UCLG Brings the Call to Local Action for Migrants and Refugees at the Core of the 2030 Agenda and the UN Pact for the Future

Spain
Written By Sophie van Haasen

United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG)

Start of Project

July 2023

End of Project

September 2024

Website
 

Overview

United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), commits to bring the protection and inclusion of refugees and migrants at the heart of all global development agendas. At the SDG Summit, UCLG recognized the Call to Local Action for Migrants and Refugees as one of the UCLG transformative coalitions localizing the 2030 Agenda and serving as a blueprint to rescue the SDGs as called by the UN Secretary-General. Furthermore, under UCLG proposal, the UN included the Call to Local Action as part of one of the 12 High-Impact Initiatives accelerating progress towards the 2030 Agenda.

Building on this, UCLG pledges at the Global Refugee Forum to continue promoting the centrality of the human mobility agenda, fostered through local actions as brought forward in the Call to Local Action, to achieve all the global development agendas as one. Looking towards the Summit of the Future and the UN Pact for the Future, UCLG pledges to continue mainstreaming human mobility through the means of engagement of the World Organization and the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments – on top of it, with the input that LRGs will deliver at the Advisory Group of the United Nations Secretary General on Local and Regional Governments.

Expected Impact

  • Place the importance of refugee and migrant protection and integration at the centre of the conversation about the need for a rescue plan for the SDGs, and about how to shape a renewed multilateral system that is networked, efficient, and inclusive.

  • Include migration and refugee issues as core elements of the LRGs input for the Summit for the Future

  • Promote the Call to Local Action as a blueprint of high-impact initiatives that are advancing the 2030 Agenda and contributing to approach global challenges in partnership through enhanced multilevel governance.

  • Support inclusive local policies for migrants and refugees through capacity building of local stakeholders on the Global Compacts on Migration and Refugees and their contribution to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, through learning tools such as the Massive Online Open Course on localizing the compacts and the Call to Action learning pillar.

 

Reported Impact [as of November 2025]

The main achievement has been to ensure that local action and human mobility are embedded in global policy debates, while the primary challenges relate to limited funding and coordination constraints. Despite these, UCLG continues its advocacy towards a renewed, inclusive multilateral system.

 

Call to Local Action - Priority Objectives

Improving migration governance and forced displacement protection

Engaging in regional and multilateral partnerships and increasing city-to-city cooperation

 
Sophie van Haasen
Previous

Facilitating Dual Nationality, Preventing Statelessness, and Promoting Inclusion for Foreign-Born Children and their Families in Tlaxcala
Next

Expanding Welcoming Week Across the Globe and Fostering Belonging for All - No Matter Where We Come From