Human rights have been one of the main focus areas of the UCLG Summit in Daejeon. The importance of strengthening the political commitment to human rights at the local level has been highlighted again in the presentation of the UCLG’s Committee on Social Inclusion, Participatory Democracy and Human Rights (UCLG-CISDPDH) global campaign “10, 100, 1,000 Human Rights Cities and Territories by 2030.”
The implementation of international human rights law is both a responsibility of local and regional governments and an opportunity for these governments to act on behalf of residents, to respond to their needs and aspirations and to ensure dignity for all. This is what has fueled the campaign to strive to gather 1,000 local and regional governments together from all over the world by 2030, with the aim of strengthening the global movement on “Human Rights Cities and Territories.”
By leveraging human rights as a vector of transformation and empowerment to revamp the socio-territorial contract with local communities, the Human Rights Cities and Territories campaign also emphasizes the importance of democracy and civic participation alongside collaboration with civil society and relevant organizations.
The campaign will promote the connection among local initiatives at the international level to promote solidarity, cooperation, and dialogue between cities and territories and to expand the global movement and momentum. It will also scale up local actions on human rights to foster recognition and participation of local and regional governments in human rights global agendas and mechanisms, while encouraging these governments to adopt and recognize local human rights frameworks to guide their actions.
All local and regional governments worldwide of all sizes, from all types of jurisdictions are welcome to join the campaign, provided they have a willingness to commit to the realization of human rights.