LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENTS' REPORT TOWARDS TO THE 2019 HLPF 3rd THE .

7GTF – Global Taskforce of Local andRegional GovernmentsHHDI – Human Development IndexHLPF – High-Level Political ForumIIALA – Samband íslenskra sveitarfélaga(Islandic Association of Local Authorities)ICLEI – Local Governments forSustainabilityICT – Information and CommunicationsTechnologyIGES – Institute for Global EnvironmentalStrategiesILO – International Labour OrganizationIPCC – Intergovernmental Panel onClimate ChangeKKEDE – Central Union of Municipalities ofGreeceKiLGA – Kiribati Local GovernmentAssociationKS – Kommunesektorens organisasjon(Norwegian Association of Local andRegional Authorities)LLALRG – Latvian Association of Local andRegional GovernmentsLCAB – Local Councils Association ofBalochistan (Pakistan)LCA KP – Local Councils Association ofKhyber Pakhtunkhwa (Pakistan)LCP – League of Cities of the PhilippinesLGAs – Local and Regional GovernmentAssociationsLGAZ – Local Government Association ofZambiaLGBTIQA – Lesbian, gay, bisexual,transgender, intersex, queer, asexual andother gender identities.LGMA – Local Government and MunicipalAuthoritiesLGNZ – Local Government New ZealandLoCASL – Local Councils Association ofSierra LeoneLRGs – Local and Regional GovernmentsLSA – Lietuvos savivaldybių asociacija(Association of Local Authorities ofLithuania)MMuAN – Municipal Association of NepalNNALAG – National Association of LocalAuthorities of GhanaNALAS – Network of Associations of LocalAuthorities of South-East EuropeNARMIN – National Association of RuralMunicipalities in NepalNDCs – Nationally DeterminedContributionsTOWARDSTHE LOCALIZATIONOF THE SDGsNEDA – National Economic andDevelopment Authority (The Philippines)NGOs – Non-Governmental OrganizationsNLC – National League of Cities ofCambodiaNLC – National League of Cities (USA)NUA – New Urban AgendaNUP – National Urban PolicyOODA – Official Development AssistanceOECD – Organization for EconomicCooperation and DevelopmentOIF – Organisation internationale de laFrancophonie (International Organisationof La Francophonie)PPSI – Public Service InternationalRREFELA – Réseau des Femmes EluesLocales d’Afrique (Network for LocallyElected Women of Africa)RALGA – Rwandan Association of LocalGovernment AuthoritiesRIS3 – Research and Innovation Strategyfor Smart SpecializationSSALAR – Swedish Association of LocalAuthorities and RegionsSALGA – South African Local GovernmentAssociationSCTM – Standing Conference of Townsand Municipalities (Serbia)SDGs – Sustainable Development GoalsSISMAP – Sistema de Monitoreode la Administración Pública (PublicAdministration Monitoring System of theDominican Republic)SMEs – Small and medium-sizedenterprisesSMO ČR – Union of Towns andMunicipalities of the Czech RepublicTTTALGA – Trinidad and TobagoAssociation of Local GovernmentAuthoritiesTVET – Technical and VocationalEducation and TrainingUUCCI – Unión de Ciudades CapitalesIberoamericanas (Union of Ibero-AmericanCapital Cities)UCLGA – United Cities and LocalGovernments of AfricaUCLG ASPAC – United Cities and LocalGovernments of Asia PacificUCLG Eurasia – United Cities and LocalGovernments of EurasiaUCLG-MEWA – United Cities and LocalGovernments of the Middle East andWest AsiaUCT – Union des Communes du Togo(Union of Municipalities of Togo)UGRH – Udruga gradova u RepubliciHrvatskoj (Association of Cities in theRepublic of Croatia)ULGA – Uganda Local GovernmentsAssociationUMT – Union of Municipalities of TurkeyUNCDF – United Nations CapitalDevelopment FundUNDESA – United Nations Department ofEconomic and Social AffairsUNECA – United Nations EconomicCommission for AfricaUNECE – United Nations EconomicCommission for EuropeUNESCAP – United Nations Economicand Social Commission for Asia and thePacificUNESCWA – United Nations Economicand Social Commission for Western AsiaUNESCO – United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural OrganizationUNDP – United Nations DevelopmentProgrammeUNFCCC – United Nations FrameworkConvention on Climate ChangeUNGL – Unión Nacional de GobiernosLocales (National Union of LocalGovernments of Costa Rica)UN-Habitat – United Nations HumanSettlements ProgrammeUNICEF – United Nations InternationalChildren's Emergency FundUNMUNDO – Unión de MujeresMunicipalistas Dominicana (Union ofMunicipal Women of the DominicanRepublic)UOM – Union of Municipalities ofMontenegroUVCW – Union des Villes et desCommunes de Wallonie (Union of Wallooncities and municipalities)UVICOCI – Union des Villes et desCommunes de Côte d’Ivoire (Union ofCities and Municipalities of Côte d'Ivoire)VVLR – Voluntary Local ReviewVNG – Vereniging van NederlandseGemeenten (Association of NetherlandsMunicipalities)VNGi – VNG International, theinternational cooperation agency of VNGVNR – Voluntary National ReviewVVSG – Vereniging van Vlaamse Stedenen Gemeenten (Association of FlemishCities and Towns)ZZMOS – Združenie miest a obcí Slovenska(Association of Towns and Communitiesof Slovakia)

8TOWARDSTHE LOCALIZATIONOF THE SDGsStatement of the organizedconstituency of local and regionalgovernments gathered at the2019 High-Level Political ForumNew York, 15 July 2019Local Acceleration to achievethe global agendasThe Development Agendas that were adoptedthroughout 2015 and 2016 are ambitious in theirscope, and they represent our hopes that wecan improve the way in which we live and workto preserve our planet for future generations.The constituency of local and regionalgovernments (LRGs) share the sense of urgencyexpressed by the United Nations SecretaryGeneral regarding their achievement as wellas the sense of responsibility vis a vis thecommunities we represent.We believe our current patters of consumptionand production, the way we are using resourcesand the visible drive against gender equality andwomen’s rights and the growing inequalities makeour societies vulnerable and are incompatiblewith the achievement of the SDGs.The local and regional movement toward the‘localization’ of global agendas is progressivelyexpanding to all the regions. It is a testimonyof the strength of our commitments. With themandate received from our communities, as thelevel of government closest to the people, weare committed to play a leadership role in theachievement of the 2030 Agenda, and reinforcethe synergies with the Addis Ababa ActionAgenda, and the Paris Agreement, to transformour world. We are committed to act andaccelerate implementation, and we believe thatthe LRGs associations, as leverages institutions,are crucial to achieve this.We are aware that we cannot do it alone.We call on governments and the internationalinstitutions to embolden their ambitionsand accelerate the pace of the neededtransformations. To upscale efforts, we needgreater cooperation and the national andinternational coordination mechanism, as wellas enough resources to make this happen.

9TOWARDSTHE LOCALIZATIONOF THE SDGsLocal and regional action is alreadyin place to achieve the SDGs:SDG 4Local and regional governments are alreadycontributing to quality education throughpublic service provision, creating a learningenvironment at local level to foster inclusion,human rights and peace values, and working toprovide a long-life education cycle in cities andterritories. Supporting schools, extra scholaractivities, vocational training, arts and culture, andorganized civil society to foster local creativity forthe achievement of this vital goal that will shapethe lives of future generations and of our planet.LRGs are currently mobilizing, articulating andforging partnerships between different localactors in education in their territories, suchas academia, civil society organizations, andthe private sector, and pushing for innovativeinitiatives that are both transforming cities andcontributing to the Agenda 2030.SDG 8Promoting inclusive local economic developmentand enabling decent work as complementaryand mutually reinforcing policies is at the heartof city and territorial development. Cities andmetropolitan areas are globally acknowledgedas ‘engines of growth’ but risk becoming enginesof precarious work if the appropriate rightsbased and inclusive local policies are not in placeto promote decent work and opportunities forall. LRGs have a role to strengthen their localeconomy, invest in local economic developmentto foster technological innovation, supportthe green and circular economy, facilitatethe sharing and social economy, promotelocal culture and products, as well as betterintegration of informal activities and urban-ruralpartnerships. Local governments as importantlocal employers and procurers of services havea role to play in ensuring social dialogue andenforcement of labour rights.SDG 10Inequality within countries has been thegrowing transversal challenge upsetting socialcohesion both across and within cities andterritories resulting in higher economic, socialand environmental threats. Climate change inparticular does not impact territories equally.Based on their responsibilities, local andregional governments are bringing out themessage of inclusion and solidarity to reduceinequalities and increase gender equalitythrough different dimensions, namely throughmore inclusive urban designs, neighborhoodregeneration, better access to basic services,improved mobility, gender integration, saferand greener public spaces, and improved urbanrural cooperation. City networks are particularlyactive in the protection of human rights, whichare inherent to the principle of the ‘Right to thecity’ and to the local responsiveness of localpolicies to global migration phenomena.SDG 13Local and regional governments have been at theforefront of climate action and driving change inglobal negotiations for over two decades. Ourcollective mobilization has changed the narrativeand represented an important push towards theadoption of the Paris Agreement, our commitmentto measurable actions is being consolidated. Themeans to be pro-active and the benefits of climateaction are not equitably distributed. Promotionof circular economy and a zero-emission societywill necessitate a global change of consumptionand production patterns that go well beyondclimate action alone. There is a full ecologicaltransition that needs to be led and owned by thecommunities if we want it to succeed.SDG 16The fundamental contribution of local andregional governments lies in the daily task ofensuring access to quality public services for all,in building transparent and accountable localinstitutions, in making proactive measures toend violence and discriminatory policies, andto recover trust in public institutions. Promotingpeace and coexistence in our communities,reducing inequality in access to justice and localopportunities in all environments, includingschools, work, domestic and public spaces, is atthe core of local public action. In the past decade,a number of LRGs have explored new ways to cocreate and coproduce cities through participatoryprocesses and the implementation of OpenGovernment policies as a way to improvingsatisfaction and trust in public administration andas a basis for a renewed social contract.SDG 17The involvement of local and regionalgovernments in the monitoring and reportingprocesses of the global agendas’ progressis ongoing agendas is increasing, but it is stillwidely insufficient, as shown by this year’s

10TOWARDSTHE LOCALIZATIONOF THE SDGsreport released by the GTF on behalf of theconstituency.While local and regional governmentsare working day in and day out towards theachievement of the goals, there is a clearnecessity to transform governance andleadership at all levels to make true progress. Weneed to strengthen fora for multi-stakeholderengagement and both multi-level governanceand the multilateral system must evolve towardsa “governing in partnership” model.Local and regional governments need tobe regularly consulted by and where possibleassociated with national mechanisms createdor nominated by national governments,to strengthen the coordination of theimplementation strategy at all levels. Theinvolvement of local and regional governmentsin the monitoring and reporting of the2030 agenda is still limited and need to bestrengthened, with the support of voluntarylocal reviews that are already being developedby frontrunner cities and regions.The commitment of LRGs to internationalcooperation as a leverage policy to achieve theSDGs and to meet the gap between territoriesneeds wider recognition, as well as city-to-cityand triangular cooperation.A Local and RegionalGovernments' Forum, 16 July2018 at United Nations (photo:UCLG-CGLU/Joel Sheakoskihttp://tiny.cc/85na9y)The way forwardOur commitments:We are committed to further the agenda onlocalization and to champion the 2030 Agenda,building on the Seville Commitment to cementa local-global movement that can provide thebold transformative leadership that the SDGscall for, and provide dialogue among differentspheres of government to make them a reality.We strive to foster dialogue with allstakeholders in particular through the Local2030 initiative, and to mobilize a multi-levelcoalition around localization, which canaccelerate our efforts, while setting enablingnational frameworks that empower local actorsto develop and lead their own strategies alignedwith the SDGs.We are committed to aligning our strategieswith the SDGs and to develop voluntary localreviews that can help assess progress andshowcase innovation.Our hopes:We are encouraged by the development ofthe Political Declaration of the SDG Summit,that will be held in September 2019, which

11TOWARDSTHE LOCALIZATIONOF THE SDGshighlights the need to bolster local action toaccelerate the implementation of the globalgoals, to mobilize adequate and well-directedfinancing, and that acknowledges that localaction is indispensable and that cities, regionsand local governments are essential partnersin the transformation of our communities.We welcome both the acknowledgment oflocalization, as well as the coordinated andcoherent support from the UN System to local,regional and national governments that arepart of this process.We look forward to the consolidation of theLocal and Regional Governments Forum coorganized by our constituency for the first 2018HLPF as a critical space for dialogue betweenLRGs, Member States, and the UN systeminvolved in the definition, implementation andfollow-up of this agenda.We are committed to furthering our work inthis space. We are working to ensure that the nextiteration of the LRGF in the framework of the SDGSummit becomes a recurrent space for dialogueamong local, regional and national governmentsto ensure no one, and no place, is left behind.As we are gearing up for the SDG Summit,it is vital to reiterate that local and regionalgovernments are indispensable and integralto this task. As an organized constituency, andthe level of government closest to citizens,LRGs are committed to leave no-one, no placeand no territory behind. We call on nationalgovernments and the international communityto recognise us as partners in transformationand to truly embrace local governance andterritorial cohesion in the global effort leave noone and no place behind. –––––––– Wewelcome both theacknowledgment oflocalization as wellas the coordinatedand coherentsupport from theUN System to local,regional and nationalgovernments thatare undergoing thisprocess.

12TOWARDSTHE LOCALIZATIONOF THE SDGsExecutive SummaryBackgroundThis Report explores the involvement of Local and Regional Governments (LRGs)in the ‘localization’ of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Following UNguidelines, it complements the Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) submitted by143 countries to the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) throughout the first fouryear cycle of voluntary reporting. It delivers first-hand information from LRGs in 80different countries, including 24 of the 47 countries reporting in 2019. This Reportis the third edition of an annual series, coinciding with the yearly meetings of theHLPF. It also presents an overview of policies and initiatives carried out by LRGs tocontribute to the achievement of the SDGs.In the majority of countries that reported during the first cycle of the HLPF (20162019), LRGs have key responsibilities in policy areas that do affect the achievementof all SDGs. LRGs have been pro-active in strengthening their capacity to respondto challenges such as growing territorial inequalities, the impact of climatechange, and the need to provide people, taking full advantage of their diversity,education, local economic development, decent work, peace and accountablelocal institutions. Emphasis is given to the interlinkages between strategies andefforts to strengthen multi-level and collaborative governance frameworks –consistent with ‘whole-of-government’ and ‘whole-of-society’ approaches – ableto co-create solutions and adapt national strategies to specific local conditions.Good practicesLRGs are promotingrights-based andplace-based initiativestowards ‘Empoweringpeople and ensuringinclusiveness andequality’LRGs promote the principle of leaving no one and no place behind. LRGs havebeen at the forefront of climate action. At the global scale, more than 9,000 citiesfrom 129 countries made a commitment to take measurable action through theGlobal Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy. Hundreds of LRGs, cities andregions of all sizes pledged to pursue ambitious targets. Being at the first level ofpublic administration, LRGs have a privileged position to foster lifelong learningand education as a means to promote civic engagement (e.g., the BarcelonaProvincial Council), gender equality (e.g., North Lombok District) and improvecoexistence and social cohesion (e.g., Vienna). LRGs are also key actors whenit comes to support and incubate micro, small and medium-sized enterprises(e.g., Ulaanbaatar), and promote green and circular economy. LRGs play a rolein building cohesive environments for social and shared economies (e.g., Seoul)and recognizing informal activities (e.g., Solo). An increasing number of LRGs aredeveloping ambitious and responsive policies to foster inclusive local planningand social integration of marginalized neighbourhoods (e.g., Sekondi-Takoradi),tackle discriminatory practices (e.g., Mexico City), mainstream human rights in

13TOWARDSTHE LOCALIZATIONOF THE SDGslocal policies (e.g., Pichincha), and foster inter-municipal cooperation for socialcohesion (e.g., several Tunisian municipalities). LRGs are building accountable andtransparent institutions through participatory budgeting or Open Governmentpolicies (e.g., Tshwane), to improve satisfaction and trust in public administration.LRGs are also building up their capacities to prevent urban violence (e.g., Madrid)and promote peace (e.g., Kauswagan).Voluntary LocalReview mechanismsare an innovative andparticipatory responseto the global quest forlocalized and timelyinformation on theSDGsA growing number of front-running LRGs are developing their own sustainabledevelopment reporting systems to assess progress in the achievement of the SDGsin their territories. The emergence of Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) in many regionsof the world reflects this local and regional commitment to the Goals. This reportinginnovation is not limited to metropolitan spaces: regions (e.g., Basque Country andOaxaca), departments (e.g., Gironde), as well as cities of all sizes (e.g., Bakırköy,Bristol, Buenos Aires and Santana de Parnaíba) have prepared their voluntarycontributions to this global process, with inclusive and participatory approaches. Inaddition to this, the report highlights bold efforts to produce disaggregated dataadapted to local contexts. Local Government Associations (LGAs) in Germany, butalso in Brazil, Belgium, and South Africa are developing or coordinating interestingtools for assessing municipal and metropolitan progress in sustainability. Buildinginstitutional alliances and partnering with other stakeholders such as civil society,foundations, academia and private sector is equally critical to co-produce local data.All these reviewing mechanisms have also been effective in fostering the alignmentof local development plans and budgets with the SDGs.Lessons learnedLRGs' participation innational mechanismsfor coordination,follow-up andreporting at thenational level has beenlimited throughout thefirst quadrennial cycleThe Report stresses that the involvement of LRGs in the national mechanisms forcoordination and the reporting processes has been rather limited throughout thefirst cycle of the HLPF. The implementation of the SDGs requires strong subnationalaction to reach cities and territories. In practice, however, only a limited number ofreporting countries gave LRGs an active role in the preparation of their VNRs (42%)or in the national mechanisms of coordination (34%). European countries, followedby African and Latin American ones, have been the most inclusive in terms of LRGparticipation. LRG involvement in these processes is essential to create synergies,join forces and ensure that local stakeholders are mobilized, so as to avoid thatno one and no place is ‘left behind’. Many countries still have to ensure greatercollaboration between levels of government, and a stronger involvement of LRGs inboth VNR preparation and institutional coordination. Only well integrated policiesacross all institutions can align implementation with effective ‘w

Local and regional governments and the institutional frameworks for coordination and following up on the SDGs — page 27 The actions of LRGs and their associations to localize the SDGs in the countries reporting to the 2019 HLPF — page 32 Local and regional government actions, region-by-region — page 42 Abbreviations — page 6