Fostering new alliances on nuclear disarmament and peace agendas: Mayors for Peace participation at the UCLG Retreat

February 21-25, 2022 [Granollers, Spain]

Report by Mr. Jaume Puigpinós, the City of Granollers, Spain

The European Chapter of Mayors for Peace took an active role during the main coordination meeting of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) held from 21 to 25 February. This was a good opportunity to explore new alliances around nuclear disarmament along with participating local governments and partners of UCLG, which showed a great interest for the role of peace municipalism and Mayors for Peace in promoting the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

The Mayors for Peace delegation was composed by the Chair of its European Chapter and Granollers Mayor Josep Mayoral and the Executive Advisor to its Secretariat Mr. Thomas Hajnoczi. These two representatives participated in the open workshop “Peace Agenda of UCLG: Milestones and Key Steps” (Wednesday 23) where they encouraged more local governments to join the ongoing advocacy initiatives promoted by the Mayors for Peace network and other peace advocates.

Photo: courtesy of the City of Granollers
Photo: courtesy of the City of Granollers

This workshop also helped to connect TPNW initiatives to the wider peace agenda promoted by UCLG, which mainly comprises the “Cities and Territories for Peace Forum” (to take place in Bogotá next 2023) and the “UCLG Peace Prize”. The role of human rights cities’ municipalism (#Cities4Rights) was also addressed in connection to this issue and the role of local governments in promoting a culture of peace.