On 8 June, during the 2nd UN Habitat Assembly (Nairobi), the Geneva Cities Hub organized a side-event in partnership with members of the Coalition for LRGs in the UPR (UN Habitat, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, OHCHR, UPR Info, Geneva Human Rights Platform). The objective was to emphasize that the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council, should also be used by local and regional governments (LRGs) to showcase their work on SDGs and human rights. See more on how LRGs can contribute to the UPR here.
Every day, LRGs localize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and work on housing, water & sanitation, safe public spaces, social inclusion, gender equality, etc. While LRGs explicitly rely on SDGs as a reference framework to guide their policies and programmes, there seems to be less awareness about the fact that LRGs also realize human rights. By localizing SDGs and fulfilling human rights, LRGs contribute to implementing States’s international obligations. Consequently, LRGs should gain more international visibility and showcase their crucial daily work. More and more LRGs submit Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) demonstrating their advancement of SDGs. Yet, LRGs could gain further international visibility for their work on SDGs and human rights through the UPR. LRGs have much to gain from participating in the UPR, including a better understanding of where they stand on SDGs and human rights (which are closely interlinked), the opportunity to collect data and to strengthen dialogue with the central administration on relevant issues often raised during UPR (i.e., housing, education, health, non-discrimination, gender equality, etc.
During the event, city representatives from Bonn, Germany and Nakuru, Kenya demonstrated their strong engagement vis-à-vis SDGs and human rights. Melanie Grabowy, Deputy Mayor, Bonn, talked about the two VLRs submitted by Bonn and how they relate to human rights. For instance, she mentioned the prohibition of child labour, assistance to refugees, the provision of adequate and affordable housing, gender equality and the engagement of city dwellers in public matters. She underlined that the VLR process played a very important role in the perception of Bonn at the international level and made it a bit easier for her city to be heard. She added that “there is today a clear demand from municipalities to take part in international policy-making processes”.
Nakuru, the 4th city in Kenya, is urbanizing very rapidly. Efforts are thus being made to ensure that its development is sustainable and that Nakuru becomes a “just city” for all its residents, including the “urban poor” who are often left aside, in the informal areas of the city. Recently embarked on a VLR process, Gitau Thabanja, City Manager, Nakuru, hopes that it will help his city get a better idea about where it stands on SDGs and identify gaps. Replying to a question about the benefits of Nakuru’s participation to the UPR, he stated that “it can offer the opportunity to benchmark with others and look at best practices elsewhere, so as not to reinvent the wheel”.
Robert Lewis-Lettington, Chief, land, housing and shelter section, UN Habitat, referred to the origins of the UN Habitat’s mandate, deeply rooted in human rights, in particular when it comes to housing, and water and sanitation. Further, Robert Lewis-Lettington also emphasized that all UN entities are bound by the UN charter and its 3 pillars, namely peace and security, development and human rights. It is therefore relevant for UN Habitat to engage with the UPR, a UN human rights mechanism, which addresses many topics lying at the heart of UN Habitat’s mandate.
The discussion that ensued with the audience was very lively, with:
- questions relating to the need for city planners to take into account the needs of older persons and persons with disabilities on housing issues,
- a commitment from a State representative to strengthen channels of dialogue with cities,
- an interesting debate about the links between SDGs and human rights and the voluntary nature of UPR recommendations (which can be accepted or simply “noted”), when human rights are actually legally binding obligations for States,
- the sharing of experiences from other city representatives about how they deploy human rights programmes.
As a conclusion, it was emphasized that no matter whether we talk about SDGs or human rights, the cities care for their population and cater to their needs and aspirations, regardless of the international framework used. Engaging at the international level to showcase that work, for instance through a VLR, is important for cities, as much in terms of outcome (overview of where a city stand in terms of SDGs implementation), than in terms of process (coordination among various municipal services, dialogue with national administration, connecting with other cities and learning from them, etc.). Engaging in UPR would provide the same benefits to LRGs and the GCH and its coalition partners will continue supporting their participation in this important human rights mechanism.
