Dear Members,
The agenda we all agreed on in Bogota – the Bogota Commitment – needs to be understood in the larger framework of the international development agendas (the 2030 Agenda / Sustainable Development Goals –SDGs-, the New Urban Agenda, the Paris Climate Agreement, etc.). UCLG can make its most valuable contribution by supporting its members and guiding them through these international processes, in what we call the “localization of the global agendas”.
Following the conversation at the UCLG Retreat in February, the UCLG World Secretariat – in close collaboration with the CIB Working Group, the Sections and its partners – is now working on a reporting model that will bring the perspective of local and regional governments to the international community.
As a contribution to this process, UCLG proposes several actions:
– Updates: keep the membership informed about the international process;
– Tools: provide all members with tools that will ensure follow-up at the national level and encourage localization;
– Reporting: develop a global reporting mechanism that builds specifically upon the local governments’ perspective on implementation and localization.
This circular is a first step in this direction. It calls for the active participation and involvement of all our members in the reporting process on the SDGs – in 2017 and over the next few years –to represent and defend the interests and needs of local and regional governments in the localization of the global agendas.
URGENT ACTION: members from the following countries are called for action as soon as possible. A jump-start of the reporting process is essential for local and regional governments to locate themselves in this global conversation and be ready to contribute already at the next UN High-Level Policy Forum (HLPF) in New York, in July 2017.
COUNTRIES COMMITTED TO REPORT TO THE HLPF IN JULY 2017:
Europe (11): Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden.
Latin America (11): Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Peru, Uruguay.
Asia (8): Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Thailand.
Africa (7): Benin, Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Togo, Zimbabwe.
Mewa (4): Afghanistan, Iran, Jordan, Qatar.
Eurasia (3): Azerbaijan, Belarus, Tajikistan.
Please follow this link for more information on the reporting process and our proposal for a Local and Regional Governments’ Country Report.
To contact the UCLG World Secretariat to take part in this initiative, as well as for any additional information, please contact: consultations@uclg.org.
Sincerely,
The UCLG World Secretariat