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.