In the past months, UCLG and its civil society partners from the Global Platform for the Right to the City and the Habitat International Coalition pioneered another line of cooperation between the UN Human Rights system and a broader local constituency composed of local governments and civil society organizations alike.
Two consultation events held with UN Special Rapporteurs (eight in total, including key topics such as housing, poverty, access to food, water or a healthy environment, LGBT rights, violence against women or migrant rights) provided a meaningful opportunity to collectively explore new avenues for an enhanced, more structural cooperation with local governments and civil society on habitat rights and the right to the city.
In a later networking evaluation event held on the occasion of the UCLG Retreat (15 - 19 February), representatives from the Global Platform for the Right to the City and the Habitat International Coalition highlighted how this cooperation should aim at not only building stronger and more structural partnerships with the Rapporteurs, but also better addressing the interdependency and territorial impact of the rights-based approach. Local governments in UCLG agreed with this analysis, noting also how this work should also foster the emergence of new alliances that amplify the voices of local actors and help produce new legitimacy narratives. This work has only become more relevant after the COVID-19 crisis.
Know more about the process here. Contact the UCLG-CSIPDHR Secretariat for more information on how to participate to this process