Rabat declaration: Closing of the 4th UCLG congress - World summit of local and regional leaders of UCLG
Among its assertions, the Rabat Declaration recognizes that making our communities resilient and tackling the unavoidable urbanization process in an efficient manner implies a greater role for local and regional authorities in international policy making, in particular UN processes that define agendas that will affect communities world-wide.
It recognizes the need to bring innovative changes, to achieve more just societies by reinforcing governance from the bottom up, under the leadership of inclusive local and regional governments. It highlights the role of subnational governments as engines and actors of development and in the promotion of dialogue as a vehicle to peace.
The Declaration was supported by mayors from all over the world, including several who have joined the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction’s (UNISDR) Making Cities Resilient campaign, which consistently highlights the importance of local leadership.
The Rabat Declaration is an outcome of the World Summit of Local and Regional Leaders of UCLG in Rabat under the theme “Imagine Society, Build Democracy”. This Congress clearly calls for a broad understanding of urbanization, bridging the urban rural divide, including cohesion and a special approach based on solidarity and cooperation beyond political borders and administrations.