THE GLOBAL TASKFORCE ALIGN EFFORTS FOR A KEY YEAR IN THE MULTILATERAL SYSTEM
The third day of the UCLG retreat was fully dedicated to the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Government (GTF). Their members gathered together in an annual meeting to discuss the achievements of the past year and to define the messaging and the strategy for the coming year, including the participation of the GTF in major international events as well as other opportunities for the group to push for the seat of the local and regional governments at the table with decision-makers.
All speakers have highlighted the importance of this year since some global agendas, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015- 2030, are approaching the middle point. The Mid-term reviews provide an important opportunity to look at the work done and identify the gaps where more efforts are needed. Besides, this year will see key events, including the 67th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (6-17 March 2023), UN Water Conference (23-24 March 2023), the UN-Habitat Assembly (5-9 June 2023), the High-level Political Forum 2023 (10-19 June 2023), SDG Summit 2023 (September 2023), COP28 (30 November -12 December 2023), the Global Refugee Forum (13-15 December 2023).
The High-Level Political Forum in July will review progress of several SDGs, among them, the SDG11. During the SDG Summit in September, an special edition of the Annual Secretary-General Report on the SDG Implementation Progress and the Global Sustainable Development Report will be published.
The G7 and the G20 meetings will also be part of the local multilateralism efforts through the Urban7 and Urban 20 meetings in Japan and India, respectively.
The GTF participation to these specific events was reviewed during the Retreat with inputs from institutions and partners organizing them and supporting the active and meaningful participation of local and regional governments.
In 2023, the GTF will convene the World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments within the framework of the UN-Habitat Assembly in June and the SDGs Summit in September 2023. The sixth edition of the Local and Regional Governments Forum will also take place in the HLPF in July 2023.
The period 2023-2026 is a crucial one to influence the global agendas, specially “Our Common Agenda” and the Summit of the Future in 2024 with mechanisms such as the Secretary-General Advisory Group on Local and Regional Governments.
The mapping exercise for events for 2023 as well as the ideas, messages and priorities discussed by GTF participants in the meeting can be consulted here: https://bit.ly/3ETf1OD
A UNITED VOICE TO INCREASE RECOGNITION
Representatives from all the members of the Global Taskforce and partners took the floor to stress the opportunities to advance on the local multilateralism ensuring a future for humanity from the local sphere, that guarantees public services and brings transformation from the communities.
Carolina Cosse, President of UCLG and Mayor of Montevideo, highlighted the need to take collective action without leaving anyone behind.
Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, said that the pressure on cities is higher than ever in the crises people seek shelter in urban areas. She further noted that the challenges are known, but the goal is to find solutions that many can apply. UN-Habitat have provided a platform for mayors to speak, as their testimonies are powerful and show work on the ground.
Lucy Slack, Secretary-General of CLGF, highlighted the need for the local and regional governments to get into the room of national decision-makers since many are unaware of what the cities and regional authorities are doing.
Gino Van Begin, Secretary-General of ICLEI, stressed that while much progress was made in the past ten years and many global agendas were included in the frameworks of the local governments, there is still work to be done to become an active part of the decision-making. He further underlined that the strength and value of the GTF are in its members and each organization with a specific focus.
Natalia Uribe, Secretary-General of Regions4, emphasized the need to use the momentum of the historical United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Montreal to elevate the topic of biodiversity to climate change.
The importance of the voices of the local authorities for the global agendas was highlighted by Carles Llorens Vila, Secretary-General of ORU Fogar. He further noted that at the same time a, anti-global agenda narratives, the narratives against SDGs are gaining space in mass media. This means there should be more media presence, and local and regional governments need to focus more on messaging and communication.
Casimir Legrand, Climate Politics, Intelligence and Diplomacy Manager, C40, shared the experience of C40 members making much progress in reducing emissions, which is sometimes even better than the national level. This year, the organization will promote renewable energy, addressing the injustice triggered by climate change, climate finance, and participation in the Urban 20 (U20).