A/RES/51/177 Page 3 8. Invites all Governments to further encourage and support all relevant actors of civil society, including the private sector, in the implementation of and follow-up to the Habitat Agenda by establishing effective partnerships and by creating an appropriate framework, in accordance with their respective national conditions, to further facilitate and expedite such actors in addressing human settlements issues, particularly servicing, finance mobilization, the provision of adequate shelter and related areas, and in that process to emphasize the need to integrate the gender perspective; 9. Reaffirms that, in formulating human settlements policies and strategies, all countries should recognize the interdependence of rural and urban areas and address the needs of both in a balanced manner; 10. Calls upon all Governments to establish or strengthen, as appropriate, participatory mechanisms for the implementation, assessment and review of and follow-up to the Habitat Agenda and national plans of action; 11. Emphasizes the need for all countries and for the international community to promote at all levels an integrated and multidimensional approach to the implementation of and follow-up to the Habitat Agenda; 12. Reaffirms that all States should exert concerted efforts to achieve the implementation of the Habitat Agenda through bilateral, subregional, regional and international cooperation, as well as through the United Nations system, including the Bretton Woods institutions, and that States may also convene bilateral, subregional and regional meetings and take other appropriate initiatives to contribute to the review and assessment of the progress made in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda; 13. Also reaffirms that the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter of the United Nations and relevant resolutions, including Assembly resolutions 48/162 of 20 December 1993 and 50/227 of 24 May 1996, together with the Commission on Human Settlements, shall constitute a three-tiered intergovernmental mechanism to oversee the coordination of activities for the implementation of the Habitat Agenda; 14. Recommends that, at its special session to be convened from 23 to 27 June 1997 for the purpose of an overall review and appraisal of Agenda 21, the Assembly give due attention to the issue of human settlements in the context of sustainable development; 15. Reaffirms that the General Assembly should consider holding a special session in the year 2001 for an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), including the identification of obstacles, considering further actions and initiatives, and that a decision on this matter should be taken at its fifty-second session; 16. Also reaffirms that the Economic and Social Council may convene meetings of high-level representatives to promote international dialogue on the critical issues pertaining to adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development, as well as on policies for addressing them through international cooperation, and in this context, the Council may consider dedicating one high-level segment before the year 2001 to human settlements and the implementation of the Habitat Agenda, with the active /...