Special Citation of the Habitat Scroll of Honour
Introduction
The Habitat Scroll of
Honour was launched by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme in
1989. It is currently the most prestigious human settlements award in the
world. Its aim is to acknowledge initiatives which have made outstanding contributions
in various fields such as shelter provision, highlighting the plight of the
homeless, leadership in post conflict reconstruction, and developing and
improving the human settlements and the quality of urban life. The list of
previous winners includes many luminaries such as King Carl Gustaf XVI of
At the Governing Council of the United Nations
Human Settlements Programme Twenty-first session
Bahrain at UN HABITAT Governing Council - Photographs
The message stated that over the years of his premiership, H.H Shaikh Khalifa had focused on economic and
development programmes to eliminate the root causes of poverty through
cooperation with the people. The UN-Habitat Special Citation was a gratifying
and welcome indication that those efforts had been made in the right direction.
The Presentation Palais des Nations Geneva
The
level of National pride in Bahrain and in the Palais des Nations in Geneva
during the High-level Segment Substantive Session of ECOSOC 2007 ( 2 -
5 July 2007), was highlighted by the then
President of the UN General Assembly,
H.E. Ms. Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa when she stated in her opening
address that it was with a great deal
of pride and privilege for her as a Bahraini citizen to witness the
presentation
of the 2006 Special Citation Award of the UN Habitat Scroll of Honour.
She
stated that it was a honour for all Bahrain;
state, government and people, and reflected the recognition by the
International
community for the immense and continuous efforts of H.H. Shaikh Khalifa
to
enhance the socio-economic development in Bahrain
under the patronage of His Royal Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
H.E. Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka intiated the proceeding with an short address which was followed by a statement by the
Secretary General H.E
Mr. Ban Ki-moon in which he commended the Prime Minister saying that "Under the able leadership of
your Highness, the Kingdom of Bahrain has made remarkable strides in
reducing poverty. Over the past quarter of a century, Bahrain has
transformed itself into a thriving
diversified economy, while preserving the cultural heritage of the
Kingdom."
Read Full statement by the
Secretary General
In his acceptance speech, Sheikh Khalifa thanked both the
Secretary-General and Mrs. Tibaijuka for recognizing the efforts of
Bahrain to implement the Milleniumm Development Goals (MDGs) and its humanitarian objectives. He
pointed out that credit must also be given to the King of Bahrain and
its citizens. The Prime Minister then announced that Bahrain would be
establishing an award,
which would be overseen by UN-Habitat,
for research that supported the Habitat Agenda and would be presented
at future UN-HABITAT WORLD URBAN FORUMS starting at the 4th seesion
which is to be held in Nanjing China in 2008.
Watch videos of the Presentation Ceremony at the Palais des Nations in Geneva
View images of the return to Bahrain of Shaikh Khalifa after recieving the award
Watch the video from Bahrain TV
