Ready for the XI General Assembly and World Forum of Regiones

Abdessamad Sekkal

ORU Fogar's president

New York, United Nations; September 25, 2015: the document “Transforming our world: 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” was approved, in which 193 countries committed themselves to 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). 

Paris, France; December 12, 2015: during the COP21 the document: “Paris Agreement” was approved, in which 195 countries bet for the struggle against Climate Change, with politics of mitigation and adaptation.

Quito, Ecuador; October 12, 2016: in the reunion Habitat III was approved the New Urban Agenda, that must serve as a guide for the urbanization of the world. 

In no more than 13 months, from September 2015 to October 2016, the international community, leaded by the UN, approved three global agendas that marked the new politics for development within the next decade. The SDGs fixed the accomplishment of its 17 goals for 2030. The Paris Agreement will run in 2020 and has specific goals for 2015. Meanwhile, the New Urban Agenda fixes its due date to 2036.

ORU Fogar, by accomplishing its founding mandate of being the voice of the regions in the debate of the global agency, it participated in the preliminary discussions of all three agendas. The Work Group Post- 2015 of ORU Fogar worked in the discussions, established by the UN, such as territorial and thematic, that went over the accomplishment of the Millennium Development Goals and went on with the SDG. Also, in Quito trying -always- to influence, within the means of our possibilities, so that the role of the regions would be recognized in terms of territorial development. 

With 3 agendas set for the next years, what role must we play when implementing these agendas? The central states are the signatory parts of the agreements. They are obligated, as nobody else, of the accomplishment of the goals of all three agendas. ORU Fogar must, no doubt; be watchful so that the regions and territorial administrations become applicant actors of these agendas, guaranteeing that these will execute on their territory. This must be a duty to realize in a global level, with the lobby from the UN and in all global instances possible, such as helping all our members. 

Pursuant the Paris Agreement, and from 2020 on, there must be a fund created of at least 1 billion USD, financed mainly with the resources of developed countries, to support the struggle against Climate Change inside the most vulnerable ones. ORU Fogar must absolutely be there to influence. Therefore, will be nrg4SD, net member of ORU Fogar, who takes our voice in at least, three different priorities of action. The first one, is to demand that the commitment will be fulfilled. The second one, that benefits according to the spirit of the agreement, the poor countries and avoid -as if in any way- that the rich would also want to benefit from the fund in question. And finally, that the regions can count with this fund to implement the legit politics on their territory. 

But, further on this watchful role in the global scope, the regions must be very disciplinary while implementing in all levels possible the goals of the three agendas. ORU Fogar, must then be a promotor of the application of the SDG, the Paris Agreement and the New Urban Agenda. In all means, providing of capabilities, helping to seek for funds, provider of ideas, generating support nets for implementation, etc. All of this, as the backstage of all sub-state actors that must not forget that it has been agreed in all our reunions: the intermediate governments of the world do not count with the sufficient capabilities and competences to applicate the agendas, but most of all, they don’t count with enough economic resources to go on with them. 

In this context, ORU Fogar’s Assembly in Rabat in October 22nd and 23rd, 2018 aims to be an encounter to show how different regions of the world are applying the diverse agendas. Since Azuay, where the main objective was “Zero Hunger”, until seeing how the European governments have distinguished with their multidisciplinary plans to apply the SDG, for example in the Basque Country, Tuscany, Country of Loire, Catalonia and the Generalitat of Valencia. 

And, which regions can be an example of the implementation of the politics of mitigation and restauration against Climate change? Said nrg4SD in Paris, and since the very first moment ORU Fogar supported, the “Regions Adapt”. Three years later since Paris, we must lament the desertion of the President of the United States, Mr. Donald Trump from the Agreement. And, without Mr. Trump’s thunder, we must acknowledge that many other signatory parts, not so conscious of the problematic, have done so little to accomplish their commitments against Climate Change. Whatsoever, the regions, a lot of the, due to short budgets, capacities or compromise, aren’t there either. Furthermore, off these deceptions, we proudly say we have the support of some federal states from the U.S., with California on the lead, defying Mr. Trump; we also have Quebec leading the provinces in Canada… and all the other regions that have adopted the Regions Adapt and that are going to Rabat to explain their experiences. 

The New Urban Agenda, as its name states, it is dedicated to the world of the cities and municipalities. The outcoming text form Quito, nonetheless, transcends to the citizen’s world, to tackle the urbanization from a more generic point of view and the territorial planning as a work frame for urbanization. ORU Fogar has always understood it and that why not only was it in Quito, but it also participated in the recent World Urban Forum in Kuala Lumpur. That way, the assembly in Rabat must be a platform in which the regions, from Europe to China, going through Latin America and Africa, that have adopted their territorial agenda, can present their results and get to new a little deeper, those they’d like to be their own experiences.