A/HRC/38/22 7. The Deputy High Commissioner noted that the role of local governments was strongly acknowledged in the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Beyond the relevance of Sustainable Development Goal 11, which focused on making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable, some other Goals were equally relevant. They included Goal 2 on ending hunger and achieving food security, Goal 3 on ensuring healthy lives, Goal 4 on inclusive and equitable quality education, Goal 6 on the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, Goal 8 on sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all, and Goal 16 on providing access to justice for all and building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. The fulfilment of those responsibilities required an overriding focus on inclusion and on leaving no one behind. The Deputy High Commissioner noted that this overriding goal had also been highlighted in the report of the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee on the role of local government in the promotion and protection of human rights (A/HRC/30/49), in which it had indicated that local governance must focus on non-discrimination, gender sensitivity, representation of minorities and active inclusion of those who were otherwise marginalized. 8. The Deputy High Commissioner noted that today, more people lived in cities than in rural areas and that urbanization was expanding at an unprecedented rate. She observed that rapid urbanization had often led to greater disparities, deeper inequality and more discrimination. However, she added that it was not too late to turn the corner, to open up new spaces and establish new infrastructures to truly humanize the environment for all. She added that there was no village, city or slum without people and there were no people without human rights that must be protected, respected and upheld. III. Statements by the panellists 9. The panel moderator, Mr. Fisher, observed that all levels of government had a responsibility for human rights and that local government as the level of government closest to the people could have a real and meaningful impact on people’s lives each and every day, and indeed often the greatest impact. He noted that services relating to health, housing, and water and sanitation were examples of economic, social and cultural rights implemented by local government. He added that local government also implemented civil and political rights by providing access to justice, facilitating the organization of peaceful protests, promoting and enforcing non-discrimination policies and undertaking gender mainstreaming. He noted that there was a very human story associated with local government as people were, to a considerable degree, a product of the communities where they had grown up and which had shaped their perceptions. 10. Ms. Pabel noted that the report of the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee contained a number of useful elements. It included a definition of local government and its role in the promotion and protection of human rights and a legal analysis of the human rights obligations of the authorities at the local level. She observed that work at the local level was rarely perceived as the implementation of human rights, either by the local authorities or by the public. As a result, human rights remained distant in most policies and practices at the local level, whereas they did actually concern human rights in practice. 11. She noted that the report explained the concept of a “human rights city”, a globally developed initiative aimed at localizing human rights. That concept was a promising approach to developing human rights governance in the local context, where local government, local parliaments, civil society, the private sector and other stakeholders cooperated to improve the quality of life for all people in a spirit of partnership based on human rights standards and norms. 12. Ms. Pabel recalled four recommendations contained in the report: (a) civil society should be actively involved in planning and implementation of human rights at the local level; (b) the relevant United Nations mechanisms should be encouraged to engage in a dialogue with local governments when monitoring domestic implementation of international human rights commitments and local authorities should be involved in the universal periodic review; (c) developments at the international level, such as new 3