Civil7 #C7 Communiqué2022 and Urban7 #U7 Declaration

Transparency Germany, a member of the civil society's Open Government Network Germany (OGN), which supports the German government and subnational governments in participating in the Open Government Partnership (OGP) and its Independent Reporting Mechanism, had the privilege of helping to shape the demands in the Civil7 #C7 Communiqué2022 (supervized by Venro) as co-leader of the #OpenSocieties working group, coordinated by Anna-Maija Mertens.?

Yesterday at the #C7 Summit, the #Civil7 handed over the #Communiqué2022 with their core demands to Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The German G7 Presidency has the responsibility to work for a strengthening of civil society. An important signal: Fighting authoritarianism & corruption worldwide is only possible by strengthening civil society. Three demands for this:

1. A Civic Space Task Force
2. A revised G7 Declaration on #OpenSocieties
3. A Accountability-Mechanism to ensure that the decisions are actually implemented. (see bolow or in Civil7 #C7 Communiqué2022)

When drafting the C7 Communiqué2022 I promoted as a member of the Strategy Council and as Point of Contact of the Open Government Network, the use of such accountability- and implementation-mechanisms for trust, guidance and evidence. In particular those of the OGP. Especially the trust-building character of On Going Co-Creation and Evaluation at engine rooms of design- and implementation in govts and civil societies and the international research and learning opportunities in the reporting databases for mechanism participants should be highlighted - but also the securing of capacities on the part of governments and, of course, civil society.

At the C7 Summit, Helena Peltonen-Gassmann and I also emphasised the growing importance of sub-national, especially local, levels and international community cooperation in changing global architectures, as well as the importance of accountability mechanisms for #multilevelgovernance and as international proofs of trust for civil society but also for partner bodies. I also support this as an expert of the Enquete Commission "Crisis-proof Society" of the State Parliament of Baden-Württemberg.

With the OGP-Local programme and the new cooperation of the OGP with the United Cities for Local Government (UCLG) since the OGP Global Summit in December 2021, I believe that good foundations and solid networking have been created for the application of OGP mechanisms and multilevel governance.

Urban7 for more multilevel governance

In addition, the Urban7 Group with the #U7 Declaration, in particular the Global Parliament of Mayors (GPM) chaired by the Mannheim Lord Mayor Dr. Peter Kurz, who is also a G7 Special Rapporteur, advocates for multilevel governance and the inclusion of cities in the #G7 process.

As concrete urban fields of action, the mayors of the U7 point out in their declaration, among other things, the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and international climate targets. The local preconditions for mastering the corresponding transformation tasks are created by the municipalities: "A just world can only be realised in and with strong cities".

At the U7 Mayors Summit of the Urban7 Group Alliance (ICLEI, German Association of Cities and GPM) and supported by Engagement Global gGmbH and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Lord Mayor of Mannheim Peter Kurz emphasised the historic opportunity that the recognition of cities by the G7 represents for multi-level governance and urban development.?

In doing so, they also point to the potential of city diplomacy and the associated personal contacts between city societies as a force flanking the foreign and development policies of nation states. In addition to the goal of becoming an official engagement group in the G7 process, the U7 also propose a "U20" format for cities in the context of the G20.

?3. Implement the commitments in national contexts and abroad

The G7 leaders should lead by example and commit to aligning their domestic laws and policies with their commitments on Open Societies. Therefore, they should review existing and add new commitments in their respective National Action Plans within the Open Government Partnership initiative. Open Societies Statement priorities should also become an integral part of foreign policy engagements, including in development, trade and security policies programming and funding. The G7 countries should engage with the OECD Observatory of Civic Space, for example by committing to undertake Civic Space Scans around open societies issues. G7 members could also expand the mandate of the G7 Rapid Response Mechanism to incorporate Open Societies Statement priorities.