A/RES/48/176 Page 2 Noting with appreciation that the Commission on Human Settlements and the Centre, in line with the objectives and responsibilities set out in General Assembly resolution 32/162, have succeeded in placing human settlements high on the agenda for national action and international cooperation and in promoting increased understanding of the links among people, settlements, environment and development, Noting with concern that, in many developing countries, the achievements in terms of policies, programmes and projects at the national level in the field of human settlements have not been sufficient to arrest or reverse the deterioration in the living conditions of their populations, in both urban and rural areas, Convinced that proper planning, development and management of human settlements will lead to economic and social progress and thereby alleviate poverty and promote development that is environmentally sound and sustainable in the long run, and aware that widespread civil conflicts and wars have left many cities and villages totally destroyed, Reaffirming the importance of its resolution 47/180 of 22 December 1992 on the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), Recalling its resolution 47/212 B of 6 May 1993, in which, inter alia, it requested the Secretary-General to reconsider his proposal to abolish the post of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), taking into account the views and recommendations of the Commission on Human Settlements and of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme and the views expressed by Member States regarding the question of separate senior management arrangements for the Centre, 1. Endorses the report of the Commission on Human Settlements on the work of its fourteenth session; 2/ 2. Also endorses Commission resolutions 14/7 of 5 May 1993 on the strengthening of regional activities, 14/19 of 5 May 1993 on the role and place of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) in the United Nations system and 14/20 of 5 May 1993 on the preparations for the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II); 3/ 3. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) are kept under distinct and separate management and direction, in accordance with their specific mandates and activities; __________ 2/ Official Records of the General Assembly, Forty-eighth Session, Supplement No. 8 (A/48/8 and Add.1). 3/ Ibid., annex I, sect. A. /...