On 26 June, the Global Cities Hub (GCH) participated in a side event during the UN Human Rights Council session on “Current challenges to the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of peaceful protests.”
While UN Human Rights Council Resolution 56/10 (2024) already recognizes the role of local and regional governments (LRGs), GCH argued that this dimension should be further strengthened.
Human rights standards are universal, but their implementation depends largely on decisions taken at the local level. Every protest requires practical choices by municipal authorities and law enforcement, including crowd management, public safety, traffic regulation, protection of property, dialogue with organizers and operational policing. Yet international human rights mechanisms continue to focus primarily on national legislation and state accountability.
GCH called for a more operational approach in future Human Rights Council work, recognizing LRGs as key actors in implementing the rights to peaceful assembly and protest. Future reports could draw on the experience of local and regional authorities from different governance systems and explore practical guidance for rights-compliant protest management.
One proposal presented by GCH was the development of a concise practical guide for local authorities and police officers—similar to an airline safety card—summarizing the essential human rights principles to be part of the each and every police officer equipment whenever peaceful protests are managed on the ground.