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UN official highlights unique structure of WUF13

27 February 2026 11:06 (UTC +04:00)

WUF13 will be a unique event in terms of its organization and substance, said Edlam Yemeru, Director of the Global Knowledge and Advocacy Division of the UN Human Settlements Programme, during a media briefing on preparations for WUF13, APA reports.

“This conference brings together all relevant parties and stakeholders from around the world. Governments gather here. At the same time, various non-government stakeholders and participants also take part here. In this way, it creates an opportunity for dialogue, exchange of views, and cooperation between the public sector — that is, government representatives — and non-government actors, as well as the private sector. Therefore, it is unique in terms of its essence, structure, and form of organization,” Yemeru noted.

She added that globally, 1.1 billion people live in slums and informal settlements in extremely unstable conditions, while more than 300 million people are homeless.

“The World Urban Forum will specifically highlight this urgent situation and focus its attention on this issue.”

The year 2026 is also important because 10 years ago – in 2016 – world governments gathered in Quito, Ecuador, and committed to taking action for sustainable urbanization. This took place within the framework of the Habitat III Conference, and as a result, the document we call the “New Urban Agenda” was adopted. Thus, the world committed to the New Urban Agenda 10 years ago. Now, in 2026, 10 years have passed. It is time to review progress, assess the work carried out, determine what has been achieved and where gaps remain. At the same time, it is time to define the next 10-year implementation phase of this global New Urban Agenda. In this regard, WUF13 is also highly significant. It will bring the world together to ask such questions: How successful have we been in implementing the New Urban Agenda? What more can we do over the next 10 years?” the UN representative said.