Nations urged to assist weak, vulnerable sectors

Nations urged to assist weak, vulnerable sectors

By T. Sima Gunawan

ISTANBUL, Turkey (JP): Indonesia urged world leaders yesterday
not to marginalize the most vulnerable layers of society.

The assistant to the Minister of Public Housing, Suyono, told
the UN Conference on Human Settlements II that governments have
the responsibility to facilitate "the weakest and most vulnerable
sectors" through poverty eradication policies and strategies,
including human resource and capacity building.

"It is also important that access to employment opportunities
and the provision of low-cost housing units are ensured," he said
before the general exchange of views on the second day of the
Habitat II Conference.

"While these policies are indeed the responsibility of
governments with the cooperation of the international community,
it is also important that the private sectors' initiatives should
be tapped for these purposes," he said.

Habitat II, which will continue until June 14, has two main
issues: shelter for all and sustainable human settlements.

Negotiations of a Conference committee are still underway to
decide the reference on housing: whether it is a right or a need.

The Non-Aligned Movement made it clear on Monday that "shelter
is a basic human right." But the U.S. said that the right to
adequate housing is a component of existing human rights.

The U.S. has proposed that reference to housing be considered
more as needs, aspirations and goals rather than explicit human
rights, as it apparently worries over the demand of free housing
for those who need it.

Shelter for all has been central to the national housing
policy for over two decades, according to Suyono. He said that
the policy is focused on three main goals: expanding the
availability of housing; promoting home ownership, especially in
urban areas; and improving the quality of urban neighborhoods.
One of the central policies to achieve the goals is the Kampong
Improvement Program (KIP). He said that the program, which is
designed to upgrade housing in poor neighborhoods, now operates
in 500 cities and includes infrastructure improvements.

The World Bank, which helps finance the KIP, hails the program
as an "urban success story".

Suyono also told the Conference that Indonesia is committed to
sustainable rural development, which is essential to ensure
sustainable urban settlements.

"In this way, the magnetic attraction of the megacities --
especially to the rural poor -- as well as the lure of the bright
lights and employment opportunities for youths, can be
encountered, to a certain extent, by the availability of greater
opportunities in rural areas."

Indonesia has the fourth largest population in the world.
Between 1970 and 1990, the population of Indonesia rose from 120
million to nearly 180 million. Today, over 34 percent of
Indonesia's population lives in urban areas. In 2020, the urban
population will reach between 50 and 60 percent.

The phenomena of rapid urbanization in Indonesia is aggravated
by the trends of globalization and liberalization, which have
boosted urban economics in developing countries, Suyono said.

"But the very success has created an increasing gap between
cities and smaller towns, villages and the countryside. The lure
of the cities and the incessant search for employment
opportunities -- especially by the youth -- has thus spurred on
rapid rural migration to urban centers worldwide," he said.

He said Indonesia has been successful in reducing poverty
levels from approximately 60 percent in the late 1960s, to 13
percent in 1993. It is projected that the poverty levels will
drop to 10 percent by the end of this century. However, he
admitted that there has been a widening gap within large urban
communities like Jakarta, Surabaya and Medan, which has resulted
in the escalation of urban poverty.

"Moreover, the rapid expansion of industry in such major
cities has also posed serious problems for the environment,
threatening both the quality of life and the natural resources
base, which is critical for the sustainability of such growth and
development," he said.

The World Bank estimates that the environmental costs of air
and water pollution in Jakarta are US$1 billion per year and
losses due to floods are $26 million per year.

Statement -- Page 9

Photo -- Page 16