[3] Inheritor of the forums of local authorities (FAL) held in parallel to the first editions of the World Social Forum, the committee has become a relevant stakeholder in global advocacy for human rights in the city and the Right to the City[4] Throughout its history, the Committee been characterized by facilitating meetings and networking between progressive local authorities, with a special emphasis in the Latin American and European region.
We propose the following governing body for the period 2011 – 2013: President: Barcelona (Spain) First Vice-president: Saint-Denis / Plaine Commune (France) Regional Vice-presidents: Africa: Passy (Senegal) Latin America: Guarulhos (Brazil) and Montevideo (Uruguay) Asia: Federation of Municipalities of Sri Lanka (Sri Lanka) Europe: Aubagne, Nantes (France) and FAMSI (Spain) The president of the committee is its leading political representative.
Nowadays the committee has a working group on Local Economic Development, chaired and coordinated by the FAMSI (Andalucian Fund of Towns for International Solidarity).
The Executive Technical Secretary will be responsible for co-ordinating the implementation of the working plan, fostering the 3 groups and organising and following up committee meetings.
The committee's working groups can also convene sectorial meetings, the proposals of which will be notified to the bureau by the Executive Technical Secretary for assessment.
Some years later, recognition of cities as key players in the guarantee of human rights in their role of providers of public services and agents responsible for education, health and housing policies would gain ground.
Participating cities adopted the "Barcelona Engagement", consisting of a roadmap to draft a political document aimed at fostering the respect, protection and fulfilment of human rights at local level.
Research centers such as the Institute of Human Rights of Catalonia (IDHC) and the Social Studies Centre (CES) of Coimbra University have also been involved in this process from the very beginning.
The Charter-Agenda will come into effect in each city after a consultation and participation process allowing residents to discuss it and adapt it both to local reality and to the national legal framework; and upon acceptance by a qualified majority of the municipal assembly.
In the current situation of economic crisis and a possible reduction in rights, the Charter-Agenda is a tool for local governments to build more inclusive, democratic and solidarity-based societies in dialogue with urban dwellers.
It contains over sixty case studies on innovative policies for community development, access to basic services, gender equality, environmental protection and the eradication of poverty, among others.
Through this Observatory, the committee has identified and researched successful experiences that might inspire other cities to design and implement their own social inclusion policies.
It draws on the findings of the "1st International Seminar on Innovative Local Policies for Social Inclusion", held in Barcelona on 27 and 28 September 2007, as well as the political discussions that took place within UCLG, through its regional sections and working committees.
The Committee on Social Inclusion, Participative Democracy and Human Rights of UCLG is especially grateful for the key contributions made to the draft of this paper by the Centre for Social Studies at the University of Coimbra, the European Observatory Cities and Towns for All; the cities of Cordoba, Barcelona, Terrassa (Spain), Ecatepec de Morelos (México), Guarulhos (Brazil), Villa El Salvador (Peru), Nanterre, Saint-Denis, Plaine Commune (France), Junín (Argentina), Cotacachi (Ecuador) and Eldoret (Kenya); Malaga Provincial Council (Spain) and the province of Milan (Italy); the Andalusia cooperation fund FAMSI (Spain), the Forum of Local Authorities (FAL) and the Forum of Peripheral Local Authorities (FALP); the UCLG committees on Peripheral Cities, City Diplomacy, Urban Mobility and Urban Strategic Planning; and UCLG World Secretariat.