About us

The Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments is a coordination and consultation mechanism that brings together the major international networks of local governments to undertake joint advocacy work relating to global policy processes. It was set up in 2013 to bring the perspectives of local and regional governments to the SDGs, climate change agenda and New Urban Agenda in particular.

The Global Taskforce convenes elected local and regional leaders from around the world in the World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments, whose role in the follow-up of the New Urban Agenda is recognized in the Quito Outcome Document.

The very existence of the Global Taskforce represents a landmark achievement for the international municipal movement. Local and regional governments are the only UN non-state stakeholder to have a mechanism such as the Global Taskforce to develop and coordinate inputs into all policy processes. In this way, the Global Taskforce serves to amplify the voice of the local and regional government constituency on the global stage.

Thanks to its success in its first three years of work, the Global Taskforce enjoys a renewed mandate post-Habitat III to collaborate on recommendations in key policy areas and to facilitate follow-up on the implementation of the major global agendas at local level.

The Global Taskforce, post Habitat III, has endeavoured to secure spaces of dialogue among spheres of government for the constituency of local and regional governments. The Local and Regional Governments’ Forum in the framework of the HLPF, and our role in the renewal of UN-Habitat is a testament to our commitment towards the transformation of society.

Beyond the follow up of the political processes, the Global Taskforce should also serve as a policy exchange lab where local and regional government networks can exchange on priority areas identified by the members.

It would further be possible to organize political inputs into specific policy areas led by different members and to call special sessions of the World Assembly at relevant moments.