A/HRC/31/55 4. Local partnerships 85. One approach taken in building local support for defenders is to expand membership of the support community, beyond defenders and other “usual” allies. The leadership of local communities constitutes not only government officials but also informal community leaders, indigenous chiefs, religious figures, businesspersons and other figures of local authority. Working in partnership with local leaders can insulate defenders from threats and attacks and assist in holding the State to account for failures in protection. 86. Defenders often seek support from local religious leaders to gain legitimacy for their activities and to underscore the compatibility of human rights with religious beliefs. The support of religious leaders can often facilitate access for defenders to communities, including marginalized groups within those communities. Religious groups can also shield defenders at risk by providing sanctuary and making otherwise marginalized individuals more visible and accepted by the community. 87. In a similar way, business leaders can also be important partners. The Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (A/HRC/17/31, annex) recognize that business has a crucial role to play in the protection and promotion of human rights. While specific business practices may be challenged by defenders for labour and environmental concerns, the business community should nonetheless support human rights movements. The condemnation of violations by members of the business community not only legitimizes defenders’ concerns but also builds opposition to bad business practices. Defenders have learned to successfully resolve local issues by involving more senior business leadership, whether at its national or international headquarters or within its director or shareholder governance mechanisms. In addition, business leaders, with their economic and political influence, can draw in the broader support of society. 5. Human rights cities 88. While the State has primary responsibility to promote and protect human rights, local governments have a complementary role to play. The decentralization of governance and rising urbanization require local governments to assume more responsibility for services vital to human rights protection. As local governments are closer to citizens’ everyday needs, they deal with human right issues on a daily basis.20 As fundamentally local actors, defenders are well-placed to partner with local government to develop a safe and enabling environment. 89. A good practice in this regard is the development of “human rights cities”, places where a human rights framework guides the development of community life. The vision of a human rights city has been articulated in a number of joint declarations of local governments, beginning with the European Charter for the Safeguarding of Human Rights in the City (2000) and culminating more recently with the Gwangju Human Rights Charter (2012). In this vision, the city and its government are a key conduit for the expression, association and assembly of defenders.21 90. Local governments committed to human rights have established such protection mechanisms as ombudsmen, commissions and multi-stakeholder councils to safeguard defenders. They help to monitor and respond to the local situation and to connect local awareness with local social and political action. These mechanisms also encompass tools to survey and report upon the human rights situation within the city; for example, the Gwangju community has developed a human rights indicator that consolidates the 20 21 16 See A/HRC/AC/14/CRP.1, para. 23. European Charter for Safeguarding Human Rights in the City, art. IX(2).