A/HRC/22/61 with individual Governments to build comprehensive poverty alleviation strategies through the decent work country programmes. ILO works with each country to integrate decent work as a key component of their development strategies, and provides expertise, capacity and technical assistance to help each Government implement them. 118 61. ILO also works to strengthen regional institutions, such as the African Union and regional economic communities, in their efforts to eradicate poverty. By facilitating strategic exchanges and coordinated approaches across countries, this regional cooperation provides a means of embedding employment into each Government‟s national development strategy.119 62. The United Nations Development Programme, in partnership with the Economic Commission for Africa, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, provides technical support to 35 African countries that have embarked on the process of preparing and implementing national strategies and plans of action plans based on the Millennium Development Goals.120 This initiative showcases a model of international support and coordination that equips individual country Governments to undertake strategies best suited to the particular poverty challenges they face. 63. Cities Alliance121 is a global coalition founded in 1999 by the World Bank and UNHabitat, whose activities are run and implemented by member cities. It is made up of city authorities from around the world, national Governments, development agencies, NGOs and multilateral institutions dedicated to addressing urban poverty. It provides cities and Governments with technical assistance in three basic areas: slum upgrading programmes, city development strategies, and national policies on urban development and local government. Its support for cities or national Governments rests on four basic criteria: they must be committed to improving their cities and local governance for all its residents; adopting a long-term and inclusive approach; implementing reforms fully to achieve delivery at scale; and empowering local government by decentralizing resources. VI. Recommendations 64. In order to address the challenges that urban poverty poses to a growing population on a global scale, the following measures should be taken to: (a) Recognize the indivisibility of the human rights of the urban poor, and the need for targeted, rights-based and inclusive efforts at all levels to promote the human rights of the urban poor. (b) Promote rights-based and participative development policies and good governance. Development policies that fully consider the human rights, dignity and freedoms of the poor should be implemented. This includes meeting the most basic and minimum needs, such as access to quality public services, required for the urban poor to live with dignity and freedom. Central to this effort is the enhanced political participation of the urban poor themselves. Aside from fulfilling an integral human right, promoting good governance that engages affected communities in the 118 119 120 121 20 See ILO, Decent Work Country Programmes, at www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/program/dwcp/index.htm. See ILO, Regional Office for Africa, at www.ilo.org/public/english/region/afpro/addisababa/activities/coopau.htm. See Economic Commission for Africa, Sustainable Development Report on Africa (Addis Ababa, 2008). See www.citiesalliance.org.