Pristina’s mayor, Përparim Rama, has some ideas for the United Nations.

SEP 21, 2025

As the United Nations (UN) marks its 80th session of the General Assembly under the theme “Better Together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights,” the eyes of the world turn to New York. Yet the future of peace, development, and rights is not decided only in diplomatic halls. It is lived and tested daily in cities. If the UN wants to be relevant for the next eighty years, it must listen more closely to the lessons of local leadership.

Peace and Inclusion Begin Local

Peace is not simply the absence of conflict; it is the presence of trust, opportunity, and human dignity. Nowhere is this more tangible than in cities, where neighbors of different backgrounds must share the same schools, streets, and public spaces.

In my own city of Pristina, we have seen how local governance can become a bridge for reconciliation and inclusion. When families gather in redesigned public squares, when young people see themselves represented in decision-making, when communities are invited to shape their shared spaces, that is how peace is built at the grassroots. It is this lived experience of coexistence that gives substance to the lofty ideals discussed at UNGA.

The world must recognize that local peacebuilding is the frontline of global stability. Without inclusive cities, no nation can sustain long-term peace.

Development and Sustainability Are Urban

Seventy percent of the Sustainable Development Goals depend on local action. Cities are where climate change is either accelerated or defeated, where innovation either thrives or is stifled, and where human wellbeing is most directly felt.

Pristina, like many urban centers, is investing in sustainable transport, clean energy, and public green spaces. Projects such as expanding pedestrian-friendly boulevards, planting thousands of trees, and modernizing waste management show how development is not an abstract promise but a visible daily reality.

This is true across the globe, from small municipalities to mega-cities. It is mayors and local leaders who test and implement the solutions that keep the 2030 Agenda alive. If the UN seeks faster progress, it must treat cities not as footnotes but as partners in global governance.

Human Rights Through Everyday Governance

Human rights are not only protected in international courts. They are safeguarded or violated in the way a city provides housing, clean water, mobility, education, and public safety.

When a municipality ensures safe buses for students, clean air for children, or access to digital services for the elderly, it is defending the most basic human rights. Equally, when corruption blocks citizens from fair access to these services, rights are diminished.

Cities like Pristina are experimenting with new forms of transparency and digital democracy. Open budgets, participatory planning, and citizen dashboards are tools that bring accountability directly to the people. In this way, local governance becomes a daily defense of human dignity.

A Call to Action for the UN

For eighty years, the UN has carried the world’s hopes for peace and justice. But the challenges of our century such as climate change, inequality, migration, and digital disruption are felt first and most intensely in cities. To remain effective, the UN must expand its vision beyond the realm of states and give a stronger voice to the municipalities and communities where humanity’s future will be shaped.

Local leaders are not secondary players. They are the implementers of the Sustainable Development Goals, the guardians of trust, and the innovators of solutions that scale. A UN that listens to cities will be a UN that stays relevant for the next eighty years.

As mayors, we stand ready to contribute. From Pristina to New York, from small towns to great capitals, cities are the living laboratories of peace, development, and rights. The UN must embrace this reality. Because better together is not just a slogan for global leaders, it is a lived truth in every street where citizens gather, connect, and build a shared future.

Përparim Rama is the Mayor of Pristina, Kosovo.