United Cities and Local Governments

United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) is an umbrella international organisation for cities, local and regional governments, and municipal associations throughout the world that is concerned with representing and defending the interests of local governments on the world stage.[1]

United Cities and Local Governments
Cités et Gouvernements Locaux Unis (in French)
Ciudades y Gobiernos Locales Unidos (in Spanish)
UCLG Presidium during 2013 World Congress in Morocco, co-chaired by President Kadir Topbaş (Istanbul) & Treasurer Fathallah Oualalou (Rabat).
AbbreviationUCLG (in English)
CGLU (in French)
CGLU (in Spanish)
MottoTo be the united voice and world advocate of democratic local self-government, promoting its values, objectives and interests, through cooperation between local governments, and within the wider international community[1]
Formation5 May 2004 (2004-05-05)[2]
Founded atParis[2]
Merger ofIULA, FMCU & Metropolis
TypeInternational umbrella organization
PurposeRepresenting and defending the interests of local governments on the world stage[1]
HeadquartersBarcelona, Spain
Region served
Worldwide
MethodsAdvocacy & Dissemination of Best Practices
FieldsSustainable Development Goals:
Membership
over 240 000 members[3]
Official language
English, French, Spanish[4]
Secretary General
Emilia Saiz
Mohamed Boudra[5][6]
Uğur İbrahim Altay, Li Mingyuan, Johnny Araya Monge, Thembi Nkadimeng, Berry Vrbanovic, Jan van Zanen[5][7]
Madelaine Y. Alfelor-Gazman[5][8]
Ada Colau & Fernando Medina
UCLG Executive Bureau
Main organ
UCLG General Assembly
Subsidiaries9 UCLG Sections[9] & 19 Cross-sectional bodies:[10]
  • 4 UCLG Policy Councils
  • 4 UCLG Policy Committees
  • 2 UCLG Working Groups
  • 6 UCLG Communities of Practice
  • 3 UCLG Fora
AffiliationsGlobal Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments,[11] United Nations Advisory Committee of Local Authorities & UN ECOSOC's Development Cooperation Forum[12]
Websitehttps://www.uclg.org
RemarksPartners: Association of Netherlands Municipalities, C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, Compact of Mayors, European Commission, ICLEI, OECD, UNICEF, United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-Water, UN Women, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, World Bank, World Water Council

The organization achieved inclusion of Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities into Agenda 2030,[13][14] aggregates best local practices into action plans,[15][16] provides regular updates on the progress and proposals to High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.[17][18] Its day-to-day activities include hosting meetings of mayors and other local and regional leaders,[19] running joint projects with partners,[20] organizing international peer-to-peer training on local policies and practices,[21] and advocacy for the interests of local and regional governments at the UN.[22]

Since founding in 2004,[2] UCLG is headquartered in Barcelona (the World Secretariat, Metropolis & UCLG Regions), with its regional offices in Brasilia, Brussels, Istanbul, Jakarta, Kazan, La Paz, Ottawa & Rabat.[9] It is the largest organization of sub-national governments in the world, with over 240,000 members in over 140 UN Member States and understands itself as the united voice and world advocate of democratic local self-government, de facto representing over half the world's population across seven world regions: Africa, Asia-Pacific, Euroasia, Europe, Middle East & West Asia, Latin America and North America.[3]

The organisation's work programme focuses on:[1]

  • Increasing the role and influence of local government and its representative organisations in global governance;
  • Becoming the main source of support for democratic, effective, innovative local government close to the citizen;
  • Ensuring an effective and democratic global organisation

History
Pan Am welcomes a delegation of 10 mayors from the Netherlands
(June 1961)

UCLG's origins go back to 1913, when the Union Internationale des Villes (UIV) was set up at the International Congress of the Art of Building Cities and Organising Community Life in Ghent, Belgium.[23] The establishment of the UIV, a permanent office for communication and documentation on municipal issues, marked the birth of the international municipal movement. The association had a Provisional Council of 30 members and its first seat was in Brussels.[24] In 1928, the UIV changed its name to the International Union of Local Authorities (IULA).[25] In 1948, IULA's secretariat moved from Ghent to The Hague in the Netherlands,[25] where it remained until 2004. The United Towns Organisation (UTO) (French: Fédération mondiale des cités unies (FMCU)) was set up in 1957 in Aix-les-Bains, France.[26] It was initially known as the World Federation of Twin Cities (French: Fédération mondiale des villes jumelées).

In 1984, then President of the Regional Council of Ile-de-France, Michel Giraud, convened the first Metropolis Congress.[27] The constituent Congress of Metropolis was held in Montreal in April 1985, and was attended by 14 founding member cities:

UCLG delegation led by Kadir Topbaş meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at UN, 23 April 2012.

Abidjan, Addis Ababa, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Cairo, Colombo, Ile-de-France, London, Los Angeles, Mexico, Montreal, New York, Tokyo and Turin. The Metropolis secretariat was initially established in Montreal, moving to Barcelona under the presidency of then Mayor of Barcelona, Joan Clos, in 2000. In 2004, three international associations of local and regional governments – the International Union of Local Authorities (IULA), United Towns Organisation (UTO), and Metropolis – agreed to come together to form a single organization at UCLG's founding congress.[28]

The united organization started under the leadership of its founding President Bertrand Delanoë, mayor of Paris, serving two three-year terms (2004-2010) and continued under Kadir Topbaş of Istanbul (2010-2016).[29]

Organization and membership

UCLG is a membership organization with a democratic, federal structure. Its members include individual local and regional governments and their national associations. UCLG's governing bodies are made up of locally elected leaders, chosen by their peers in elections by UCLG members.

Sections
General Assembly of FLACMA-organized Latin American Congress of Local Authorities in Santiago de Chile (March 27–29, 2019).[30]
Overview slide with participants of 2014 Metropolis World Congress in Hyderabad, 6-10 Oct. 2014
UCLG Euroasia President Mayor Metshin of Kazan speaking at UN GA Local and Regional Governments’ Forum NYC 24–25 September 2019
  1. Africa Section (UCLG Africa)[31]
  2. Asia Pacific Section (UCLG-ASPAC)[32]
  3. Eurasia Section (UCLG Eurasia)[33]
  4. Europe Section - Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR)
  5. Middle East and West Asia Section
  6. Latin American Coordination of Local Authorities for Unity in Diversity (CORDIAL, co-hosted by FLACMA & Mercosur Cities Network)
  7. North America Section (UCLG - Noram, hosted by Federation of Canadian Municipalities)[34]
  8. Metropolitan Section (Metropolis)[35]
  9. Forum of Regions (UCLG Regions)[36]

World Council
2018 UCLG World Council meeting in Madrid, 5-8 Nov. 2018.[37]

UCLG's main policy-making body is the World Council. It has over 300 members from all world regions and meets no less than once every three years.[38] Previous meetings were in Madrid (2018)[37] & Hangzhou (2017).[39]

Executive Bureau

The UCLG Executive Bureau is made up of 115 members. It meets twice a year and makes proposals and carries out the decisions of the World Council.[40]

Presidency
See also: UCLG Presidency

The presidency of the UCLG world network is made up of the President, six Co-Presidents and the Treasurer, accompanied by two Special Envoys.

The presidency for the 2016-2019 period is:

President: Mohamed Boudra, Mayor of Al Hoceima, President of the Moroccan Association of mayors.[41]

Co-Presidents:[5][7]

Treasurer: Madelaine Y. Alfelor-Gazman, Mayor of Iriga (Philippines)[8]

Special Envoy: Ada Colau, Mayor of Barcelona (Spain) & Fernando Medina, Mayor of Lisbon (Portugal)[42]

World Secretariat
UCLG Secretary-General Emilia Saiz at the launch conference of the joint OECD-UCLG World Observatory on Sub National Finance and Investment, held in Paris on June 17, 2019.[43]

Current UCLG Secretary-General is Emilia Saiz, who was named in December 2017 to replace outgoing Josep Roig.[44]

Cross-sectional deliberative bodies

There are 19 permanent UCLG Cross-sectional bodies.[10]

Policy Councils

There are 4 UCLG Policy Councils:

  • Right to the City and Inclusive Territories
  • Opportunities for All, Culture and City Diplomacy: Keys to Sustainable Development and Peace
  • Territorial Multilevel Governance and Sustainable Financing
  • Safer, Resilient and Sustainable Cities, Capable of Facing Crises

Each Policy Council can have up to 15 representatives with a political mandate, with at least one member of the Presidency. These report at each Executive Bureau session.

Policy Committees
Patrick Braouezec, Co-President of the Committee on Social Inclusion, Participative Democracy and Human Rights addressing the United Nations Human Rights Council, Presentation of the report on the "Role of local governments in promoting and protecting human rights", September 22, 2015. The Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room, Palace of Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.[45]

There are 4 UCLG Policy Committees:

Working Groups

There are 2 UCLG Working Groups:

  • Capacity and Institution Building
  • Territorial Prevention and Management of Crises

Communities of Practice

There are 6 UCLG Communities of Practice:

  • Urban Innovation
  • Mobility
  • Social Economy
  • Food Security
  • Transparency and Accountability
  • Digital Cities

Fora

There are 3 UCLG Fora:

  • Intermediary Cities
  • Peripheral Cities
  • Local Government Associations

Events
UCLG Retreat in Barcelona: World and Regional Secretary-Generals planning the work ahead.
UCLG and Global Covenant of Mayors' (GCoM) joint workshop on Climate Action

UCLG meets for World Summits, regular Congresses, Executive Bureau meetings & Reunions, organized by the World Secretariat & UCLG Sections. It also organizes various seminars and trainings.[46] The upcoming event is World Summit in Durban on 11–15 November 2019.[47]

Projects

Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments (GTF)

UCLG facilitates the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments (GTF),[48] a coordination and consultation mechanism that brings together the major international networks of local governments to undertake joint advocacy work relating to global policy processes. The Global Taskforce was set up in 2013 to bring the perspectives of local and regional governments to the SDGs, climate change agenda and New Urban Agenda, in particular. As well as UCLG, Global Taskforce participants include ICLEI and C40 Cities.

United Nations Advisory Committee of Local Authorities (UNACLA)

The United Nations Advisory Committee of Local Authorities (UNACLA) was established by the UN Habitat Governing Council Resolution 17/18 of 1999 as an advisory body to strengthen the dialogue of the UN System with local authorities in relation to the implementation of the Habitat Agenda. UCLG chairs UNACLA and holds 10 of its 20 seats. UCLG co-hosts the UNACLA secretariat with UN-Habitat.[49]

See also

References
  1. UCLG: About
  2. New international organisation to champion the interest of cities
  3. Who we are borchure @ UCLG official website
  4. Art.85 of the UCLG Constitution
  5. Presidency
  6. Mohamed Boudra elected UCLG President
  7. Newly elected 2019-2022 UCLG Presidency
  8. Iriga mayor elected UCLG Treasurer
  9. UCLG Sections
  10. UCLG Cross-sectional institutions
  11. Local and Regional Governments call for accelerated action to localize the SDGs at the 2019 HLPF
  12. Local and regional governments prepare the UN Development Cooperation Forum
  13. "The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development". UCLG - United Cities and Local Governments.
  14. "ALL SDGS ARE LOCAL: TOWARDS AN ACTION AGENDA IN HABITAT III". World Urban Campaign.
  15. "Roadmap for localizing the SDGs. Implementation and monitoring at subnational level" (PDF). https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/. External link in |website= (help)
  16. "Chapter 1: Cities and a territorial approach to the SDGs". https://sdgcities.guide/. External link in |website= (help)
  17. "Local and Regional Governments call for accelerated action to localize the SDGs at the 2019 HLPF". UCLG - United Cities and Local Governments.
  18. "SDG 11 – Tackling the challenges of global urbanization: flagship local government initiatives to meet the SDGs". www.2030spotlight.org/.
  19. "Past meetings". UCLG - United Cities and Local Governments.
  20. "World Observatory on Subnational Government Finance and Investment". www.oecd.org/.
  21. "Frontpage - Learning UCLG". www.learning.uclg.org.
  22. "Advocacy and Partnerships". UCLG - United Cities and Local Governments.
  23. https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00002762/document
  24. "An ever-young centenary: the global municipal movement - Rabat 2013. IMAGINE SOCIETY, BUILD DEMOCRACY". www.rabat2013.uclg.org.
  25. "Centenary of the International Municipal Movement". www.rabat2013.uclg.org.
  26. Montpellier, Ville de. "Fédération mondiale des cités unies - Ville de Montpellier". www.montpellier.fr.
  27. "Timeline". 9 October 2014.
  28. "The international municipal movement".
  29. "History in the making: 2004-2013" (PDF). UCLG.
  30. LATIN AMERICAN LOCAL AUTHORITIES CONGRESS
  31. UCLG Africa
  32. UCLG-ASPAC
  33. "Евразийское региональное отделение Всемирной организации "Объединенные Города и Местные власти"". www.euroasia-uclg.ru.
  34. "FCM - National Voice of Municipal Government - Voix nationale des gouvernements municipaux". fcm.ca.
  35. "Metropolis". Metropolis.
  36. "Foro de las Regiones". UCLG - United Cities and Local Governments.
  37. Madrid - World Council 2018
  38. "World Council and Executive Bureau 2016-2019". UCLG - United Cities and Local Governments.
  39. Hangzhou - World Council 2017
  40. "World Council and Executive Bureau 2016-2019". UCLG - United Cities and Local Governments.
  41. Mohamed Boudra, Mayor of Al Hoceima, Morocco is elected as the new President of the UCLG
  42. European representatives to 2019-2022 UCLG Presidency
  43. LAUNCH OF THE WORLD OBSERVATORY ON SUBNATIONAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE AND INVESTMENT
  44. Appointment of Emilia Saiz as UCLG Secretary-General
  45. The Human Rights Council of the United Nations recognizes the key role of local government in the promotion and protection of Human Rights
  46. "THE LEARNING SEMINAR "LOCALIZING THE SDGS"". UCLG EURASIA.
  47. "UCLG Congress World Summit of Local and Regional Leaders". UCLG.
  48. "Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments". www.global-taskforce.org.
  49. https://unhabitat.org/unacla/
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