ORU participates in the Assembly of the Global Taskforce to prepare for Habitat III
The Councillor for Territory and Sustainability of the Catalan Government, Josep Rull, participated in representation of the European regional governments in the Second World Assembly of Local and Regional leaders of the Taskforce groupe and the Habitat III Hearings, held in New York from the 15th to the 18th of May to prepare for the UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development that will take place next October in Quito, Ecuador.
The meetings were part of the preparatory acts for Habitat III and provided an opportunity to discuss the first draft of the New Urban Agenda, the document that is expected to be adopted in Quito as a universal guide for the sustainable development of the cities. The meeting also aimed at asking the UN to incorporate the local and regional governments contributions in the drafting of the final document, and this is why Josep Rull spoke as Co-President of nrg4SD and third Vice-President of ORU Fogar, tow regional organisations engaged with sustainable development and territorial cohesion.
In this context, the Councillor advocated “a stronger role of regions as actors in the global governance”, as working from the grassroots is the only way to fulfil the New Urban Agenda, and he added that it will only be achieved “with the involvement of strong regional and local administrations, connected to reality and in liaison with the national levels and the international organisations whenever necessary”.
As a positive example of decentralisation, Rull put the Catalan networking model among administrations and the economic and social development achieved in Catalonia, and criticised the "recentralisation" driven by the State in many occasions as it puts a brake on development. These movements forget to "place people at the center" of public actions, which is one of the main concepts of the New Urban Agenda to ensure the well-being of citizens.
Related content:
Local leaders to call for UN to listen to cities at Habitat III Hearings in New York. Article published by the Global Taskforce, 05/05/2016
Rull a l'ONU: "La recentralització és un fre per al desenvolupament". Press release published by the Catalan Government, 17/05/2016
Images: Generalitat de Catalunya
