| Posted: May 21
2010,10:43 |
If you wrote this report, you
will find a button here that you may click
in order to make
changes in the report. |
Postal address of
organization/institution |
Nassaulaan 12, P.O. Box 30435, 2500 GK The Hague,
The Netherlands |
E-mail address of
organization/institution |
info@cities-localgovernments.org |
Website address of
organization/institution |
www.citydiplomacy.org |
Telephone of
organization/institution |
+ 31
(0)70-373 8114 |
PRIORITIES: All of the
organization's domains of culture of peace activity |
EDUCATION FOR PEACE
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
HUMAN
RIGHTS
WOMEN'S EQUALITY
DEMOCRATIC
PARTICIPATION
UNDERSTANDING, TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY
FREE
FLOW OF INFORMATION
INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND
SECURITY
|
TOP PRIORITY: The
organization's most important culture of peace activity |
DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION |
PARTNERSHIPS AND NETWORKS:
What partnerships and networks does your organization participate
in, thus strengthening the global movement for a culture of peace?
|
United
Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) is the united voice and world
advocate of democratic local self-government. UCLG is the largest
local government organization in the world. Representing over half
the world’s population, the members of UCLG are present in 136 UN
Member States. Over 1000 cities are direct members of UCLG, as well
as 112 national associations which represent all the cities and
local governments in a single country. |
ACTIONS: What activities have
been undertaken by your organization to promote a culture of peace
and nonviolence during the ten years of the Decade? If you already
made a report in 2005, your information from 2005 will be included
in the 2010 report. |
In preparation for the First World Conference on City
Diplomacy, preparatory meetings were held Perugia, Italy in on 6-7
October 2006 and Barcelona, Spain on 6-7 September 2007.
For results of the Perugia meeting on the Internet, click here. For results of the Barcelona meeting
on the Internet, click here.
The First World Conference on City
Diplomacy, The Role of Local Governments in Conflict Prevention,
Peace-building and Post-Conflict Reconstruction, was organised by
UCLG, the city of The Hague, and the Association of
Netherlands Municipalities (VNG) Rights in the Peace Palace in The
Hague from the 11th - 13th June, 2008. The Conference
was in close collaboration with the province and city of
Barcelona and the Italian Coordination of Local Authorities for
Peace and Human Rights.
The Conference produced the Hague
Agenda for City Diplomacy, as follows:
We, the conference
participants, on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights:
Convinced that it is our common
concern to prevent and eliminate violent conflicts, to protect human
rights and to achieve peace and justice.
Concerned about the
ongoing threat of violent conflicts in this world to the security
and wellbeing of our citizens, recalling that in the last decade
more than 15 million people have lost their lives to conflicts and
40 million people have been forced to flee their homes.
Concerned about the rise of extremism in our societies, of
intolerance and tensions between and among communities of different
cultures, ethnicities, religion and traditions, which often become a
source of conflict.
Feeling the urge to act on the
calls from local governments dealing with situations of violent
conflict, to assist them in their efforts to strive for a peaceful
environment in which the internationally recognised human rights of
all citizens are respected and show solidarity with colleagues
working in those situations.
Believing that it is the duty
of local governments to work for peace, freedom, democracy and
prosperity and by doing so to contribute to the international
development and peace-building agenda; we believe that local
governments, the government tier closest to the people, can truly
feel the needs of their citizens and are in a unique position to
respond to these needs in times of conflict.
Being aware
that the changing nature of conflict increasingly confronts local
governments with the responsibility to secure the wellbeing of their
citizens and that sustainable development could contribute to the
solution of conflict whatever its origin (economic, political,
religious and cultural).
Defining city diplomacy as the tool
of local governments and their associations for promoting social
cohesion, conflict prevention, conflict resolution and post-conflict
reconstruction with the aim of creating a stable environment, in
which the citizens can live together in peace, democracy and
prosperity.
Emphasising the importance of effective
decentralisation and local self-government as a condition for local
governments to play their role in peace-building.
Considering that the establishment of peace is inseparable
from the active involvement of women.
Affirming that local
governments and their associations will work together where possible
in multi-level partnerships with central governments, international
governmental institutions and civil society organisations to
contribute to peace processes.
Recalling the commitment of
local governments expressed in the Final Declaration of the UCLG
Congress “Changing Cities are Driving our World” (Jeju, October
2007), noting in particular the following statement ´We support the
initiative of the Mayors for Peace campaign which lobbies the
international community to renounce weapons of mass destruction. We
call on nation states and armed groups to cease considering cities
as military objectives´.
Reaffirming the commitment in the
above mentioned Final Declaration to promote all human rights and
respect diversity in our cities and territories as a foundation for
peace and development.
We consider that:
* All
stakeholders are needed to achieve peace, justice and human security
The UN World Summit agreed in 2005, for the first time, that
states have a primary responsibility to protect their own
populations and that the international community has a
responsibility to act when these governments fail to protect the
most vulnerable among us. However, huge human challenges like the
shortage of food and drinking water, climate change, poverty,
migration and good governance of cultural, religious and ethnic
diversity, urgently require increased capacity to prevent conflicts
and to act together for peace and justice for human mankind. In this
striving for peace, justice and human security all possible
stakeholders are needed.
* The role of local governments has
been insufficiently recognised and supported
Having said this, it
is remarkable that the role of local governments and their national
associations in conflict prevention, post-conflict resolution and
peace-building has been insufficiently recognised and supported in
national and international policy decision making, intervention
strategies and research. There is no doubt that local governments
are confronted with the negative effects of violent ethnic,
religious or social conflicts on the lives and wellbeing of their
citizens. In many places local governments in close cooperation with
local organisations play or have played a crucial role in preventing
conflicts, building bridges after conflicts and
promoting a peaceful environment. As the government tier
closest to the people they are in a unique position to contribute to
conflict prevention and resolution. Unfortunately, local governments
can also use this position to aggravate conflicts and to thwart post
conflict reconstruction and peace-building initiatives. Serious
policies for conflict prevention and peace intervention strategies
should appreciate much more the crucial position and choices of
local governments in this field.
* City diplomacy can
contribute to preventing and resolving violent conflicts
That is
why the world organisation of local governments and cities (UCLG)
has identified this role of local governments in peace-building as
one of its main priorities right from the start of the new
organisation in 2003 and installed a Committee on City Diplomacy.
The City Diplomacy Committee concluded that decisions and actions of
local governments and the commitment of the local leadership to
democratic and transparent decision-making, can contribute
significantly to the prevention and resolution of violent conflicts.
Moreover local governments outside conflict areas have important
possibilities to help local governments in conflict areas cope
with conflict and post conflict situations. It was decided that a
first international conference on this issue should be organised in
order to gain more insight into the practical peace building
activities of local governments and to define a well-based political
agenda for the work of UCLG in this regard. Inspiring preparatory
meetings for this international conference were held in Perugia
(autumn 2006), organised by the Italian Coordination of Local
Authorities for Peace and Human Rights, and in Barcelona (autumn
2007) organised by the Province and City of Barcelona. It became
clear that interest in the role of local governments in conflict
resolution is still in its infancy. But further involvement of local
governments in peace building is indispensable to achieving more
effective policies in this field.
We propose, as an outcome
of this First World Conference on City Diplomacy, to implement
together a series of activities as described in the following
agenda:
1. Developing Local Government Peace-building
Initiatives
On the one hand we will build up our understanding of
the strategies local governments have developed in peace-building,
so that local governments confronted with conflicts can implement
better policies. On the other hand we will strongly encourage local
governments and their national associations to play a role in
conflict prevention and strengthen our international network of
local governments and national associations that make this
commitment.
Recommended concrete actions:
• Local
politicians should be called upon to take their responsibility and
use their local leadership to participate in peace-building
initiatives; stimulate local governments to develop projects in this
area and to mobilise resources to this end.
• A solid group of
local politicians and local government officials who are available
for activities related to peace-building should be built up and
registered in accessible databases managed by the national
associations of local governments.
• The UCLG City Diplomacy
Committee should assist local governments in conflict areas in
drawing national and international public attention to their
specific situation through concrete initiatives.
• UCLG and its
membership should actively seek cooperation with civil society
organisations and local government related international
organisations striving for peace.
• UCLG should be enabled to
increase its staff working in the field of post conflict
reconstruction and peace-building.
2. Getting recognition
for the role of local government in peace-building
UCLG will
actively seek connection with other tiers of government and will
propose and promote joint action between (inter)national governments
and local governments in peace-building operations. The multi-level
governance approach is needed for more effective peace-building
strategies.
Recommended concrete actions:
• National
governments and multilateral institutions should be asked by UCLG
and its members to ensure local governments’ inputs in defining
peace intervention strategies and to include local governments in
post conflict recovery interventions and peace-building
initiatives.
• UCLG should work on the development of Memoranda
of Understanding with international governmental institutions on the
basis of a joint city diplomacy vision. Such a Memorandum has
already been agreed with the UN Initiative of the Alliance of
Civilizations. New partnerships on this basis are envisaged
with:
- The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the
Council of Europe;
- The Committee of the Regions of the European
Union;
- The UN Peace Building Commission;
- The UN Department
of Political Affairs;
- The UNDP Bureau for Crisis Prevention and
Recovery;
- The Fragile and Conflict-affected Countries Group of
the World Bank.
• We welcome the initiative of the Congress of
Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe to develop a
European Charter on City Diplomacy and to investigate the
possibilities for the creation of a city diplomacy fund. UCLG is
recommended to work on a World Charter on City Diplomacy.
• UCLG
and its members should lobby national governments and international
institutions to financially support local governments’ peace
initiatives.
• The international community should be called upon
to involve existing local government organisations in peace-building
operations in order to ensure ownership and full participation of
local governments. The international community is called upon to
support the development of the capacities of these structures should
it be necessary. The creation of new structures should be
exceptional and answer a concrete need.
• UCLG should be
encouraged to offer its participation and support to the donor
community as soon as new peace intervention strategies are
envisaged, also by recommending involvement of individual members
with expertise in the field of post conflict reconstruction.
3. Improving the quality of City Diplomacy
UCLG will
contribute to enhancing the quality of the involvement of local
governments and their associations in peace building programmes by
(amongst others) stimulating research in the field of city diplomacy
and actively disseminating best practices and experience built up by
its membership in this field.
Recommended concrete actions:
• The website of UCLG should provide research data and best
practises of the membership that can be used by local governments
involved in projects and programmes in this field.
• The
development of training programmes and proper documentation for city
leaders and staff of local governments and their associations to
improve the quality of their city diplomacy actions should be
supported.
• UCLG and its members are encouraged to seek active
cooperation with universities and other relevant research institutes
to carry out research into the role of local governments in conflict
resolution and peace-building.
• UCLG should commit itself to
promoting the involvement of women in local government-supported
peace-building activities.
4. Promoting a culture of
peace
UCLG will stimulate the development of initiatives of local
governments to promote a culture of peace within their own
municipalities. A culture of peace has two dimensions: raising
awareness of citizens for the importance of peace-building in
conflict situations and promoting human rights and harmonious
relationships within the municipality’s own community. This will
entail giving a good overview of the different instruments a local
government could adopt to contribute to peace.
Recommended
concrete actions:
• Based on the results of the City
Diplomacy Conference the ‘Template for a City of Peace’ should be
developed, which helps local governments to make informed decisions
on whether and how they want to promote peace, human rights and
justice and how they can elaborate a coherent policy in this matter.
• A biennial local government Peace Prize should be
launched. This Peace Prize should be received by local governments
or local government leaders who have helped local governments in
conflict areas in their striving for peace and justice or who have
worked to prevent or overcome conflicts within their own community.
(The City Diplomacy Peace Prize).
• UCLG is encouraged to
stimulate multicultural dialogue and the development of tools for
awareness raising, as well as youth exchange programmes, production
of school materials and adaptation of the press and communication
strategies of local governments.
5. Assisting local
governments in situations of violent conflict
UCLG will develop
guidelines for deciding whether or not, and how, to undertake joint
action at the request of member local governments and associations
in need.
Recommended concrete actions:
• The UCLG
Committee of City Diplomacy should propose guidelines to be followed
by the World Organisation to facilitate a fast and proper response
to members in crisis and conflict situations, which might consist of
solidarity and monitoring missions and the introduction of early
warning systems.
• The advice of other organisations dealing with
such issues should be sought e.g. The Congress of Local and Regional
Authorities of the Council of Europe.
• UCLG should advocate and
facilitate city-to-city cooperation between local governments which
have faced conflicts in the past and local governments emerging from
conflicts, in particular in respect to truth finding, the
reintegration of former combatants, after care of victims, and
creating conditions for the sustainable return of internally
displaced persons and refugees.
We welcome that the
promotion of peace is a high political priority of the World
Organisation of United Cities and Local Governments as a whole. We
call on UCLG, its members and partners, and in particular its
Committee on City Diplomacy, to support the implementation of The
Hague Agenda in the coming years and to promote its ambitions and
ensure the mobilisation of resources to achieve tangible
results. |
PROGRESS: Has your
organization seen progress toward a culture of peace and nonviolence
in your domain of action and in your constituency during the second
half of the Decade? |
See
actions above |
OBSTACLES: Has your
organization faced any obstacles to implementing the culture of
peace and nonviolence? If so, what were they? |
not
reported |
PLANS: What new engagements
are planned by your organization in the short, medium and long term
to promote a culture of peace and nonviolence? |
See
the Hague Agenda for City Diplomacy under "actions" above
|
GLOBAL MOVEMENT: How do you
think the culture of peace and nonviolence could be strengthened and
supported at the world level?? |
|
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