UN Agency Promotes Guidelines on Decentralization to Minimize Role of Sovereign Member States
HUMAN RIGHTS, SOCIETY & CULTURE
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), in collaboration with United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), has adopted a set of “Guidelines on Decentralization and the Strengthening of Local Authorities.” These guidelines threaten national sovereignty by creating a direct working relationship between UN-HABITAT staff and the leaders of major cities, circumventing national governments.
UN-HABITAT was created to “promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities,” and its work is closely aligned with the United Nations Millennium Declaration. According to its Habitat Agenda, the organization emphasizes the devolution of responsibilities to local authorities and views decentralization as an essential “element of good governance.” It stresses the importance of strengthening local authorities in order to reduce poverty and move towards sustainable development. The guidelines were created to help achieve these goals.
The guidelines are divided into four broad areas of decentralization. The first highlights the importance of “governance and democracy at the local level.” It bypasses the authority of national governments by claiming the right of local authorities to “establish and develop partnerships with all actors of civil society,” as well as giving local governments the responsibility to define and adopt “appropriate forms of popular participation and civic engagement in decision-making.”
The second area of decentralization attempts to define the “powers and responsibilities of local authorities.” According to the guidelines, “public responsibilities should be exercised by those elected authorities which are closest to the citizens.” In the minds of UN-HABITAT, this reasoning should justify greater autonomy of local authorities, with very limited national intervention in local affairs. When interventions are made, their necessity should be assessed by “independent institutions.” Further, local governments are seen by UN-HABITAT as “full partners” in the decision-making processes of Member States, both at the national and international level. Indeed, according to the guidelines, decisions should be made at the level of government that is most “appropriate” to that type of decision.
Third, the guidelines discuss “administrative relations between local authorities and other spheres of government.” UN-HABITAT attempts to define local governments’ scope of powers, saying that, as “legally autonomous sub-national entities,” local authorities should be in charge of all citizen-interest issues. The guidelines promote very limited supervision and oversight of local authorities by national governments.
Finally, the guidelines give recommendations on the “Financial resources and capacities of local authorities.” They state that other spheres of government should actively promote the capacity-building of local authorities, and stress that financial autonomy for local governments is necessary in order to achieve sustainable development. The guidelines encourage a system of “financial equalization” between State and local governments and among other local government authorities in order to achieve financial sustainability. They also emphasize the need for local authorities to have access to both national and international capital markets.
In April 2007, at its 7th plenary meeting, the UN-HABITAT Governing Council formally adopted the Guidelines on Decentralization. In addition to adopting the guidelines, the acceptance document calls on UN-HABITAT to develop “innovative partnerships with local authorities and their associations…to support the ownership and application of the guidelines.” While a decentralized approach to governance that empowers local authorities to govern in a manner best suited to local circumstances and capacities may be a worthwhile goal, it is less clear that a UN agency is the organization best suited for promoting and providing technical assistance to realize that goal. By accepting the guidelines, the Governing Council is encouraging the UN to work directly with local urban authorities, thereby diluting the right and ability of sovereign Member States to decide these issues within the context of their national, state, and local situations and governance arrangements.
Jim Kelly is the President of Solidarity Center for Law and Justice, P.C., a public interest civil and human rights law firm based in Atlanta, Georgia. The opinions expressed herein are his own.
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