The President of the 76th?session of the General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Abdulla Shahid, met today with?a delegation of mayors from the Mayors Migration Council.?The delegation included Ms. Valérie Plante, Mayor of the city of Montréal, Canada; Mr. Erias Lukwago, Lord Mayor of Kampala Capital City Authority, Uganda; Ms. Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, Mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone; Md. Atiqul Islam, Mayor of Dhaka North, Bangladesh; Mr. Phillippe Rio, Mayor of the city of Gringny, France; Ms. Emilia Saiz, Secretary-General of the United Cities and Local Government (UCLG); as well as Ms. Vittoria Zanuso, Executive Director of the Mayors Migration Council.
The delegation thanked the President of the 76thGeneral Assembly for setting a precedent for the inclusion of local authorities in discussions of urban planning and migration and recognizing the fundamental role they play in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals. They stressed the need for greater coordination between the local and the global and ensuring that cities have adequate support and resources to mitigate and adapt to new and existing challenges.
The President of the General Assembly thanked the delegation for their continuous support and their indispensable contribution to the work of the United Nations. He reiterated the need to engage local actors and ensuring that their voices are heard.
The President also congratulated the delegation on the 70 pledges they have made towards meeting the goals set in the Global Compact for Migration and that on Refugees.
The meeting took place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
New York, 18 May 2022