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Human rights cities: great potential for improving fundamental rights in the EU

Cities as well as local and regional level governments are well placed to address many fundamental rights issues. Their work on many day-to-day issues are closely related to human rights, but far from always dealt with in those terms. The localisation of rights creates great opportunities to empower cities and other local governments. This was a key message from a group of experts and human rights cities' practitioners brought together by FRA on 27-28 November in Brussels.

Participants included local representatives from Vienna, Barcelona, Utrecht, the Gdansk Metropole, Turin, Bordeaux, the region Västra Götaland, cities networks such as UCLG (United Cities and Local Governments) and the human rights cities network, as well as th UN and several human rights experts.

Cities as well as local and regional level governments are well placed to address many fundamental rights issues. Their work on many day-to-day issues are closely related to human rights, but far from always dealt with in those terms. The localisation of rights creates great opportunities to empower cities and other local governments. This was one key messages from a group of experts and human rights cities' practitioners brought together by FRA on 27-28 November 2019 in Brussels.

Participants included local representatives from Vienna, Barcelona, Utrecht, the Gdansk Metropole, Turin, Bordeaux, the region Västra Götaland, cities networks such as UCLG (United Cities and Local Governments) and the human rights cities network, as well as United Nations Human Rights and several human rights experts, including Manfred Nowak and Olivier de Schutter.

Hosted by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), the participants elaborated a framework of commitments for human rights cities. Such a framework should closely related to EU instruments such as the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights, include guiding principles and rights, process-related commitments such as transparency or accountability. It will also include concrete examples on how these principles have been addressed locally.

Participants called for a stronger involvement of FRA to support the establishment of easy model of review and accreditation and also to facilitate strengthening of human rights cities through research and guidance on funding.

The meeting also provided opportunities to hear from the Regional representative of the UN Human Rights Office, Birgit Van Hout, about the history and development of human rights cities; and from the President of the EESC Group of Fundamental Rights and the Rule of Law, José Antonio Moreno Diaz, about the important role of civil society and the local level for their work.

The meeting follows up on a 'Policy Lab' co-organised by FRA and the City of Vienna in 2018, on strengthening the human rights cities initiative in Europe.