A/HRC/28/62 B. Access to justice at the local and subnational levels 66. The Advisory Committee to the Human Rights Council has suggested that the protection of human rights requires independent mechanisms as a vital means of safeguarding human rights and making the protective role of local authorities more visible.61 Examples of such local mechanisms include local or national ombuds offices; city level human rights commissions, such as in Bosnia and Herzegovina; national and state/provincial level human rights commissions with jurisdiction over subnational level governments; and elected people’s councils at the municipal level to address human rights complaints.62 67. The establishment of local human rights mechanisms provides a vehicle through which the right to adequate housing might be protected. For example, in Portugal, the Ombudsman has received an increasing number of housing related complaints and has directly encouraged a municipality to refrain from undertaking evictions and demolitions and to monitor the situation.63 68. Other emerging mechanisms, such as performance contracts which stipulate socioeconomic indicators and targets that municipal officials must meet,64 can similarly be used as an accountability mechanism at the local level for the right to adequate housing. 69. In the context of housing, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has established that national level housing strategies based on human rights are a critical component of ensuring the enjoyment of the right to adequate housing. The Special Rapporteur notes that subnational and local strategies based on human rights with measureable goals, timelines and complaints procedures, properly coordinated with national strategies, are equally critical to the realization of the right to adequate housing. VIII. Conclusions and recommendations 70. Effective implementation of the right to adequate housing cannot be achieved without the proactive involvement of local and subnational governments. Just as there are key responsibilities assigned or delegated to local and subnational governments within their domestic spheres of competence, there are also obligations to which they are bound in international human rights law as related to the right to adequate housing. 71. Although the drive for decentralization can resonate with many core values linked to the right to adequate housing, including local empowerment, meaningful engagement, and enhanced accountability and transparency, decentralization is not always favourable to the implementation of the right to adequate housing. Proximity to stakeholders is only a positive feature if local and other subnational levels of government have the necessary resources and the administrative capacity to perform the functions accorded them; if they are cognizant of human rights, accountable and responsive to stakeholders; if meaningful participatory mechanisms are in place; if 61 62 63 64 See the progress report of the Advisory Committee on the role of local government in the promotion and protection of human rights, including human rights mainstreaming in local administration and public services (A/HRC/27/59), para. 48. Response to questionnaire from Egypt (see note 2 above). Response to questionnaire from the Ombudsman of Portugal (see note 2 above). Response to questionnaire from the Rwanda Human Rights Commission (see note 2 above). 19