CISDP - CGLU Networking Event - 5 WORD URBAN FORUM
Título:
Autoridades Locales promocionando el Derecho a la Ciudad
24/03/2010 - 14h - 16h
DESCRIPTION:
This event is willing to be a meeting point for local governments engaged in the right to the city. The activity will be organised by the Committee on Social Inclusion and Participatory Democracy of the world organisation "
United Cities and Local Governments" (UCLG). This committee has been working on the field of social inclusion, participatory democracy and Human Rights since 2005. In particular, it has endeavoured to mainstream Human Rights in local policies by working with local governments worldwide. To do so, it has endowed itself with two tools: the World-Charter Agenda on Human Rights in the City and the European Charter on Human Rights in the City. Both charters have been the result of (i) the engagement of local authorities in the safeguarding of Human Rights and of (ii) the self-conviction that local authorities, as the sphere of government closest to citizens, are a key agent in the realisation of Human Rights. The debate we are proposing at the WUF will be mainly focused on the first tool, currently under discussion by local governments, civil society, academia, etc. There is an online platform where contributions can be made (www.spidh.org) and several discussions are being organized on the occasion of international events. The goal of this WUF networking event will be to foster a dialogue among local authorities regarding their Human Rights policies and / or experiences and, on the basis of these practices, enrich the draft of the Charter-Agenda. The most innovative element of this document is the “agenda”: each Human Right recognised in the Charter will have a plan of action aiming at realising that Human Right. This part of the document (the agenda or plan of action) is where the expertise and knowledge of local authorities is more valuable, so the key element of the debates will be how to enrich the draft of the Charter-Agenda with the practice of local governments.
OBJECTIVES:
1. Exchange of experiences among local authorities with regards to the implementation of Human Rights through local policies.
2. Dissemination of the World-Charter Agenda on Human Rights in City.
3. Give international visibility to the policies and / or experiences undertaken by local authorities regarding Human Rights.
LINK WITH THE DIALOGUE THEME:
The event is directly linked to Dialogue 1: "Taking forward the right to city" since it will precisely bring an example of how local authorities can take forward the right to the city. The World Charter-Agenda on Human Rights in the City, currently a draft document under discussion, aims at contributing to the realisation of Human Rights worldwide from the local sphere of government.
COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
The event will be disseminated among all the contacts and member cities of the Committee on Social Inclusion and Participatory Democracy. The strategy will focus on news bulletins, emails and personal contacts.
Name of your organization
COMMITTEE ON SOCIAL INCLUSION AND PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY – UCLG
MISSION
The mission of the Committee on Social Inclusion and Participative Democracy (CSIPD) of the worldwide organisation “United Cities and Local Governments” (UCLG) is to study the following emerging urban issues in depth: (i) the institutional response by local authorities to urban poverty and exclusion through the design of local social inclusion policies; (ii) the strengthening of democratic quality by means of policies promoting citizen participation; and (iii) the role of local authorities as guarantors of human rights in the city. The origin of the CSIPD is to be found in the Forum of Local Authorities (FLA), a space for reflection and political discussion among local authorities the world over which has been held simultaneously with the World Social Forum since 2001. Among the objectives of the FLA Network is to build and develop, alongside civil society, public management alternatives that foster social inclusion and participatory democracy.
OTHER ORGANISATIONS ENVOLVED IN THE EVENT
* Permanent International Secretariat "Human Rights and Local Governments", Nantes - Pays de la Loire: co-organization of the event.
* Habitat International Coalition: participation in the debate.
