Transformation from the ground up: Acting at the local level
10 July 2024, 4:45 – 6:00 PM, Conference Room 4
Intervention delivered by Cielito Perez
Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development & Asia Pacific Regional CSO Engagement Mechanism
Indeed, acting at the local level is a catalyst to the full implementation of the SDGs, and people’s democratic participation at the local level is crucial to realize development justice.
Marginalized groups, particularly in the Global South, suffer the most from crises resulting from the decades of the profit-oriented neoliberal system. The 2030 Agenda promised to leave no one behind, and yet, while most of us are still reeling from the impacts of the pandemic, recent years have brought even deeper crises — unemployment, lack of living wages, cost of living and debt crisis, and the triple planetary crisis exacerbating multidimensional poverty, hunger, and deprivation like never before.
Effective people’s participation at the local development efforts is crucial. And while progress has been made with the institutionalization of people’s councils and local development bodies, full engagement remains elusive. If given priority, people’s participation will enable us to plan, implement, monitor, and assess local policies to identify gaps and ensure that resources are allocated equitably.
Marginalized communities offer grassroots actions and solutions such as agroecology, sustainable food systems, community-based-climate solutions, people-led renewable energy systems, and community education, among others. These are the initiatives that local governments need to support, rather than prioritizing corporate interests in development processes and institutions.
However, despite overwhelming evidence of positive outcomes, marginalized groups face reluctance, exclusion, and sometimes even alarming reprisals when engaging in development processes. According to the 2023 Global Analysis report of Frontline Defenders, there were a total of 1,538 reported violations in 105 countries, many are indigenous peoples, farmers, workers, women, who are working towards sustainable development and human rights. This contradicts the goal of building a peaceful, just, and inclusive society set by the 2030 Agenda.
As a final note, we reiterate that meaningful people’s participation at the local level is not just an option, but a necessity to ensure that development is driven-by and responsive to the needs and aspirations of those who have been systematically left behind. We call on the national and local governments to enable a bottom-up approach towards a more inclusive and just sustainable development.
Thank you, Chair.
