In October 1978, the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements was established. In 2001, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 25/206, strengthening the mandate and status of the Commission on Human Settlements and the status, role, and functions of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat). Effective from 1 January 2002, the resolution transformed the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements into a direct subsidiary organ of the UN General Assembly, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, to be known as UN-Habitat. It serves as the focal point for human settlements actions and the coordination of activities within the United Nations system with the objectives of promoting sustainable development of human settlements worldwide and ensuring adequate housing for all.

  In addition to its traditional core areas of work, such as urban planning, infrastructure development, and participatory slum upgrading, UN-Habitat also focuses on urban legislation, risk management, gender equality, youth affairs, and capacity-building for all stakeholders involved in the urbanization process.

UN-Habitat is headed by an Executive Director who is also an UN Under-Secretary General and headquartered in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. The current Executive Director is Ms. Anacláudia Marinheiro Centeno Rossbach, a Brazilian national. She was nominated by the Secretary-General of the United Nations in June 2024 and appointed by the General Assembly through a resolution. She assumed office in August 2024 for a four-year term.

  UN-Habitat’s governance structure is a three-tier structure made up of the UN-Habitat Assembly, the Executive Board and the Committee of Permanent Representatives:

  1. UN-Habitat Assembly: UN-Habitat Assembly is a universal body composed of the 193 member states of the United Nations and convenes every four years at the Headquarters of UN-Habitat in Nairobi. The first session was held in May 2019.

  2. Executive Board: The Executive Board is composed of 36 member states elected by the UN-Habitat Assembly and meets three times a year. It meets twice or three times a year.

  3. Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR): The Committee of Permanent Representatives of UN-Habitat (CPR) meets twice every four years in an open-ended manner.

  The main operational divisions and offices of UN-Habitat include:

  I. Office of the Executive Director
    It includes the Secretariat of the Governing Bodies, the Legal Office, the Office of Internal Audit, the UN-Habitat Brussels Office, the New York Office, and the Geneva Office.

  II. Global, Knowledge and Advocacy Division
    This Division comprises two branches: the Knowledge and Innovation Branch, and the Communication and Advocacy Branch.

  III. Global Solutions Division
    This Division includes two branches: the Urban Practices Branch and the Project Development Branch.

  IV. Regional Programmes Division
    This Division is mainly responsible for liaising with the four regional offices and overseeing the implementation of regional programmes, including the Regional Office for Africa, the Regional Office for Arab States, the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, and the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean.

  V. Management Advisory and Compliance Service
    This Service is mainly responsible for resource allocation, review and internal controls, budget and finance, human resources and training, and logistical management.