Azerbaijan developing first national urban policy supported by UN-Habitat, official says

Azerbaijan is developing its first national urban policy under the leadership of the State Committee for Urban Planning and Architecture of Azerbaijan, with technical support from the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), Report informs, citing statements by Head of UN-Habitat Country Program in Azerbaijan Anna Soave during a panel discussion at the 4th International Mine Action Conference.

According to her, this initiative will allow the country to consolidate existing practices and accumulated experience into formal state policy.

Soave noted that Azerbaijan has a rare opportunity to integrate these principles into state policy at an early stage while the framework is actively being formed: "It is far more sensible to embed these principles directly into the planning system now than to attempt to integrate them later."

She also emphasized that mine action must become a permanent element of territorial planning in Azerbaijan.

She highlighted three practical directions: defining the sequence of actions and prioritization criteria, institutional coordination, and a monitoring system with corresponding metrics.

She stressed that mine action should not be viewed as a process that concludes once mine clearance is completed.

According to Soave, countries that have successfully cleared their territories of landmine hazards ultimately came to recognize the necessity of embedding mine action into long-term spatial and territorial planning.