We aim to realize the united voice of UCLG cities and territories on social inclusion, participatory democracy and human rights, towards the progressive realization of the Right to the City The origins of the Committee lie in the first Local Authorities Forum for Social Inclusion and Participatory Democracy, a forum for reflection and political discussion made up by progressive local authorities f
rom all over the world, an event which has been held at the same time as the World Social Forum since 2001. In 2005, a year after the creation of the new international organisation of local governments - United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) - the towns of the FAL decided to establish a more institutionalised working structure within a new organisation. Since its beginnings, the CSIPD has been present at the various FAL events (Caracas, 2005; Nairobi, 2007 and Belém do Pará, 2009; Dakar, 2011) and has maintained an on-going dialogue with international social movements and civil society in the international social forums held in those cities. It has thus become the communication channel between the political debates held in these events and UCLG, and has undertaken its own political initiatives based mainly on two areas: social inclusion and participatory democracy. A third area, human rights, was added to the Committee's work soon afterwards, and was extensively developed with the production of two documents, the Global Charter-Agenda for Human Rights in the City (formally adopted by the Florence UCLG World Council in 2011) and the European Charter for the Safeguarding of Human Rights in the City (Saint-Denis, 2000). As a result, five years after it was established, the Committee on Social Inclusion and Participative Democracy has renamed itself as follows: Committee on Social Inclusion, Participatory Democracy and Human Rights.
