The 3rd World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments

The World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments

Five years after the agreement on the New Urban Agenda by Member-States, the first review on its implementation (Quito+5) will take place in New York from 26 to 28 April 2022 through the High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly on the Implementation of the New Urban Agenda, mandated by the UN General Assembly. 

In the framework of the High-Level Meeting, the Constituency of local and regional governments will gather the World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments on Wednesday 27 April to debate the progress and follow-up on the implementation of the New Urban Agenda, present our priorities and reiterate our support to achieve the contribution of the universal development agendas. 

The World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments is the mechanism through which the local and regional government constituency has made its joint inputs to the Habitat III process. Convened by the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments and facilitated by United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), its recognition as a formal mechanism for the review and follow-up of the New Urban Agenda, puts our constituency in a critical place to pledge for an enhanced role for local and regional governments in the implementation of the global agenda, but also to put forward some of the key challenges faced for the monitoring and review of the implementation.

The Assembly builds on the legacy of the First World Assembly of Cities and Local Authorities (WACLA), held just before the Habitat II Conference in Istanbul in 1996. 

As we advance on accelerating localisation, our constituency is putting efforts in drawing more attention to the New Urban Agenda as a critical building block for the achievement of the SDGs and sustainable, inclusive, fair and safer cities. The New Urban Agenda enshrined the Right to the City approach and a commitment to a rights-based approach in urban spaces. In spite of the opportunities for transformation offered by the Agenda, commitment by national governments towards the implementation of the New Urban Agenda remains limited.

The convening of the World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments will focus on demonstrating the need to deepen the debate on the recognition of local and regional governments as formal actors in the review and follow-up of the New Urban Agenda,  and contribute to build a long-lasting partnership to localize the universal development agendas.

The World Assembly will discuss progress and follow-up on the implementation of the global goals and the New Urban Agenda with the perspectives of the pandemic and peace in mind. It will present the priorities of the constituency with regard to the New Urban Agenda, the challenges related to its implementation, and its potential as an accelerator of other global agendas. It will be structured around three axes:

  1. Local public service provision and the right to the city
  2. Equality, finance, and green deals
  3. Multilevel governance, intermediary cities and renewed planning models.

Our constituency is at the forefront of opportunity for the achievement of the SDGs

The High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly on the implementation of the New Urban Agenda will gather Member States, local and regional governments and stakeholders to review progress on the implementation of the New Urban Agenda six-years after its adoption at the Habitat III Conference in Quito, Ecuador.

The High-Level Meeting will focus on four key areas of action that have been identified in the reports on progress submitted by all actors as well as in the preparation of the Quadrennial report of the Secretary-General on the New Urban Agenda. 

Following the work of the Advisory Committee on Sustainable Urbanization, it was possible to ensure that four representatives of local and regional governments will be able to take part in the debate of the General Assembly. Based on previous nominations and in coordination with the President of the General Assembly’s office, we are aiming to ensure that our constituency will be represented fully  by women elected officials to share Best Practices on Leading Locally.

The role of local and regional governments as a lever for transformation is more urgent than ever. All of these measures can only occur if LRGs are included in decision-making processes at all levels.  Over 30 mayors will gather in New York to ensure that this is a reality.