Celebrating Mayor Corine Mauch Contributions to the Mayors Migration Council Leadership Board

As Mayor Corine Mauch ends her 17-year tenure as Mayor of the City of Zürich, Switzerland, we reflect on her important contributions and achievements to the Mayors Migration Council and city leadership globally.

In 2018, during the adoption of the United Nations Global Compacts for Migration and on Refugees, Mayor Mauch co-founded the Mayors Migration Council (MMC) with ten visionary mayors to secure cities a voice in global policymaking and mobilize resources for local solutions with global impact

As Mayor, Corine Mauch positioned Zürich as a leading voice in global city diplomacy—endorsing  the Marrakech Mayors Declaration, pledging to the Call to Local Action for Migrants and Refugees, and consistently driving forward city-to-city partnerships that translated international commitments into concrete outcomes for all urban residents including migrants and refugees, from Lebanon to Ukraine and beyond.

Highlights of Mayor Mauch’s leadership include:

• Endorsing the Marrakech Mayors Declaration along with a coalition of mayors from all over the world and pledging to advance the principles and objectives of the Global Compacts for Migration and on Refugees, participate in international diplomacy, and take direct action within their communities to improve the lives of migrants and refugees.
• Co-launching a Global Mayors Solidarity Campaign on Inclusive Covid-19 Response, which called for non-discriminatory access to health services and economic relief, as well as investment in city-led solutions for an inclusive pandemic response. This urgent campaign resulted in the UN Secretary-General’s recommendation to invest in cities and in the creation of the MMC’s Global Cities Fund for Migrants and Refugees which has now mobilized nearly $30 million to reach over 140,000 migrants and displaced people in 33 grantee cities.
• Also, during Covid-19, Mayor Mauch, in collaboration with the regional (cantonal) authorities promoted a centralized, multilingual and accessible COVID-19 platform, and organizing hotlines, WhatsApp channels and flyers so immigrant and refugee communities had access to information during the pandemic.
• Joining 70 mayors around the world in an emergency advocacy campaign to Welcome Afghan Refugees. This called on national governments and the international community to expand protection, resettlement, and aid for the people of Afghanistan, which resulted in widespread media coverage and practitioner response.

• Advancing city-to-city partnerships that deliver results for migrants, refugees, and host communities worldwide. From Tyre, Lebanon to Freetown, Sierra Leone, Zürich advanced inclusive urban solutions—supporting refugee-focused projects and a “park and ride” system to expand affordable, sustainable mobility in Tyre, while helping revitalize Freetown’s Central Business District through greener, climate-resilient infrastructure that unlocks economic opportunity and strengthens social cohesion
• Represented the voices of global mayors at the UNHCR ‘Engaging Cities Masterclass’ in 2024, providing practical experience and guidance to UNCHR country offices on engaging with city authorities around the world.
• Responding to the Russian invasion of Ukraine by deploying humanitarian support to neighbouring countries and scaling Zürich’s local response—committing resources for reception and integration, including housing, employment access, social services, and school enrolment for displaced Ukrainians.
• Piloting a free healthcare program for uninsured and undocumented residents, enabling more comprehensive access to medical care, including treatment for chronic conditions. With this initiative, Zürich became the first German-speaking Swiss city to offer universal access to a no-cost healthcare program.
• Representing the MMC at the 2023 Global Refugee Forum at a high-level meeting on cities and urban policy with UNHCR, IOM, and UCLG along side mayors from all around the world, Mauch shared Zürich’s action for refugees and identified avenues to overcome roadblocks to refugee inclusion and foster stronger partnerships between cities.
• In the context of the Global Refugee Forum, Zürich mobilized a pledge on enhancing multi-level governance among all three state levels in Switzerland, and particularly the stronger involvement of cities in long-term strategic policy planning. This mobilization effort was catalytic for Swiss cities, as they have repeatedly claimed more meaningful participation in national refugee policymaking in the past.
  

Tributes from fellow MMC Leadership Board Mayors: 

Dr. Yousef Alshawarbeh, Mayor of Amman:

Mayor Corine Mauch has been a principled and visionary leader whose contributions to the Mayors Migration Council and to global city diplomacy have helped strengthen the role of cities in addressing migration, inclusion, and humanitarian challenges. Through her leadership, Zürich became a model for inclusive urban governance and international solidarity, while her work within the MMC helped amplify the voice of mayors in global policymaking and foster meaningful city-to-city cooperation.

For cities like Amman, Mayor Mauch’s commitment to practical solutions, partnership, and shared responsibility has been both valuable and inspiring. Her leadership during times of global uncertainty demonstrated the important role cities play in building resilient, inclusive, and compassionate communities. On behalf of the city of Amman, I extend my sincere appreciation to Mayor Corine Mauch for her outstanding service and lasting contributions. We wish her continued success in the years ahead.

Giuseppe Sala, Mayor of Milan:

Over the years, Corine Mauch has been a principled and visionary voice for cities in the global human mobility debate, exemplifying what local leadership in building more inclusive societies truly means. From Marrakech, where we stood together in support of the Marrakech Mayors Declaration and helped lay the foundations of the Mayors Migration Council, to our common work on the MMC Leadership Board, we have shared a strong commitment to solidarity, human dignity, and international cooperation. On behalf of Milan, I thank Corine for her friendship, her determination, and her unwavering belief in the values of equality and inclusion.

Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, Mayor of Freetown:

Mayor Mauch, I’ve seen first hand your determination, your commitment, to making the lives of people who come to your city better and to giving them hope. You’ve not left that hope to people in Zürich, you’ve extended it to Freetownians in my city.