Cities as critical actors in the national & international human rights systems

When talking about National Human Rights Systems, one rarely thinks about cities or local authorities as domestic actors who have a key role in the implementation of international human rights law. Yet, they clearly do address human rights concerns because of their key role in public service delivery and of their proximity to their residents.

The human rights engagement of cities is not new. It dates back to the late 1990s, when several cities started to explicitly refer to international human rights law in their municipal policies, eventually even calling themselves “human rights cities”. Today, many cities have followed the trend and have committed to human rights. What lessons can be drawn from these experiences at national level? To what extent have these cities relied on international human rights law as a framework to guide their urban policies? How have they cooperated with other national human rights actors, in particular State institutions?

At the international level, cities or local authorities have to date remained at a certain distance from the UN human rights system, which is firmly based on the premise of State sovereignty. Several non-State actors, such as NGOs, NHRIs, academia, have however made their way into the system and are now major contributors to its functioning. Given the role of cities in the implementation of human rights at local level, better including them in the international system certainly brings added value. It is not about the dilution of States’ primary responsibility to respect, protect and fulfil human rights on their territory. Rather, it is about recognizing that local authorities have a complementary role to play and shared responsibilities when it comes to making human rights real on the ground. So, how can cities strengthen their links with the international human rights system? And how can international human rights debates and decisions better trickle down to the local level?

Key questions to be addressed during the event:

• What lessons can be drawn from cities which have committed to human rights, in terms of concrete added value for urban dwellers (enhanced public services, inclusive municipal governance, authorities’ accountability, etc.)?
• What connections have human rights cities developed with the international human rights framework and system?
• To what extent do human rights cities cooperate with national actors, incl. the State’s institutions on human rights issues?
• How can the international human rights system better integrate local authorities? Pros and cons and for what impact on the ground?

The event is part of the 2021 Annual Conference of the Geneva Human Rights Platform

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