The Mayor of Mexico City and Metropolis member, Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon, was elected President of the Steering Committee of the Global Network on Safer Cities (GNSC) during its formal launch at the World Urban Forum held in Naples. The GNSC foresees the development of the UN Guidelines on Safer Cities, the Urban Safety Index and the creation of a Global Fund on Safer Cities.

The Global Network on Safer Cities was created with the goal of equipping local authorities and urban stakeholders to deliver urban safety, and to support and accompany local governments in defining and implementing better strategies to prevent crime and urban violence.

On his acceptance speech, the Mexico City Mayor highlighted that the urban violence is one of the most extended and urgent problems to be addressed at a global scale, and that it has to be solved with intelligence rather than force. He explained that low levels of violence in Mexico City were achieved through better social programs and that urban safety was not a matter of strengthening the police, but of creating a community, social cohesion and an inclusive interaction in our cities.

This is the first time that a Mexican local authority is appointed with an international position by the UN System. Mayor Marcelo Ebrard will be President of the GNSC until 2016, year the UN-Habitat III will be held.