On 14 March 2024, Congress Secretary General Mathieu Mori signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Congress Secretariat and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). This MoU builds upon an existing successful partnership and aims at strengthening the role of local and regional authorities in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, strengthen multilevel governance, reduce societal inequalities and take action on local environmental issues.
Mathieu Mori took the opportunity to speak at the United Nations Regional Forum on Sustainable Development in Geneva. This forum brings together governments and stakeholders across the European region to discuss impactful and crisis-resilient policies to accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
He stressed how local and regional authorities help deliver Goal 16 on Promoting just, peaceful and inclusive societies and presented the work of the Congress on promoting multi-level governance to ensure effective, accountable, and inclusive governance. Secretary General Mori stressed the importance of the European Charter of Local Self-Government as a Council of Europe key convention on promoting local self-governance and human rights and the role of the Congress in promoting and protecting its implementation in the 46 CoE Member States.
