UNACLA REGULAR MEETING TOOK PLACE IN NAIROBI 15.04.2015

United Nations Advisory Committee of Local Authorities (UNACLA) meeting took place in UN House in Nairobi, Kenya. Dr. Joan CLOS, UN Habitat Executive Director, Jacqueline Moustache-BELLE, UCLG Vice President, Annemarie Jorritsma-LEBBINK, CEMR President and UCLG Deputy President, Josep ROIG, UCLG Secretary General, Mehmet DUMAN, UCLG-MEWA Secretary General, Bernadia Irawati TJANDRADEWI, UCLG ASPAC Secretary General, Frédéric VALLIER, CEMR Secretary General and several representatives of local government associations and mayor participated in the meeting that was chaired by Dr. Kadir TOPBAŞ as the Chairman of UNACLA.

Dr. Joan Clos, UN Habitat Executive Director, who took the floor after the opening speech made by Dr. Kadir Topbaş, stated that he has launched the necessary initiatives for the local authorities to take a strong part in Habitat III Conference that will be held in Quito, Ecuador, in 2016, and that he will support local authorities in this regard.

During the meeting, the minutes of the previous meeting of UNACLA that was held in Medellin, Columbia, have been officially adopted by the participants. Subsequent to the speeches on the pre-assessment of the 2^nd Meeting of Preparatory Committee of Habitat III (PrepCom 2) that is still continuing, Aisa KIRABO, UN Habitat Deputy Executive Director, informed the UNACLA members on the general process of PrepCom2.

Josep ROIG, UCLG Secretary General, who took the floor during the meeting in which the strategic role of UNACLA for the process of Habitat III was also discussed, stated that UNACLA is an important tool for the recognition of the local authorities by UN, and that its role should be strengthened.

At the end of the meeting, Dr. Kadir TOPBAŞ, Chairman of UNACLA and UCLG President, who chaired the meeting, presented his thanks to the participants and members who attended the meeting, and he called for the continuation of the cooperation in order to raise the voice of the local authorities during and after the process of Habitat III.