UNACLA September 2016 UPDATE

UNACLA UPDATE

September 2016

Update September 2016

UPCOMING ACTIVITIES

UNACLA meeting in Bogota UNACLA will hold its next gathering in the occasion of the II Session of the World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments taking place during the UCLG World Congress in Bogota th (Colombia) on 14 October 2016.

The main purpose of this meeting will be to approve the UNACLA Quito Declaration, with recommendations from the global constituency of local and regional governments to the Habitat III process.

PAST EVENTS

UNACLA Quito Declaration In the occasion of the III and final session of th the World Assembly in Quito, on 17 October 2016, UNACLA members will issue their Quito Declaration that will represent their formal positioning vis-Ă -vis the Habitat III process, including recommendations and their vision for sustainable cities and territories for all.

UNACLA meeting in New York UNACLA met in New York United Nations Headquarters th on May 15 2016, following the I Session of the World Assembly of local and regional governments.

The members approved the 2016 workplan, welcomed the new membership structure and approved the UNACLA Statement on the Habitat III zero draft.

The first draft will be circulated shortly for inputs by all UNACLA members.

Note that specific registration is needed to participate to the World Assembly of local and regional governments in Quito, please contact globaltaskforce@uclg.org More information at http://www.gtf2016.org/

TWITTER

WEBPAGE

UNACLA has a new twitter account

UNACLA webpage has been updated

FOLLOW US @LocGovUN

http://unhabitat.org/advisorygroups/unacla/

Members present in New York The meeting counted with the presence of 14 of the 20 organizations represented in UNACLA -

UCLG HQ UCLG- ASPAC UCLG MEWA UCLG FLACMA UCLG Africa UCLG North America CEMR Forum of the Regions Metropolis CGLF ICLEI Cites Unies

UNACLA UPDATE Local and Regional Governments, and other local actors, are crucial to ensure the process is inclusive and accountable.

UNACLA Statement on the Habitat III Zero Draft New York UN Headquarters, 15th May 2016

We, Members of the UNACLA, praise the current proposals coming from the Habitat III Zero draft outcome document released in May, which includes many of our constituency’s recommendations, drawn up through the Global Taskforce of local and regional governments, including those relating to financing, legal frameworks, governance, “reinforced multi-level governance” approach, city-to-city and decentralised cooperation.

We celebrate the text’s reference to the "fundamental role" of local and regional governments in "ensuring the (...) wellbeing of our communities." and the need for a “renewed local-national partnership” based on effective decentralization, and respect for the “principles of subsidiarity and the recognition of local self-governance”.

We especially welcome the recognition of the mechanisms to improve dialogue between Member States and local and regional authorities, such as UNACLA. The very existence of UNACLA emanates from the Istanbul Declaration which recognizes local authorities as key partners in the implementation of the international development strategy in an urbanizing world, the Habitat Agenda.

We hope that the call for the strong involvement of local and regional authorities in the design, implementation and monitoring of the New Urban Agenda will be

reflected in the consultation and participation mechanisms open to us in the governing bodies of the UN system and further interactions with UN Member States, including a specific status for local and subnational authorities as spheres of government and with clearer reference to Local Governments Associations.

We call on Member States to provide our constituency with a status beyond the "observer" status established by Rule 64 of the rule of procedures of the UN Habitat Governing Council, to a special status for local authorities that will allow us to play our full role as active partners both at the HABITAT III Conference and in the overall UN System.

We are eager to contribute and closely follow the creation of the International Multistakeholder Panel on Sustainable Urbanization ‘to generate evidence-based and practical guidance for the implementation of the New Urban Agenda and the urban dimension of the Sustainable Development Goals’, given that most SDGs, not only SDG 11 on cities and human settlements, have an urban dimension and require localizing in order to ensure their effective implementation'. And believe the adoption of a UN decade for sustainable urbanization will be a great incentive for all stakeholders to contribute to those agendas.

important work done to ensure the voice of the local and sub-national governments in this process and to actively contribute to the development of joint policy positions beyond institutional interests.

We recognize the Second World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments, convened by the Global Taskforce, as the most inclusive political mechanism of representation. We call therefore for the outcome document of Habitat III to acknowledge these mechanisms.

We further commit to ensure the link between UNACLA and the above mentioned mechanism to ensure that the recommendations made in this Committee have the broad support of the organized constituency.

We further congratulate the networks gathered in the Global Taskforce for the

WATCH the First Session of the World Assembly of local and regional authorities at the UN TV! - http://webtv.un.org/meetingsevents/watch/part-1-second-world-assembly-of-local-and-regional-governments-for-the-new-urban-agenda-first-session/4896258278001