Summit of the Americas Information Network

Updated June 7, 2001

Second Summit of the Americas

STRENGTHENING MUNICIPAL AND REGIONAL ADMINISTRATIONS

Responsible Coordinator: United States

Co-coordinators: Chile and Honduras

Executing Agency: OAS/ Unit for the Promotion of Democracy (UPD)

At the Santiago Summit, Governments agreed to encourage the participation of groups of civil society in local decision making. To this end, Governments agreed to take the following measures:

Within their legal framework and within a reasonable time, establish or strengthen mechanisms for the participation of groups of society in the process of local and other subnational decision-making, such as open public hearings and public budget reviews, and promote transparency in local and other subnational Government finance operations.
In accordance with legislation at all levels, provide for financing options for local and other subnational Governments, including groups of local Governments, such as through transfers of national revenue, access to private capital markets, and authority for raising revenue locally, in order to expand the delivery of quality services as well as provide for training opportunities to strengthen local and other subnational administrative capabilities.
In accordance with circumstances and the legal framework of each country, study the possible transfer of additional national governmental functions to local and other subnational levels as well as the possibility for enhancing such authorities.
Share their experiences and information from existing and future programs supported by multilateral and bilateral cooperation institutions such as the Organization of American States (OAS), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the World Bank, to facilitate the implementation of this initiative.

Program for Cooperation in Decentralization, Local Government and Citizen Participation

Through the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy, the OAS manages the Program for Cooperation in Decentralization, Local Government and Citizen Participation the purpose of which is to promote the exchange of information among central governments with a view to strengthening their capacity to undertake processes of decentralization and citizen participation.

The technical guidelines for this Program were formulated at a regional seminar, held in Caracas, Venezuela on May 12-13, 1997 with support from the Governments of Bolivia and Venezuela. Government participants at this meeting on "support to Processes of Decentralization, Local Government and Citizen Participation" agreed on broad guidelines for a program, which would be developed by participating countries with the support of the UPD. It was considered that assisting governments to develop the policy framework for decentralization, strengthening local government and promotion of citizen participation is one vital way that OAS/UPD can effectively contribute to hemispheric efforts in these areas.

The Program of Cooperation in Decentralization, Local Government and Citizen Participation aims at :

Contributing to policy debate and serving as a forum for creation, dissemination an exchange of knowledge and information;
Supporting institution-building in central, local government, and civil society, principally through "horizontal cooperation" approaches among countries of the region;
Enhancing local governance through promoting increased citizen access and participation in public policy issues at the local level;
Collaborating with other agencies and institutions with mandates in the areas of the Program.

The Program consists of a series of sub-regional meetings, exchange of experience, technical meetings, training seminars, technical assistance through horizontal cooperation, comparative and applied research, and the preparation of policy papers.

Between June and August 1998, three workshops were held under the Program, one in Jamaica, with the participation of CARICOM members, a second in Bolivia, for officials from South America, and the third in Costa Rica, for representatives of Central America and the Dominican Republic. (For further information on the seminar held in Jamaica, please see the Report of the Workshop in Kingston, Jamaica).

In addition to the above major activities, UPD was among the co-sponsors of a CARICOM Workshop held in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, September 28-29 1998, on "Effective Youth Participation in Civil Society". That meeting established the basis for continued collaboration with the CARICOM Secretariat on youth issues, particularly youth participation at the municipal and community levels, and youth leadership training. UPD also collaborated with the Tenth Latin American Congress of Municipal Legislators by commissioning one of the background discussion papers presented at that Congress, which took place in La Paz, Bolivia on December 2-5, 1998.

In cooperation with institutions of the member states, the UPD planned and implemented the following 1999 Program activities with the objective of deepening dialogue and analysis of the areas defined in 1998. Activities were:

Meeting in Roat�n, Honduras, on March 4-6, 1999, attended by some 60 participants from Central America, on the subject "Second Meeting on Facilitation of Municipal Training and Technical Assistance". The encounter brought together participants from central governments and municipal administrations, NGO�s, and regional and international cooperation agencies for an exchange of information on training and training methodologies available to municipal administrations in the subregion. It also promoted more effective dialogue between those delivering training, such as agencies of the central governments, cooperation agencies, and the beneficiaries of the training.

Seminar in Buenos Aires, Argentina on May 17-19, 1999, for South American countries, Canada, the United States, Mexico and the Dominican Republic, on the subject "Frameworks and Policies for Citizen Participation at the Municipal Level". This was the first of the annual follow-up meetings to the forum on this subject which took place in Cochabamba, Bolivia in July of 1998. Some 300 participants attended this event. The objective of the seminar was to facilitate the exchange of experiences and specialized information between the participant countries, as well as, to foster the creation and dissemination of knowledge that constitutes input for the strengthening of decentralization policies, strengthening of local government and the promotion of citizen participation. The main issues discussed were fiscal decentralization, local government and community participation (norms and experiences); and NGO’s and local government (norms and experiences). In its conclusions, the meeting supported the continuation of a permanent forum for systematic study and exchange of experiences in citizen participation at the municipal level.

The training component of the Program of Cooperation was initiated with two short-term intensive courses, at the request of and in coordination with academic institutions and governments of the member states, as well as with the OAS Department of Fellowships. These courses aimed at promoting analysis and information exchange among the main actors in the process of decentralization and promotion of citizen participation in public policy issues at the municipal and community levels and at enhancing their capacity for analysis and policy-formulation.

Course on "Decentralization with Emphasis on Local Management and Finance, Planning and Local Social Policy," at the Javeriana University in Bogota, Colombia, June 21-30, 1999;
Course on "Decentralization and Local Government with Emphasis on Citizen Participation," at the University of El Salvador, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, August 8-18, 1999.

In the final quarter of 1999 and early 2000, an integrated activity in collaboration with the Andean Parliament and Government of Ecuador on the legal framework for decentralization and citizen participation at the local level in the Andean Community. The activity comprises the following components:

Research papers on decentralization and citizen participation in each of the five States of the Andean Community;

Seminar in Quito, Ecuador, November 18 and 19, 1999, attended by some 200 participants;

Publication to be completed in the year 2000 on the results of the activities above and draft model legislation on decentralization and citizen participation.

The UPD will continue to encourage skills development and offer refresher courses for officials, mayors, legislators, and experts in order to support efforts to train and upgrade human resources specializing in decentralization and local government. The UPD will also sponsor comparative research and the publication of papers on legislation in this field. Furthermore, the UPD is working with the Government of Bolivia on the creation of a "Permanent Forum on Citizen Participation at the Municipal Level," which will be composed of representatives of countries interested in this issue.

For the first half of the year 2000, the efforts of the Program of Cooperation have focused on consolidating arrangements for the various following activities:

A subregional forum on May 16 and 17, 2000, in Montego Bay, Jamaica for the CARICOM States, in coordination with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), on the subject of "Effective Local Governance: Innovative Approaches to Improving Municipal Management." There were some 80 participants at the forum whose objective was to deepen the discussions of the first Caribbean subregional meeting held under the Program. The forum analyzed three specific issues mentioned in the Plan of Action of the Santiago Summit, namely economic development and local governance, citizen participation at the local and community levels and the role of municipal associations. This forum contributed to promoting dialogue and the exchange of ideas and points of view among the protagonists (central government, local government, civil society organizations, international agencies) of the process of decentralization, local government and citizen participation in CARICOM countries.
In addition, the series of courses initiated in 1999 continued in Managua, Nicaragua on July 2-12, 2000, with the "First Central American subregional Course on Decentralization, and Local Government with Emphasis on Citizen Participation", a collaborative effort between the Central American Parliament, the Universidad Americana of Managua and the Instituto Centroamericano de Estudios Pol�ticos (INCEP, located in Guatemala). The objective of this course is to inform leaders from civil society organization, universities, media and government entities on the decentralization process and the strengthening of citizen participation.

With respect to others initiatives relating to the mandate on Municipal and Regional Administrations, the increasing importance of decentralization and participation by civil society as public policy issues has led to a number of important international meetings and activities on these topics, such as the annual Inter-American Mayors� conferences. The next meeting will be in June 2000 in Miami.

Another interesting development is the formation of the International Forum for Cooperation on Local Government in Latin America and the Caribbean. This forum, convened by the IDB and with the International City/County Management Association on the US serving as technical secretariat, comprises a broad group of agencies and countries active in the issue of local government. Following a decision in principle to establish such a forum during the annual meeting of the IDB in Paris in mid-March 1999, a technical meeting took place in Washington, D.C. in June 1999 at which agencies shared information on programs being implemented and identified key areas such as training and capacity building. A major aim of the Forum is more effective coordination among agencies for the benefit of the decentralization process and strengthening of local government.

In preparation for the Quebec City Summit in April of 2001, a Roundtable Seminar to examine Strengthening Municipal and Regional Administrations was held on April 25-26, 2000, in Washington D.C. This two-day event focused on the following objectives:

to develop a common understanding of the Summit Process;
to identify and agree on the principal underlying problems impeding decentralization and local government development in Latin America;
to frame issues concerning decentralization and local government development for consideration and inclusion in the next Summit;
to prepare specific proposals for further consideration at the VI Inter-American Mayors Conference; and
to identify necessary actions to promote hemispheric consensus.

XXX OAS General Assembly

The XXX OAS General Assembly which took place on June 2000, in Windsor, Canada, adopted a resolution that instructs the Permanent Council to prepare the necessary studies for holding a meeting of ministers or authorities at the highest level responsible for policies on decentralization, local government and citizen participation in municipal government.

Sixth Inter-American Conference of Mayors, Miami, Florida

The Sixth Inter-American Conference of Mayors "Building Local Governance: The National and Local Roles � Conflict or Cooperation," took place in Miami, Florida, from June 27 - 29, 2000. The Conference included discussions on the following issues:

National and Local Roles in the strengthening of local governments;
Accessing donor and private sector funding; project design and implementation; sessions on civil society; participation and democracy; and urban infrastructure.
A special session was held to put forward proposals regarding strengthening of local governance to be presented to the 2001 Presidential Summit in Canada.
Exchange of ideas and experiences

At the end of the Conference, participants adopted a Declaration of Principles on Local Governments to be presented to the next Summit of the Americas.

Technical Roundtable

On October 12-13, 2000, the Program in Cooperation in Decentralization, Local Government and Citizen Participation of the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy (UPD), along with the help of experts, held a Technical Roundtable in San Jos�, Costa Rica. The central objective of the meeting was to analize the main challenges that the Hemisphere faces in this area and methods to strengthen the support that the UPD, by serving as an intergovernmental forum, would be able to lend to member States.

After the introductory session, discussions took place in three simultaneous working groups, that took into consideration three specific themes: the present situation of decentralization across the Hemisphere; obstacles, challenges, and required actions; and recommendations about the role of the UPD/OAS in this process. For more information on the Roundtable, please click here. (Spanish Only)

Course about Decentralization

An upcoming course will be offered at the Pont�fica Universidad Javeriana in Bogota, Colombia, entitled, "Decentralization and Local Governments, with an Emphasis on Citizen Participation, in the Andean Region." The diplomatic course will take place on December 4-12, 2000, and will have the following objectives:

To provide an arena for discussing and comparing the decentralizations processes in Latin America and the Andean Region
To analyze the tools used at the local level to foster the construction of participatory democracy
To promote the development of practical and technical capacities which will help in the process of decentralization
To provide a forum for an exchange of experiences, testimonies, and critical comments in order to better understand the complexities of the subject.

For more information, and to apply for the course, click here.

Summit of the Mayors of the Americas

From March 27 to 30, 2001, mayors of America's major cities as well as experts and representatives from a variety of organizations will gather in Montr�al, Qu�bec, to discuss the role of cities in the integration process underway in the Hemisphere. Participants to this Summit of the Mayors of the Americas will discuss issues such as the role of cities in economic, social and institutional integration. The objectives of the Summit are to understand the role of cities as key agents of integration and development in the Americas; to strengthen cooperation and solidarity among participating cities; to adopt a joint declaration on the role of cities in the FTAA process; and to present a Mayor's Declaration to Heads of States and governments at the Summit of the Americas to be held in Quebec City in April 2001.

The mandates and initiatives for strengthening local governments were reinvigorated and fortified at the 2001 Quebec City Summit of the Americas, within the mandate entitled, "Making Democracy Work Better". For more information on these mandates, and to continue with follow up activities in the area of decentralization and local governments, please click here.

Updated June 7, 2001

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