianreform in transnational corporations.'' criticisl'I). the first draft: took on The draft also some added calledattention tothe inadequatetreatment of waste water from industri l .R! nts and yesterday tried to make the water section Pullen to the official Conference last week. even more specific, calling on all users of In a document dated June 7 which is now water - particularly nuclearpower plants circulatingat theForum, theystate that ':'an which raise the temperature of natural Putten'sstatement was "notrepresentative water sources - to return it to the of theNGO community at large," and that ecosystemas pureas it was received. the way it was producedwas "not consonent Noting that themain topicfor discussion withdemocratic procedures.'' at the Forum yesterday was rural Particular criticism is directed at �an development, one speaker criticised the Putten's. warning to governments agamst document for making no referenceto rural "partial explanation" about_ human set­ people, and the meeting agreed to insert a tlements which run the rJSk of �ve�­ clause urging �overnments 1:0. lay more em phasisi ng "ecology, . urba_m�tic stress on improvmg rural conditionss c_>that developments, or catastrophic predictions no-one wouldbe compelled to leave a village about over-population." To alternate NG!) if he or she wishedto remain. statement comments: "We ho�d t� · Education got a mention in an amen­ statement to be false and pem1c1ous. , dment laying the blame for many human adding that 'the issues of ecology, urban settlements problems on inadequate or spread and population growth cannot _ unbalanced education, and calling for ap­ possibly be over-emphasised, and that propriate educational all levels. failure to take them fully into accou'.1t"can (Continued on next page) .only too surely lead to catastr:o�h1c con­ sequences. Glossing �ver ?: h1dmg from thesefacts is a grossdisserv1ce to the people . living today and a betrayal of future INSIDE generations." To date, 12 NGO representatives are registered as signatories to the alternate · Page 2: Conference round-up; James statement, and more are being solicited Barber. throughthe "hotline" network at theForum Page 3: Plutonium offer to Greenpeace; and at the Hotel Devonshire. A computer Hassan Fathy. and telephone conference is to be heldtoday Pages 4 ands: Is this the death of the talkmg at 1100 in theHotline office (Hangar8, Room dinosaur? 4) with link-ups to international NGOs in Page 6: Rural living hasits problems, too; New York and elsewhere. In Camera.. The alternate statement comes in the Page 7: Today'sprogram z:ne. wake of sporadic criticism of van Putten's Back Page: Gremlin's Gu1det0Lobbymg. message in attempting to reflect the con­ cerns voicedat theForum. He could not be reachedyesterday for commenL 'NO MIRACLES' SAYS PENALOSA F;NRIQUE PENALOSA,Secretary-General the world's armament spending into of the Habitat Conference, told Forum spending on human settlements. delegates yesterday that the main Con­ Additionally, Penalosa said he_ was d_isap­ ference would finish Friday on sche�e, pointed in the lack" of attention pa1d �t with strong and specific recommendations Habitat to the rights and role of women m on water, land use and popular par· human settlementsissues. ticipation.· "No miracles are madein two weeks," However Penalosa said the Conference would not bring forward recommendations Penalosa said. "And none were expected." Ernie Phlllp, of theShuswap tribe, 17 tlm� grand champion ln the Indianwardance, per- limiting or controlling nucleargrowth, nor And he summed up the conference as being formingat the Forumyesterday. would it call for a diversion of 10 percent of (Continued on next page) Page2 J ERi CHO, theHabitat newspaper, 10June 1976 Habi-ship rails. THE Habitat Conference ship hasvirtually gone aground on the political rocks of the (srael issue with the Arab filibuster in DOWNTOWN Committee l forcing delegates with jaded minds to endure another session into the • night yesterday. STRVTTERS The Plenary hoped to begin yesterday aground "FOURTEEN nights in sun-drenched afternoon but was delayed until late af­ Vancouver,where passengerswill have ternoon becauseof the weight of paperwork adequate time to visit native markets, that the poor secretariat has to handle. sample native foods, and above all When they finally opened consideration of watch (In perfectsafety) the primitive Committee 3's suggestions the Iraqi lifestyles of the polyglot. uneducated. proposal was not included andso they ad­ but happy people who, at previous journedafter 50minutes. .. United Nations conferences, Though Committee 1 was still in closed on politics established a reputation forgenerosity session it appears that theGroup of Tlstill and tolerance.. .... " had not ironed out all their internal dif­ fighting with Syrian troopsbacked by tanks included in the Declaration of Principles I felt like a face on the cover of a ficulties and convened another meeting and supported by MIG fighters on the some reference to the UN resolution which cruise brochure. Behind the stage, in yesterday afternoon. threshold of the city defended by left wing linkedZionism with racism. theQueen Elhabeth Theatre,where the The minutiae of phrasing attitudes on gue·rrmas. The reportssay PLO campshave The Syrian delegation would not plenary sessions of Habitat dally take settlementsso thatthe Arab groupand their beenbombed. comment on reports of a possible con­ place, there is a solid. grey painted supporters feel they have scored some Libyan and Algerian troops are frontationwith Syria. (like a battleship) wall, punctuated by points against Israel and so that the Israeli scheduledto flyto the aidof theSyrians, the Other points of contention cover how to rows of square windows. It looks like lobby feels that they can live with them reports say, while Iraq has massed troops include the Group of Tl's view on the New the side of a liner, its once bright appears to be the main stumbling block. It and armour along its border with Syria. Economic Order, ifthey arestill in general coloured paint made anonymous for has clouded most issues in the final Needless to say there is still unrest within agreementon what all 113 of them meanby wartime. Dimly, throughthe windows, agreement of the working parties. Israel. the phrase. They do seemto see population people are moving, the unhurried mo­ And events far away from the Con­ The PLO delegation is from Beirut as a resourceand not as a problemwhich is vements of first-class passengers, they ference seem lo dictatethat any solid Arab mainly and may have no place lo returnto if the Westernview. are nothurried, they are not of the war, backing for the Palestine Liberation the fighting continues. The Soviet Union, On the programme for international they are the inside people, they know Organisation (PLO) wrought at this Con­ like so many othernations, hasappealed for cooperation we await with interest lo see if one another, they do not need their ference will be seen as meaningless by a ceasefire but their voice has gone theywill come down firmlyon the sideof the • persons examined to walk their dally historians. While Arab delegates pore over unheeded. So will the voice of the Arab Centre for Housing, Building andPlanning lives, they are secure, they are not the wording of English textsthe 'shadow of a group at Habitat go unheeded unless they in Ne� York or plump for UNEP in Nairobi security risksand they wlll forever and potential Middle East holocaust throws a show some way of dealing with the wider or, more likely it seems if disagreement ever sit behind windows looking out, pallover thewhole proceedings. issues outsidePalestine. continues, throw the issue back for observing, In front of the wall, on the Reports from Beirut talk of savage The Iraqis appear determined to have discussionby the UN GeneralAssembly. stage, sit more comfortable people: they talk, like head tables everywhere in the world, discreetly behind programmes. Women come and go, COMMITTEE 2 carrying paper, glasses of water, and COMMITTEE 2, which has so far excluded 'NO MIRACLES' seriousfaces. most of the political issues which have oc­ On the floor, in the 2,700 red cupied other sessions of theConference, was upholstered seats, sit81 delegates, 179 bogged down in its late night meeting on curiousspectators, and47 people