Makati Mayor Abigail Binay has been appointed as a member of the United Nations Secretary-General (UNSG) Advisory Group on Local and Regional Governments, making her the only Philippine mayor in the assembly.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres underscored the importance of the Advisory Group in strengthening the engagement of local and regional governments in intergovernmental and national planning processes.
Binay, for her part, highlighted the crucial role of local governance in global sustainable development.
“I am deeply honored to accept this crucial role and its responsibilities. I pledge to be the voice of cities throughout Southeast Asia, ensuring that our unique and shared challenges and aspirations echo in the corridors of global decision-making, driving meaningful change for a sustainable future for all,” she said.
The Advisory Group will work over a one-year period and meet with the Secretary-General on three occasions to inform on local and regional governments’ dimensions for consideration in preparatory processes of the Summit of the Future.
The group will also address means to enhance institutional mechanisms to strengthen the engagement of local and regional governments in intergovernmental processes.
Other city mayors appointed to the UNSG advisory body include Eric Adams (New York), Valerie Plante (Montreal), Sadiq Khan (London), Anne Hidalgo (Paris), Asmaa Rhlalou, (Rabat) Sharon Dijskma (Utrecht), Fatma Sahin (Gaziantep), Yousef Shawarbeh (Amman), Atiqul Islam (Dhaka North City), Bernard Wagner (Belize), and Carolina Cosse (Montevideo).
Other members include Catalina Velasco, Minister of Housing, City and Territory (Colombia); Nandita Chatterjee, former Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (India); Suleiman Adamu, Federal Ministry of Water Resources (Nigeria); and Pilar Cancela Rodriguez, State Secretary for International Cooperation (Spain).
Binay also recently accepted a seat on the COP28 Advisory Committee.
The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, more commonly referred to as COP28, will be held from November 30 until December 12, 2023, at the Expo City, Dubai.
Binay is again the only mayor from the Philippines to be part of the exclusive committee.