Baghdad, 22 September 2015 – Some 50 officials drawn from the government and local authorities on Sunday participated in a seminar on the“Legal and Financial Frameworks to Address Solutions for Informal Settlements and Displacement Areas”

The seminar was organised by UN-Habitat in partnership with the Ministry of Planning and the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (US Department of State) and was aimed at supporting the Iraqi Government and local authorities to address durable solutions in informal settlements and IDP areas in addition to providing tenure security.

Tehran, 22 September 2015 – UN-Habitat Tehran office has held its first training workshop on “Urban Resilience, Habitat Improvement and Disaster Risk Management -Built Environment” with Urban Renewal Organisation (URO), Tehran Municipality, for the professional and mid-level managers of URO.

Greater Cairo is considered as one of the biggest and most influential urban area in the Middle East and the African continent. It has rich history of cultural and commercial exchange with other countries of the region and the entire world, which makes it a historical link connecting the East and the West. The city, with approximately 19.5% of the country’s population living within its boundary.

New York 3 July 2015-- The President of the World Assembly of Islamic Cities (WAIC), Mr. Masoud Nosrati, signed a Letter of Intent with UN-Habitat to co-organize a Mayoral Conference on the City Prosperity Initiative (CPI). This conference will be held on July 28th and 29th 2015 at the United Nations Office in Vienna.

Rabat 17 June 2015-- Within a two year programme, UN-Habitat has been partnering with the Moroccan Ministry of Housing and Urban Policy and Al Omrane Holding, the state company for urban and social housing projects with the main objective of strengthening strategic and operational frameworks for the institutions in order to address large urban extensions and urban renewal projects.

Brussels 4 June 2015 – To urgently address the growing needs in Iraq, the humanitarian community on Thursday launched a revised plan - the 2015 Humanitarian Response Plan for Iraq. The plan will target 5.6 million vulnerable Iraqis with essential, life-saving support over the next six months.

Ramallah, 21 May 2015 - In a report handed over to Rami Hamdallah, the Palestinian Prime Minister and Nayef Abu Khalaf, the Minister of Local Government today, an international expert group of planners says a new approach to planning could contribute to peace-building.

In the Oslo Accords, the West Bank was divided into 3 areas. In the largely rural Area C, the planning function was to be undertaken temporarily by the Israelis. However, responsibility for planning and infrastructure has still not been passed over to the Palestinian Authority.

Manama, 19 May 2015 – Sustainable urbanization has been highlighted as one of the issues central to achieving sustainable development in the Arab region at a high-level forum in Bahrain.

Cairo, 15 May 2015 –The League of Arab States Ministerial Council for Housing and Construction Executive Bureau meeting has been held in the Egyptian capital.