The international municipal movement adopts a strategic blueprint

Mayors, governors, and local leaders around the world are well aware that our world is at a foundational moment. The pandemic placed them in front of an unprecedented scenario, but also gave them a renewed sense of purpose to deliver truly transformative action, to overcome the current levels of inequality, address the environmental crisis, and challenge the widening cultural divide. 

Under this backdrop, the World Organization of United Cities and Local Governments, the largest global network of cities and local, regional, and metropolitan governments and their associations; inheritor of a century-old movement based around city diplomacy and cooperation, approved the Pact for the Future of Humanity. A Pact for the Future of People, the Planet, and Government adopted by 345 political representatives elected in a gathering of over 4,000 leaders.

In the largest exercise in local democracy in the world, the Pact for the Future was adopted by consensus from the governing bodies of our Organization.

Through this Pact, local and regional governments embrace their critical role and responsibility to promote a more equitable and sustainable quality of life for citizens and communities alike, protecting their rights to global and local common goods while protecting the planet for future generations. 

The Pact, in short, as stated by UCLG President and Mayor of Montevideo Carolina Cosse, is “the commitment of local and regional governments to systemic transformation through a diplomacy that is driven by feminist leadership and solidarity, committed to local democracy and peace, loyal to the values of subsidiarity, gender equality, self-government, and accountability”.

The approval of the Pact for the Future proves the far-reaching aspirations of the movement, ensuring that local and regional governments are able to play their part within a renewed multilateral system to achieve the global development agendas, such as the 2030 Agenda, the Paris Agreement, and the New Urban Agenda. The international movement has been claiming a seat at the global table for many decades and as predecessors to the state driven multilateral system founded after World War II (their foundations date from 1913), they see themselves as critical players to ensure the much-needed revamped global governance system that is able to deliver.

The Pact has a powerful narrative, claiming a common humanity: “we reject greed, prejudice, and division, and we choose to place care at the heart of our Pact for the Future”. The three axes of the Pact (People, Planet, and Government) are showcasing care for the human rights of all people and care for the integrity of our planet. To meet the expectations of current and future generations, and to reaffirm our common humanity.

The Pact for the Future for People focused on the needs of current generations and expanding the rights of future ones by guaranteeing access to public services and the commons. As we acknowledge the impact of growing inequalities within and between cities, the Pact seeks to deliver fairness and intersectional justice for everyone and for every place.

The Future for the Planet promotes systems and ways of living in harmony with our planet while building resilience and sustainability through policies that renature our production and consumption models, which will be crucial cornerstones of the Pact for the Future – and an endeavour that no actor nor level of government can achieve alone.

The Future for Government is founded upon the call of our communities who are increasingly pleading for the transformation of governing systems. We are in a once-in-a-generation opportunity to review and improve our tools to respond to the challenges we face and to ensure that we drive a profound transformation of our societies and our systems.