Local governments call on the UN to listen to cities at Habitat III Local Authority Hearings

From 15-17 May 2016, over 100 representatives of sub-national governments from around the world (among which PFD members UCLG, PLATFORMA, UCLG-A, UCLG-MEWA, UCLG-ASPAC and CEMR) gathered at UN headquarters to share our vision for the New Urban Agenda. At the Hearings, local leaders called for a seat at the global table in the global governance mechanisms.

The delegation kicked off on 15 May with the first session of the Second World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments. This is the mechanism through which the local and regional government constituency will make its joint inputs to the Habitat III process. The session in New York was a historic occasion, marking the first such meeting since the Habitat II Conference in Istanbul twenty years ago.

The Assembly agreed on the recommendations of Local and Regional Governments, in response to the Zero Draft of the New Urban Agenda. From 16-17 May, mayors and local leaders presented these recommendations in the Habitat III Hearings for Local Authorities.

The hearings represent a milestone for the international municipal movement as the first UN consultative process to treat sub-national governments as a specific constituency and equal to member states. This arrangement was an important symbolic gesture to the role of local leaders in the New Urban Agenda.

The negotiations for the New Urban Agenda are ongoing. PLATFORMA issued a first response on the EU position and will continue to engage the EU and its member states during preparations of the Habitat III conference in Quito.

• See here the IISD reporting services
• Follow the actions of the global taskforce of local and regional governments at: www.gtf2016.org
  
• Include a local perspective in the New Urban Agenda and join the campaign on Twitter, please use the hashtag #Listen2Cities and #Habitat3
• Contact UCLG or Platforma for more information