Declaration of Zadar“Good Laws for a Better Habitat”PreambleWe, the Global Parliamentarians on Habitat (GPH), have come together at our 7thGlobal Forum inZadar, Croatia, from 18 to 20 May 2011, to take stock of our work and to deal with the challengesof the future.The GPH is an international organisation of parliamentarians whose members are dedicated topromoting the sustainable development of human settlements and whose primary objective is toencourage the implementation of the Habitat Agenda.The focus of our 7th Global Forum was the joint discussion and search for solutions for thechallenges relating to the impact of climate change on coastal cities and the role ofParliamentarians as drivers of change. This exchange of experiences has enabled us to developcommon approaches at global level, which we can use to fashion and strengthen initiatives withinour national legislative bodies.In the course of our 7th Global Forum, we have resolved to recognize the following principles andcommitments:

In order to attain sustainable development through implementation of the Habitat Agenda, weneed to place human beings at the core of all our efforts.Future growth and development of cities now assumes the acceptance of a number of sharedhuman values, including the search for a balance between the three domains of sustainabledevelopment: economy, environment and social issues.We are convinced that strengthening of the Global Parliamentarians on Habitat is an effective wayfor boosting international cooperation between parliamentarians. We recognise that the WorldUrban Campaign, which was launched in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in March 2010, is a platformwhich facilitates the coordination of all Partner organisations of UN-HABITAT, including theGlobal Parliamentarians on Habitat.2. Climate Change and Coastal CitiesBy the middle of the twenty-first Century, more than two thirds of the world population will livein cities. Seventy-five percent of energy consumption and about eighty percent of global carbondioxide emissions are already today accounted for by cities.

Urban areas are undoubtedly the

main sources of climate change.

Cities and their inhabitants are also the chief victims of climate change. Coastal Cities areespecially sensitive to the impacts of Climate Change, such as rising sea levels. Cities can andmust therefore make important contributions to climate protection.3. Parliamentarians as Drivers of ChangeParliamentarians, who are representatives of the people, pass legislation, which is in itself themost essential form of implementation of the goals of the Habitat Agenda. Parliamentarians alsocontrol the budget of their country and are thus able to ensure that the necessary financialresources to achieve the objectives of the Agenda are available. In the same way, they determinewhich expenditures of public funds have priority. Parliamentarians can and should, therefore, nothesitate to act as Drivers of Change.

Commitments1. We reaffirm our willingness to actively strengthen the implementation anddissemination of the Habitat Agenda.2. We reaffirm the Declaration of the Global Parliamentarians on Habitat, approvedduring the Forum held in Istanbul, Turkey, on 14 June 1996 and expanded on at theGlobal Forums held in Cancún, Mexico, in 1998, in Manila, the Philippines, in 2000,in Berlin, Germany, in 2003, in Rabat, Morocco, in 2005, and in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil, in 2010 respectively.3. We undertake to promote the passing and implementation of national laws on thebasis of the Habitat Agenda, and to create the legislative and administrativeinstruments that lead to a sustainable development.4. We undertake to strengthen communications and support among members ofparliament in order to share experience and knowledge and to promote the setting upof national and regional parliamentarian groups.Page 2 of 3

5. We intend to step up the public debate with government representatives, non-governmental organizations and business representatives on the options available forimproving sustainability of cities.6. We will urge governments to ensure the availability of adequate and predictablefinancial resources for UN-HABITAT to enhance its work. We call to theinternational and regional monetary institutions to participate in directly financingprogrammes of UN-HABITAT.7. We congratulate Joan Clos on his election to the position of Under-Secretary-Generalof the United Nations and Executive Director of UN-HABITAT.8. We express our solidarity with victims of the earthquake and the ensuing series ofdisasters which ravaged Japan in March 2011, including the Tsunami and thedestruction of the nuclear power plant in Fukushima with all its terribleconsequences for the people of Japan.9. We confirm that the prevention of maritime pollution is a way of protection of thebio-diversity of the ocean and that this can be done by controlling the quality of thewater that flows into the sea or of the ballast water transported by ships.10. We insist that efforts should be made to diminish the consequences of the rise of thesea level which occurs due to sporadic tidal or tsunami waves and/or due to theconstant gradual rise of the sea due to the melting of the polar ice.11. We declare that Parliamentarians need to ensure that they are constantly andsufficiently informed about all the expert aspects that their organisation, the GlobalParliamentarians on Habitat, is dealing with, in particular by exchanging theirexperiences with regards to legal and regulatory issues among and between all theUN members.12. We agree that it is necessary to actively participate in the work of the expertmeetings of UN-HABITAT, in order to better and faster implement ideas and agreedguidelines into our national legal systems.