Seminar on Systematic Work for Human Rights – A challenge to local and regional politics

Stockholm, Sweden, 6 October 2008

 

Speech by Ian Micallef,President of the Chamber of Local Authorities Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, Council of Europe

Mr Chairman,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Renowned anthropologist and humanist of the last century, Ashley Montagu, once said: “By virtue of being born to humanity, every human being has the right to the development and fulfilment of his potentialities as a human being.” This primordial right with which we are all born is the “founding father” and the source of all rights and freedoms derived from it – the rights which are there to make sure that our potential, our talents and our creativity are realised and our aspirations fulfilled.

When the signatories of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights launched their appeal in 1948, it was not only a reminder of the universal value which we bear by the mere fact of birth – it was a call for an action plan to translate this idealistic and philosophical vision into an environment where these rights can actually be realised and enjoyed.  

This requires specific and systematic work, the work of not only codifying human rights and freedoms in conventions and treaties but also of implementing them in our daily life, the work which must begin at local level. Because beyond legal texts, human rights are concrete, even if we often speak of them in abstract terms. They are as concrete as ever-expanding responsibilities of local authorities, affecting in a very tangible way every-day life of our citizens.

For example, the right to housing means building and maintaining proper places of living. The right not be discriminated against and be treated equally with other members of community means overcoming intolerance and eradicating prejudicial attitudes. The rights to have access to public services, to employment, to education, to health care all imply the direct involvement of local authorities. I could also add the whole panoply of social rights or economic rights linked to employment and work conditions, which have to be enforced at local level.

I am not even mentioning such inalienable, absolute rights as the right to life and personal integrity, which evokes the question of urban safety and security, or the right to be free from torture, which often relates to police behaviour and conditions in places of detention or places of restricted freedom (such as hospitals, psychiatric institutions and, which is less relevant to local authorities, the military). 

As competences of local authorities enlarge, so do their responsibilities in terms of human rights protection and advancement. The exercise by citizens of their rights begins and is felt most in our communities, which is why we say that local authorities are the first line of defence of human rights but also the launching pad for their realisation. All human beings are bearers of human rights regardless of their legal status as non-citizens, refugees, migrants or foreign residents, regardless of whether they are women, children, elderly or disabled, regardless of their religion, ethnic background, political views or sexual orientation. In the eyes of local authorities, they are – they must be, in any case – equal members of the community.

This is why the realisation of human rights at local level is best achieved through integration and inclusion. We, local and regional authorities of the Council of Europe, have a special role to play in this process, in overcoming the existing obstacles for integration and inclusion in society which are much too often rooted in prejudice, stereotypes and discriminatory attitudes in communities and even in administrative practice. We have to find adequate responses to these challenges by implementing measures, within our local action plans and inclusion policies, to make sure that all our citizens enjoy equal opportunities in our cities.

To advance towards this goal, we in the Congress have oriented the overall axis of our human rights action at creating an equal and sustainable environment in our communities, an environment which integrates political, economic, social, ecological and cultural aspects of every-day life of our citizens, an environment in which they can exercise and realise their rights freely and to the full. This “equal environment” would include an equal legal and administrative framework for all members of a community – equal protection of rights, equal access to public services, equal non-discriminatory treatment, equal job opportunities, and equal enjoyment of the urban and rural environment.

We strongly believe that such an environment, conducive to citizens’ participation in democratic processes at local level – in fact, in all aspects of public life in our communities – is the basis for a vibrant and flourishing local democracy and thriving human rights, in which lies the future of a Europe of sustainable communities.

It is in this spirit that we adopted, at the Congress’ plenary session in May this year, the new European Urban Charter: Manifesto for a new urbanity. The Manifesto lays down principles for building and managing an urban environment adapted to the modern needs of communities and covering the various aspects of urban life – ecology, biodiversity, urban planning and development, sustainable consumption, public spaces, access to economy, culture, education and health care. It calls for building towns and cities in a way which would make them citizen-oriented, cohesive, knowledge-based and sustainable. The new Charter urges territorial authorities to place people, with all their multiple identities and cultures, at the heart of preoccupations in urban planning and development, paying particular attention to the needs of the most vulnerable.

Much of human rights action at local level is channelled today through networks of municipalities in which our Congress is actively participating – such as Cities for Children and Child-Friendly Cities, Cities for Peace, Cities for Human Rights, the Berlin process for youth in disadvantaged urban neighbourhoods, or the Network of Cities for Local Integration Policy (CLIP), which focuses on integration of migrants in our communities and which the Congress co-founded together with the European Foundation for Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, based in Dublin, Ireland. Some 30 municipalities have joined CLIP, since its launch in September 2006.

Among challenges and limitations faced by local authorities in carrying out their work in favour of human rights, which is one of the topics of this seminar, I would list, first and foremost, limitations on their legal competences and the scope of their application. The legal framework delineating the distribution of responsibilities between national, regional and local authorities is specific in every country, but this is where boundaries are established on what local elected representatives can do.

These legal limitations go hand in hand with the adequacy or not of financial means and possibilities with which local authorities are endowed and which should correspond, ideally and as required by the European Charter of Local Self-Government, to the competences transferred to the local level. Adequate financial and human resources are essential for the implementation of specific measures, initiatives and projects, which is why – I should stress in this context – political and financial support from national governments is crucial for the success of our human rights action in communities, much as is coordination and concertation of our efforts with all other stakeholders involved in human rights issues – private sector and civil society across the board, and the regional, national and international level on the bottom-to-top ladder.

Last but not least, I would also underline the importance of professional qualifications of elected representatives and their staff, which should match today’s human rights requirements – including the knowledge of legal frameworks – and responsibilities allocated to the local level.

These are, in a nutshell, the main domains which should be, in my view, in the centre of our discussions today – on the one hand, how to advance towards human rights-friendly communities by building an adequate, conducive environment; and on the other hand, how to enhance the capacity of local authorities for sustaining this work.

I am positive that our discussions today will make a valuable contribution to answering these questions.

Thank you.