Introduction of the dialogue on Local Multilateralism for Peace, UCLG General Assembly, 23 June 2026

Dear colleagues,

Throughout this mandate, our movement has been guided by a simple but powerful conviction.

That democracy, equality and sustainability can only thrive where people feel protected, respected and connected to one another.

Today, as we gather in a world marked by conflict, polarization and growing uncertainty, the question of peace has become impossible to ignore.

Yet peace is too often understood only through the lens of international diplomacy or the absence of war.

For local and regional governments, peace begins much closer to people’s daily lives.

Peace is built when people have access to local public services.  To housing, education, healthcare and culture.

It is built when diversity is embraced rather than feared.

It is built when communities trust their institutions and when public spaces become places of encounter rather than division. Peace is not only the absence of violence.

It is the presence of rights, dignity, belonging and hope.

This understanding has increasingly shaped the work of our Organization.

Through the World Forum of Cities and Territories of Peace, the Municipal Peace Talks, The Hague Charter on Municipal Peace, the Peace Prize and the Local Social Covenant process, we have sought to demonstrate that local and regional governments are not merely stakeholders in peacebuilding.

They are peacebuilders in their own right.

This everyday work reveals something deeper: holding communities together cannot be sustained where exclusion, inequality, and institutional neglect persist, just as development cannot endure without collective wellbeing, stability, and hope. Against this backdrop, our municipal movement offers both a response and a blueprint for transformation: a local infrastructure for peace built on local democracy, human rights, and universal access to local public services.

At a time when multilateralism itself is being questioned,

local governments continue to offer something that the world urgently needs: proximity, dialogue and trust.

Every day, cities and territories create spaces where differences can coexist, where conflicts can be prevented, and where solidarity can be organized across communities and generations.

This is why local multilateralism matters.

Local multilateralism is not simply about ensuring that local governments have a seat at international tables.

It is about bringing the realities of communities into global decision-making.

It is about building a multilateralism that listens, that connects, and that delivers.

A multilateralism capable of restoring trust by grounding global action in people’s everyday lives.

The dialogue we are about to hold therefore comes at a crucial moment.

As the international community begins to reflect on the future beyond the 2030 Agenda, local and regional governments have a responsibility not only to implement peace, but also to help redefine it.

I am honoured to welcome our distinguished speakers and partners, and I look forward to an inspiring conversation on how local multilateralism can contribute to building more peaceful, inclusive and resilient societies for current and future generations.

Thank you.