Strasbourg, 12 December 2013                                     CDLR(2013)31 ADDENDUM II

EUROPEAN COMMITTEE ON LOCAL AND REGIONAL DEMOCRACY

(CDLR)

STRENGTHENING AWARENESS-RAISING OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS DIMENSION OF LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNANCE

STRENGTHENING AWARENESS-RAISING OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS DIMENSION OF LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNANCE

CDLR Report to the Committee of Ministers

15 November 2013

At their 1156^th meeting on 28 November 2012, as a follow up to the Kyiv Ministerial Conference of November 2011, the Committee of Ministers instructed the CDLR to:

Prepare proposals to strengthen awareness raising of the human rights dimension of local and regional governance, in consultation with the Parliamentary Assembly, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and the Conference of INGOs.

The CDLR was aware that the issue of human rights at local level has received increasing attention both in member States and in the Council of Europe. It already had the opportunity to follow the work done by the Congress in this field and to promote awareness of these issues in central administration and at the level of the ministerial conference.

It therefore took the matter further by looking into the relevant case-law of the European Court of Human Rights and the European Committee for Social Rights, collecting practice from member States and inviting the Parliamentary Assembly, the Congress and the Conference of NGOs to contribute data and proposals for action.

The CDLR noticed that in many cases violations that have been condemned by International and European supervision bodies arise out of neglect or ignorance of their obligations by local authorities. Local authorities seem not to be fully or systematically aware of the potential impact on the enjoyment (or not) of fundamental rights by citizens affected by measures and decisions taken in their fields of competence.

Practice in member States shows that awareness is growing as regards the need to ensure that local governance conforms to human rights principles. Measures exist that deserve to be better known and implemented in member States and could be usefully implemented, subject to the necessary adjustments, in other member States.

The CDLR has been able to collect examples of good practice that could be considered as possible “policy proposals” for the guidance of national and local authorities and policy implementers.

The CDLR is aware of the need to promote combined action by central and local government in the field of human rights awareness raising and policies. It expresses appreciation for the past work of the Congress and wishes this report be considered as a useful contribution to the on-going work of the Congress on this issue. The CDLR also took note of the willingness of the Conference of INGOs to contribute actively to the diffusion and application of the policies proposed in this report.

APPENDIX

EUROPEAN COMMITTEE ON LOCAL AND REGIONAL DEMOCRACY

(CDLR)

Report to the Committee of Ministers

REPORT AND POLICY PROPOSALS TO STRENGTHEN AWARENESS-RAISING OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS DIMENSION

OF LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNANCE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I.                    POLICY PROPOSALS

II.                  BACKGROUND

       Origin of the report

       Human rights are a concern for local authorities

       The state of play: is there a Human Rights policy gap?

       Why do violations occur at local level?

       Awareness-raising is the response

       A concrete way forward: good practice to draw inspiration from

III.                CONCLUSION

I.                    POLICY PROPOSALS

The policy proposals are based on existing good practices in human rights awareness-raising in member States. More information on these existing good practices can be found at pages 15-26. Each good practice is set out under its related policy proposal. These examples were gathered from member states’ replies to two questionnaires issued by the CDLR, as well as from documented examples from other bodies working in the fields of human rights and/or local democracy.

A.           Implementation of National Human Rights Action Plans at local level

National Human Rights Action plans have the potential to be an efficient tool for implementing human rights throughout member States. Their impact could be strengthened at the local level through measures outlining the crucial role to be played by local and regional authorities and aimed at encouraging local decision-makers to contribute to national human rights policy.

Good practice

·         Clarifying and supporting the role played by local and regional authorities in implementing National Human Rights Action Plans

·         Ensuring local and regional authorities are aware of their human rights responsibility

·         Concluding ad hoc agreements with local and regional authorities

·         Encourage the adoption of local human rights plans or policies

·         Encourage the use of Human rights indicators at the local level

B.           Support to local and regional authorities in their role as implementers of human rights

While support can come in many forms, typical examples of support to local authorities in this field are provided by increased dialogue with municipalities, the setting up of specialist human rights bodies, or support from ombudsmen or National Human Rights Institutes.  Specific agreements between the state and the local or regional level can lead to a truly structured, systematic and sustainable collaboration in implementing human rights obligations.

Good practice

·         Assisting local and regional authorities to implement National Human Rights Action Plans at local level

·         National Human Rights Institutions or Ombudsman’s assistance to local and regional authorities

C.            Human rights mainstreaming measures

Mainstreaming human rights into local law, institutions, policy and practice is another effective means of enhancing human rights’ compliance at the local level. This might be done through legislation to ensure compliance with human rights obligations, the adoption of municipal charters or local human rights action plans, or by setting up bodies within local and regional authorities to deal with specific human rights concerns.

Good practice

·         Mainstreaming human rights into local law, institutions, policy and practice

D.           Expertise enhancement in public authorities

Increased human rights expertise can be achieved through training programmes for political leaders and public administration officers. Congress Resolution 296 (2010) on the Role of local and regional authorities in the implementation of human rights additionally advocates the dissemination of reliable information among citizens about their rights (particularly among vulnerable groups).

Good practice

·         Systematic training of political leaders and public administration officers, and he dissemination of reliable information among citizens about their rights (particularly among vulnerable groups)

E.            Consultation and dialogue with rights holders

From ad hoc meetings, to more institutionalised meetings, consultation and dialogue between local and regional rights’ implementers and holders enables all stakeholders to increase their efforts to ensure human rights’ concerns are addressed.

Good practice

·         Representatives of rights holders bodies elected members of the municipal council

·         Creation of rights holders’ bodies to advise municipalities

·         Special leave granted to rights holders representatives enabling them to undertake activities to give support to these rights

·         Appointment of rights holders representatives to work with different municipal bodies, eg police

F.            Awareness-raising through ad hoc events and campaigns

Ad hoc events and campaigns are the most common awareness-raising initiatives observed at local government level, with some even becoming periodic institutions. The European Local Democracy Week, while not always specifically aimed at awareness-raising of human rights, nonetheless promotes the values of the Council of Europe. The campaign “One in Five” to stop sexual violence against children can also contribute to raise awareness of child abuse at local authorities’ level.

Good practice

·         Awareness-raising events organised at either the international, national or local level.

G.           Exchange of good practices

The exchange of good practice raises awareness of human rights obligations by enabling local and regional authorities to share information. It can inspire new ways and means to pursue efforts tostrengthen awareness-raising of the human rights dimension of local and regional governance.

Good practice

• International and national networks of local authorities for experience sharing of human rights implementation
• Collections of good practices nationally, regionally or globally
• Encourage local authority participation in international bodies with a specific remit of human rights at the local level, such as the World Forum on Human Rights (France)

II.                  BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Origin of the report

In pursuance of the Kyiv Declaration adopted at the 17th Session of the Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for local and regional government, the Committee of Ministers, at its 1156^th meeting in November 2012, invited the CDLR:

“to prepare proposals to strengthen awareness raising of the human rights dimension of local and regional governance, in consultation with the Parliamentary Assembly, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and the Conference of INGOs”.

In order to respond to this request, the CDLR first collected information based on member states’ responses to two questionnaires[1], identified national human rights action plans and considered reports from national human rights institutes and Ombudsperson offices.[2]

A consultant was engaged to compile and analyse responses to the questionnaires and to systematise the data, the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights and European Committee of Social Rights and other information and to prepare a comprehensive study which serves as the basis and inspiration for this draft report. [3]

In accordance with the terms of reference, the Parliamentary Assembly, the Congress and the Conference of INGOs were also invited to comment and suggest policy responses that could be fed into this report. Responses and suggestions were received from the Parliamentary Assembly and included into the report.

The report was adopted by the CDLR at its 52nd meeting (14-15 November 2013).

Human rights are a concern for local authorities

 

The protection of human rights as developed by the Council of Europe, in accordance with international law, is generally accepted to extend to only two types of relevant actors: states and individuals. Human rights - including both civil and political rights enshrined in the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the Protocols thereto and the social and economic rights covered by the European Social Charter - are guaranteed in the form of treaties between states with a focus on protecting the basic rights of the individual human being. As a matter of international law, the state is in this respect the only entity of legal relevance and its institutional arrangements are to be considered a matter of its own sovereign power. It is for this reason that only states can be held to account before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

However, within a state several actors may be entrusted with powers and functions the exercise of which have an impact on the actual enjoyment of fundamental human rights by individuals. Local authorities, in the light of the principle of subsidiarity, are at the forefront of policy delivery with regard inter alia to participation, education, health care, housing and social inclusion. As a consequence, local and regional authorities should be aware of the importance of their role in ensuring the enjoyment of fundamental human rights by those that fall under their “jurisdiction”, since their failure to “deliver” might entail the international responsibility of the state. In addition, ministries responsible for local and regional government should reflect on the potential implications and consequences of these obligations on their relationships with local and regional authorities and with other government departments.

Following these reflections, there is clearly a link between human rights (at local and regional level) and the intra-state arrangements (between tiers of government) in the field of human right policies with a view to promoting a “governance” model that cuts across government and spreads awareness of and responsibilities for human rights.

Accordingly, it is appropriate to set out more clearly how acts of local or regional authorities may give rise to human rights abuses before drawing up specific proposals to strengthen awareness-raising of the human rights dimension of local and regional governance.  Furthermore, because this concern is shared by more than one actor (the Congress, the Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union, individual member states, etc.) appropriate mechanisms for sharing views and developing a consistent approach are needed as well.  

The state of play: is there a Human Rights policy gap?

States’ responses to the questionnaire sent out to CDLR members in 2011[4] further to Congress Recommendation 280 (2010) on the Role of local and regional authorities in the implementation of human rights indicate that most governments do not have a comprehensive policy view on or approach to the role of local and regional authorities in the implementation of human rights, including by making them aware of their responsibilities. In some cases, member States were aware of targeted policies in key areas (such as housing, child care, inclusion of disabled persons). But in most cases the role of local and regional authorities in the implementation of human rights does not seem to be the subject of any report, study or analysis carried out by the central government.[5]

If one looks to the issue of human rights at local level from the angle of violations there is ample evidence, although systematic studies are lacking, that many of them originate from local or regional authorities. As a matter of fact, ECtHR case-law, European Committee of Social Rights case-law and conclusions, CPT reports, ECRI reports, NGO reports show that violations touch upon all areas of life, in particular areas that often fall within the sphere of competence of local and regional authorities, such as health, education, housing, private and family life.

An analysis of domestic courts’ case-law and of national human rights institutions’ and ombudsmen’s reports confirms that where violations arise in areas of local authority competence, many of them originate in local authority action.

Why do violations occur at the local level?

There can obviously be many different reasons behind the perpetration of human rights violations at local level. But in many instances, violations originate from the local authorities’ lack of understanding of human rights and how to implement them. Even where domestic law complies with the ECHR, local or regional authorities might justify their wrongdoings by a reasoning that reflects a poor knowledge of human rights principles.

In other instances, even though violations are perpetrated at local level, they may originate in difficulties encountered in the co-ordination of the competent bodies at national, regional and local level. This was pointed out recently by a case brought before the European Committee of Social Rights, which found a violation of Article 11 of the European Social Charter due to an omission to carry out the necessary actions at national, regional and local level.

 

Local and regional authorities are at the frontline in providing services from the State and in developing law policy in practice. Since human rights obligations are enshrined in international treaties ratified by States’ central authorities, all authorities at all levels must comply with these human rights obligations as implementers of human rights. Since their acts or omissions may engage the responsibility of the State, it is the State’s responsibility to ensure that human rights are upheld at local and regional level.[6]

This principle is reflected in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which provides that the State has to ensure respect for these obligations for “all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction” (art. 2).

State responsibility has been emphasised too in connection with social rights.

In other terms, and this is a well-established principle of public international law, States may not invoke their decentralised, regional or federal nature to escape their international obligations. The central authority has an obligation to ensure the implementation of states’ international obligations by all the entities composing the State.

To this effect, States have to ensure that the local and regional authorities “are aware of the rights set out in the Covenant and of their duty to ensure respect for them”. This approach is reflected in the case-law of the European Court for Human Rights and the European Committee of Social Rights.

The same reasoning applies where public services have been wholly or partly privatised, as it often occurs in the area of education, social services or health care. In such cases, the State is still responsible for implementing its human rights obligations: “The responsibility for implementing the international standards can (…) never be delegated to the private sector”.[7]

Moreover, where the public service is contracted out to a private provider in agreement with a local authority, the local authority can similarly not escape its responsibility in this field. It is therefore vital to make all actors aware of human rights obligations, including by engaging in a dialogue with the regional and local level actors on this matter.

Awareness-raising is the response

Human rights awareness-raising is one of the many responses that should be adopted to overcome a lack of awareness of or respect for human rights obligations at local and regional level, and should be considered a prerequisite to effective implementation of human rights standards.  The need to raise awareness of human rights obligations should be understood as extending to institutions and individuals.  The institutions (i.e. the bodies that take decisions or implement policies: the mayor, the municipal council, the general-manager, etc.) and the individuals (i.e. municipal and regional councillors, municipal and regional officers, etc.) should be aware of their role and responsibilities with regard to human rights standards. This should include extending understanding and awareness of human rights obligations to include social and economic rights whose scope impacts more evidently on work at local and regional level.

The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Council of Europe has repeatedly drawn the attention of both governments and local and regional authorities alike to the need to engage in active awareness-raising campaigns on these issues.[8] Policy initiatives such as the European Local Democracy Week and the Strategy for Innovation and Good Governance at Local Level pursue (inter alia) the same objective through the identification of principles the observance of which ensures that the fundamental rights of those who live and work in a local community are enhanced.

The experience of the Global Charter-Agenda for Human Rights in the City[9] also offers a good example of these endeavours. First discussed in 2006 and formally adopted in 2011, this Charter was developed within the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) and its Committee on Social Inclusion, Participatory Democracy and Human Rights. As underlined by UCGL, “the added value of the Global Charter-Agenda for Human Rights in the City is that each human right featured in the document is accompanied by an action plan that serves as reference for concrete steps to be undertaken by local governments. Signatory cities are invited to set up a local agenda with deadlines and indicators in order to assess their efficiency in implementing these rights”.

In the European Union one needs only to refer to the work of the Fundamental Rights Agency as a purveyor of awareness-raising tools and a promoter of campaigns that place local authorities at the core of the action in favour of human-rights awareness and protection.

At the global level, the United Nations’ Human Rights Council recently requested its Advisory Committee to prepare a research-based report on the role of local government in the promotion and protection of human rights, including human rights mainstreaming in local administration and public services, with a view to compiling best practices and main challenges, and to present a progress report on the requested research-based report to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-seventh session, for its consideration.

A concrete way forward: good practice to draw inspiration from

Looking at the practice of member states, a number of initiatives exist which aim at strengthening awareness-raising of the human rights dimension of local and regional governance.

A.           Implementation of National Human Rights Action Plans at local level

Among the 47 member States of the Council of Europe, about half of them have adopted a human rights action plan, whether covering all human rights issues (only a few States) or addressing one or more thematic issues (i.e. tackling specific issues such a gender equality, trafficking, discrimination). These plans have the potential to be an efficient tool for implementing human rights throughout the countries. But even though local governments have an obligation to respect and implement them, there is still a need to encourage decision-makers at the local government level to contribute to national human rights policy. The following examples show how their role can be enhanced.

Good practice:Clarifying and supporting the role played by local and regional authorities in implementing National Human Rights Action Plans

As a start, Human Rights Action Plans adopted at central government level can usefully specify the role of local and regional authorities as crucial actors to implement the country’s human rights obligations.

Examples: —       The National Human Rights Action Plan (NHRAP) adopted in Lithuania (2002) insists on encouraging public authorities to fulfil their obligations in the area of human rights under international universal and regional agreements and underline their role, in particular, in protecting the right to health (chapter 4) and children’s rights (chapter 8). —       The National Social Inclusion Strategy – extreme poverty, child poverty, the Roma, 2011-2020 adopted in Hungary lists 10 common principles of Roma inclusion, including “involvement of regional and local authorities”. In the National Human Rights Action Plan of Moldova (2004-2008), local authorities are mentioned as implementer, partner or source of funding in several fields including: right to health, right to environment, right to life and physical integrity, right of children or right to education.

Good practice: Ensuring local and regional authorities are aware of their human rights responsibility

A further step is required to ensure that local and regional authorities be aware of their human rights responsibility and become involved in using the action plan in their own work.

Examples: —       In its 2nd NHRAP, Sweden declared its intention “to continue and to intensify the dialogue with the municipalities and county councils on the responsibility for human rights” (measure 107). —       In the same vein, in the Czech Republic, local and regional authorities are involved in decision-making processes relating to fields with a human rights dimension, such as housing, environment, health or education. Moreover, a number of local activities in human rights areas are implemented in co-operation with the Ministry of Interior, such as in the field of gender equality, Roma integration, rights of national minorities.

Good practice: Concluding ad hoc agreements with local and regional authorities

In some instances, governments have gone one step further to stressing the role of local and regional authoritiesin implementing human rights and have concluded an agreement with local and regional authoritiesto determine their role in a more concrete manner. Such an initiative can increase the chances of a truly structured, systematic and sustainable collaboration between the state and the local and regional level.

Examples: —       In connection with the adoption of the Strategy to Strengthen the Rights of the Child (2010), the Swedish Government entered into an agreement with the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions. The agreement, which covers the period 2010-2013, aimed to intensify and develop the work on the rights of the child at the local and regional level through measures aimed at enhancing expertise at local level and strengthening co-ordination and dialogue on children's rights. The extension of this experience to the forthcoming third National Human Rights Action Plan has been called upon as “a means to identify the main difficulties in implementing national human rights obligations at the local and regional levels and then together attempt to find ways of addressing them. Such cooperation between the Government and SALAR should also involve the county administrative boards (CABs) who can play a key role both in their supervision of and support to the municipalities in their work on human rights”. —       Based on the National Social Inclusion Strategy – extreme poverty, child poverty, the Roma, 2011-2020 adopted in Hungary, a Framework Agreement was contracted between the Government of Hungary and the National Roma Self-Government. This agreement foresees, inter alia, that the Roma Co-ordination Council includes the participation of local authorities and underlines the need for a close cooperation with municipalities in order to reach the strategy’s targets.

Good practice: Encourage the adoption of local human rights plans or policies

There are many ways in which municipalities may proclaim their commitment to implementing human rights, including through the adoption of municipal charters, through a local adaptation of a national human rights action plan.

Examples: —       In “the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, as explained in the government response to the CDLR 2013 questionnaire “some municipalities have made some progress on their own initiative and have adopted local plans to protect certain rights, while other municipalities lag behind”. In Sweden, one of the measures of the national plan consisted in encouraging municipalities and county councils to produce local action plans for human rights (measure 106). —       The experience of the Global Charter-Agenda for Human Rights in the City offers another example of endeavours to encourage local authorities to implement human rights obligations. This Charter is divided into twelve chapters, each of them concluded with a “suggestion action plan” that can be used by each city as a starting point to determine its own way forward. —       The city of Graz in Austria offers an example of a stronger proclamation of a city’s commitment to human rights, through its designation as Human Rights City. The Human Rights Cities concept was developed originally by People’s Movement For Human Rights Learning (PDHRE), an NGO based in New York. It adopts the same approach as the one spelt out by the UN Secretary general, in his Road Map Toward the Implementation of the Millennium Declaration: Kofi Annan placed human rights “at the centre of peace, security and development programmes”; similarly, the Human Rights Cities project reflects a commitment to human rights as “a participatory strategy engaging civil society in building communities that resolve issues of development at the local level through human rights learning”. In the Council of Europe region, the city of Graz (Austria) became a Human Rights City after a unanimous decision by the City Council in 2001. —       In Spain, the city of Barcelona has developed a comprehensive policy and related institutions to implement human rights locally and turn Barcelona into a ‘city of rights’. “Both international human rights and the European Charter for the Safeguarding of Human Rights in the City (ECHRC) provide the human rights language and framework of the policy. Funding for the policy comes from the municipal budget. Although the objective of becoming a city of rights arguably concerns the entire local government, the main institution concerned with implementation is the Civil Rights Department (RDC) of the municipality, within which different bodies operate: 1) the Office for Non-Discrimination (OND), which mainly processes complaints of discrimination through mediation; 2) the Office for Religious Affairs (OAR), which promotes the religious freedom of the city’s religious communities in their relationship with the local administration and population; 3) the Council for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people (LGBT Council), which is an advisory body composed of NGOs, collectives, and other informal groups concerned with LGBT issues (recently, a plan for the mainstreaming of LGBT rights has also been promoted by the RDC); and 4) the Human Rights Observatory, which has to check the status of human rights in the city. In addition to the RDC, the Síndic(a) de Greuges de Barcelona (the city’s ombudsperson) performs functions of control on the local administration that, especially considering the independent status of this institutions, provides a crucial support to the safeguarding of human rights at the city level”.

Good practice:Encourage the use of Human rights indicators at the local level

In order to translate their human rights commitments into practice, it is important that local and regional authorities can rely on indicators in order to measure their progress in ensuring a better protection of human rights. In its Explanatory Memorandum to Resolution 334(2011), the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities has set out a methodology for drawing up human rights indicators, focusing on structural, process and outcome indicators. Among other things, it also shows how human rights’ indicators should be used in data collection and data assessment.

Example: —       The evidence of use of indicators at the local level is scant, this idea is nonetheless being considered in Sweden, where the Delegation for Human Rights appointed to assist in the implementation of the second National Human Rights Action Plan proposed that, under the next national action plan or equivalent strategy for human rights, the Government should develop national targets and indicators for human rights in collaboration with the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions, taking account of the work on such indicators undertaken in international organisations.

B.           Support to local and regional authorities in their role as implementers of human rights

Good practice:Assisting local and regional authorities to implement National Human Rights Action Plans at local level

Examples: —       In its second National Human Rights Action Plan (2006-2009), the Swedish government declared its intention to continue to intensify the dialogue with the municipalities and county councils on the responsibility for human rights (measure 107). The plan proposed to set up a delegation of human rights charged with the task of supporting inter alia municipalities and county councils in the long-term work of ensuring full respect for human rights in their activities (measure 103). This delegation was established in March 2006 and composed of a chair and ten representatives with expertise related to human rights (from the civil society, NGO and academic sector, including the chairman of the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions - SALAR). The delegation encouraged local authorities to define and implement interventions, including by offering them funds for interventions aimed at promoting of human rights and political participation. The delegation identified the criteria for allocating grants, giving priority to interventions that clearly contributed to supporting the long-term efforts to ensure full respect for human rights in Sweden, particularly strategic and measurable actions based on interaction between multiple actors. Eight grants were allocated out of fourteen requests for funds. Recipients included county administrative boards, police authorities. —       The appointment of a dedicated institution can increase the impact of a national plan at local level. In the Czech Republic, the Agency for Social Inclusion in Roma Localities was set up in 2008 to act as a coordinating body for implementing state Roma integration policy at local level, in order to reduce and eliminate social exclusion in socially excluded Roma localities. The Agency works under the auspices of the Czech Government and the Department for Social Inclusion in Roma Localities.

Good practice:National Human Rights Institutions or Ombudsman’s assistance to local and regional authorities

A few cases were brought forward during the preparation of this study, where national human rights institutions or ombudsmen’s offices were involved in supporting local and regional authorities.

Examples: —       In Bulgaria, the Ombudsman’s annual report includes human rights’ violations originating at the local level; a report entitled “New quality of life in municipalities. Good governance has respect for human rights” was published in 2009 and the Ombudsman’s website contains a list of good practices in local administration, which includes good practices in respect for human rights. In the Czech Republic, the Ombudsman has produced guidelines on social housing and discrimination for municipalities. —       In Sweden, to further advance the implementation of rights of the child in municipalities, county councils and public authorities, the government commissioned the Ombudsman for Children in July 2012 to take measures to disseminate and communicate the government strategy for strengthening the rights of the child. These efforts include conferences, enhanced audits and dialogues and a variety of support methods, and they aim to make the municipalities, county councils and public authorities aware of, and understand how, the nine principles of this strategy (see paragraph 17) can be used as a tool to ensure the rights of the child within their own operations. —       Some cities have their own ombudsman or a regional office of the national human rights institution, which are in a good position to raise human rights awareness at local or regional level. Recently, the idea of a “Cities Ombudsmen Network” came up, as local-level ombudsman institutions often face specific problems on common matters in the specific areas of metropolitan and local government. The Amsterdam Ombudsman in the Netherlands is currently developing this idea under the auspices of the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI).

C.            Human rights mainstreaming measures

Good practice:Mainstreaming human rights into local law, institutions, policy and practice

Without prejudicing the existence of specific human rights bodies at local level, mainstreaming human rights into local law, institutions, policy and practice is another effective means of enhancing good governance and addressing local needs through a rights-based approach.

Examples: —       In Greece, the National Programme for Substantive Gender Equality 2010-2013 includes several actions aiming at promoting gender equality at local government level. For example, a new legislation adopted within the framework of reforming local and regional government (Kallikratis Program) obliges the municipalities to include in their structure the “Social Policy and Gender Equality Policies” – to support gender equality at regional level through the Regional Committees for Gender Equality (PEPIS) and to create, for the 1st time, municipal committees (DEPIS). The new municipalities are going to be strengthened with competencies on gender equality issues and action plans on gender mainstreaming in regional policies have been designed in 13 prefectures and 15 municipalities. —       In the Czech Republic, bodies with a human rights mandate were designated within the local and regional authorities covering in particular Roma issues: the Government Council for Roma Minority Affairs offers the opportunity to encourage local and regional authorities to promote respect for human rights through the initiatives of its municipal committees.

D.           Expertise enhancement in public authorities

Good practice:systematic training of political leaders and public administration officers, and the dissemination of reliable information among citizens about their rights (particularly among vulnerable groups)

Congress’ Resolution 296 (2010) on the Role of local and regional authorities in the implementation of human rights underlines that “the most important way to enable local and regional authorities to take responsibility for human rights is through the systematic training of political leaders and the dissemination of reliable information among citizens about their rights (particularly among vulnerable groups)”.

Most NHRAPs foresee human rights training for public administration officers and staff of local and regional authorities.

Examples: —       The NHRAP of Latvia (1995) stresses the need for legal training of public administration officers (chapter 2) and the need for training to increase legal quality, objectivity and transparency in the work of Public Administration, including at local government level (chapter 4). In the NHRAP of Sweden, the government commissioned the Institute for the Study of Human Rights at Göteborg University to draft a handbook on human rights in municipal activity (measure 108), designed as a practical tool for local politicians and civil servants and aimed to concretise how municipal activities can promote human rights and the rights of national minorities. —       In the United Kingdom, the Ministry of Justice published a handbook for public authorities – Human rights: Human lives – designed to assist officials in public authorities to implement the Human Rights Act 1998. The handbook directly addresses all types of public authority and presents good practices “to raise your awareness of the different rights and freedoms protected by the Human Rights Act, and to show you, through actual examples, how to consider the potential human rights impact of your work, whether you are delivering services directly to the public or devising new policies and procedures”. —       In Ireland, the Irish Human Rights Commission's Human Rights Education & Training Project provides free, professional training tailored to the individual needs of different departments of the Civil and Public Service. In 2013, in addition to its regular training sessions for Local Authorities, the Commission offered a one-day thematic seminar on the right to housing targeted specifically at staff working in the area of housing and/or traveller accommodation.

E.            Consultation and dialogue with rights holders

Through consultations between local or regional authorities and representatives of rights holders in various sectors of activity in the municipality, all stakeholders can increase their efforts to ensure that human rights concerns are addressed. Different levels of consultation can be observed, from ad hoc meetings to more institutionalised processes.

Examples: People with disabilities ─          In Odessa (Ukraine), in the nineties, after the creation of OGOIN, an NGO of disabled people, several members of OGOIN were elected as members of the municipal assembly, which led to the creation of the City Committee on Disabled People Issues – the only one in Ukraine – and to the adoption in 1991 of the municipal programme named ‘Equality’ which is still operating. The main objective of the programme is to facilitate the life of people with limited physical abilities and to provide them access to different objects of the municipal infrastructure (public spaces, social use, or housing), to create a barrier-free environment in the city. The beneficiaries of the programme are disabled people of Odessa and their families. Representatives of disabled people’s organizations are regularly invited for the Committee’s sessions in order to analyse the programme’s successes and failures and to collect proposals for further actions, including the creation of a list of items that need to be developed through the municipal budget. The programme is financed through the municipal budget. In spite of on-going difficulties such as a lack of transparency in the use of funds, Odessa remains the only city in Ukraine with a political committee on disabled people’s issues and holds the top position in the ‘life comfort level’ ranking of Ukrainian cities. —       In Luxembourg, the action plan designed to implement the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities proposes the creation of an exceptional “disability leave” (“congé handicap”) for disabled people who tend to spend their holiday doing counselling activities at local level (in the public or private sector) who would be allowed a special leave period to fulfil these activities. Migrants —       In Greece, the legislative framework for local self-government (Law 3852/2010, article 78) provides for the establishment of Councils on Immigrant Integration in every municipality. These Councils are advisory municipal bodies responsible for the enhancement of the migrants’ integration within the local societies. The Migrant Integration Councils are responsible for identifying and investigating all kinds of problems encountered by the migrants as well as submitting reports to the municipal council. These Councils are composed of 5 to 11 members who are appointed from the relevant municipal council and are municipal councillors, representatives of migrants’ agencies. Foreigners that are elected as municipal councillors are obligatorily appointed among the members of the above Councils. Persons belonging to minorities —       In the Czech Republic, as part of a comprehensive strategy to deal with minorities’ issues, the Ministry of Interior has appointed crime prevention assistants: people of Roma origin who are part of the municipal police and help to improve the relations between the Roma minority and the authorities. Elderly people ─          The NHRAP (2012-2013) of Finland provides for the setting up of senior citizens’ councils to monitor and exert influence on decision-making in municipalities.

F.            Awareness-raising through ad hoc events and campaigns

Ad hoc events and campaigns are the most common awareness-raising initiatives observed at local government level. Some events have become periodic institutions, such as the European Local Democracy Week (ELDW), an initiative of the Council of Europe and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities that was launched in October 2007 and has been renewed on a yearly basis. Although it is not specifically focused on human rights, one of its objectives is to raise European citizens’ awareness of the role of the Council of Europe, and of the Congress in particular, in boosting local democracy and respect for human rights throughout Europe. It has led to involving local authorities on human rights issues by encouraging them to organise events on human rights. “Human rights at local level” was the main theme for the European Local Democracy Week 2011.

In some countries, institutions at local level have been entrusted with the task of organising awareness-raising activities.

Examples: ─        In the Czech Republic, the Government Council for Roma Minority Affairs (a government advisory body) encourages local and regional authorities to promote respect for human rights through the initiatives of its local committees, who organise ad-hoc conferences or seminars. At regional level, regional coordinators for Roma advisors promote human rights, equal treatment, and fight against discrimination by means of trainings and seminars for Roma advisors, social workers, schools and employment and health mediators. ─        In the United Kingdom, several initiatives, including festivals and other types of events, were organized by the Greater London Authority (GLA) – the coordinating authority of London in the areas of police service, transport, fire, and strategic planning - in order to celebrate the ethnic diversity and cosmopolitan character of the city, extended to cover people from countries such as Russia, China, and India through their links to London’s ‘diverse’ economic connections. These events were all part of the equality policy of the Greater London Authority. The aim of this policy has been the fight against cultural, social, and economic exclusion affecting London’s minorities and women, in a strong intersectional perspective.[10]

G.           Exchange of good practices

The exchange of good practices provides a unique opportunity to raise human rights awareness among local and regional authorities. It is a way for them to share information and receive inspiration on new ways and means to pursue efforts to ensure respect for human rights at local level. A few initiatives have been identified for the purpose of this study, although they are not focused on the Council of Europe member States.

Examples: —       Local governments are organised in worldwide networks such as the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), a global platform that represents and defends the interests of local governments before the international community and works to give cities more political influence on global governance. Such a network provides opportunities for experience sharing. An Inclusive Cities Observatory was created by the UCLG Committee on Social Inclusion, Participatory Democracy and Human Rights as a means to contribute to building a common voice for the cities of UCLG in the areas of social inclusion, participatory democracy and human rights, and to guide local governments in designing such policies. Based on the 60 case studies collected so far, the Observatory allows for an exchange of experiences and peer learning among cities around the world. —       An initiative conducted by Amnesty International – Belgium has led to the collection of 40 good practices from around the world on the implementation of the Global Charter-Agenda for Human Rights in the City.  In 2010, the good practices have been published in the report: Les droits humains au cœur de la cité, Guide de bonnes pratiques d’ici et d’ailleurs pour les responsables des collectivités locales et les associations citoyennes. —       The World Forum on Human Rights in France offers another opportunity for local and regional authorities to meet and exchange about their practices in the field of human rights. It is organised every year by the International Permanent Secretariat Human Rights and Local Governments (SPIDH), set up as a French association in 2007 with two complementary missions. It helps to reinforce and develop worldwide networks of actors in the field of human rights with a priority to the local level and the cooperation of the civil society action and the local governments.

III.                CONCLUSION

Concern for the promotion and protection of human rights standards at local level is growing. Local communities are becoming more diverse and local authorities are faced with rising social, economic and cultural challenges. Responding to them is not an easy task, especially in times of limited resources. It is therefore important that in the allocation of resources, implementation of policies and management of services the human rights dimension of local and regional governance is paid the attention it deserves. Although it is possible that violations of fundamental rights occur and are identified at local and regional level, several policy options and measures are available that would enable local and regional authorities to fulfil their tasks in a way that is fully consistent with their duty to respect and foster human rights.

Examples collected in this report show the variety of situations and solutions adopted. Many are common to more than one State, others reflect a country-specific approach. All deserve to be mentioned and paid attention to as sources of inspiration for central governments and local authorities alike in developing and implementing policy proposals to strengthen awareness- raising of the human rights dimension of local and regional governance.

The CDLR is grateful to its members, the Congress, the Parliamentary Assembly, the Conference of INGOs and the various bodies of the Council of Europe who have contributed to this report, for the richness of examples provided and the shared commitment to making good democratic governance at local level a reality.