Report by Ms. Montserrat Catà Lladó, City of Granollers, Spain
The Catalan Chapter of Mayors for Peace attended the conference “Local Initiatives of Peace and Decentralized Cooperation” in which the Diputació de Barcelona presented the new study of the EU-AL Observatory for Decentralised Cooperation: Guide for Local Agendas for Decentralised Peace & Cooperation: Guidelines for strengthening local peace policies.
The publication shows the potential of local and regional authorities of the European Union and Latin America when designing, implementing and strengthening local public peace policies. The study states that decentralised cooperation, although it is still an area of work to be explored, becomes an instrument that, with new proposals, can effectively contribute to the construction of territorial peace.
In addition, although peace and security policies are not the responsibility of local governments, the guide recommends to promote a local peace agenda of its own by networks of municipalities and regions, so that decentralised cooperation is not only subject to state agendas or international networks of states.
The study also highlights the importance of the direct participation of the population interested or affected by conflicts as a characteristic element of decentralised cooperation that other levels of cooperation should also take into account.
Photos: courtesy of the City of Granollers