UCLG Centres Migrants and Refugees at the Core of Global Development Agendas

Spain

Jun 16

Written By Sophie van Haasen

United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG)

Start of Project

2025

End of Project

2027

Website

Overview

United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) commits to anchoring the protection and inclusion of refugees, migrants, and other people on the move at the core of all global development agendas. As the World Organization of local and regional governments (LRGs) and facilitator of the Global Taskforce, we pledge to continue mainstreaming migration and displacement beyond sectoral agendas, building on the Lampedusa Charter for Dignified Human Mobility and Territorial Solidarity as a political mandate. By leveraging the UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Group on Local and Regional Governments, we ensured that migration and displacement were recognized as part of the LRG constituency’s priorities at the Summit of the Future. We also fostered migration as a central priority within the Urban 20, the official engagement group of cities to the G20.

Building on this, as we advance the implementation of the UN Pact for the Future, UCLG pledges to work with the UN and Member States toward the institutionalization of LRGs within the global multilateral system as a lever towards a more inclusive and networked ecosystem. UCLG’s Local Social Covenant will further amplify this impact through its call for a renewed global social contract, with antiracism, human rights and local democracy as building blocks

Expected Impact

Continue placing the importance of refugee and migrant protection and integration at the centre of the conversation about the localization of SDGs and the post-2030 agenda.
Anchor local action and human mobility within global policy debates to advocate for a renewed, inclusive multilateral system.
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 and beyond, through learning tools such as peer-to-peer sessions.
Leverage the work UCLG is undertaking towards the institutionalization of LRGs within the UN system to secure permanent municipal representation in global fora, allowing local leaders to co-design international migration policies alongside Member States.
Leverage UCLG’s Local Social Covenant, (which translates the political vision of mandates like the Lampedusa Charter into actionable, rights-based governance tools) to equip cities to guarantee universal access to public services and labour markets for all peoples, regardless of legal status.