A/HRC/30/49 33. A third challenge is the lack of adequate coordination between central and local governments. A problem also arises where laws regarding the competence sharing between central government and local government are not simple, accessible and clear. A clear-cut division of powers between the different tiers of government is the precondition for the establishment of accountability, and hence the precondition for the implementation of human rights. It must become self-understood that every authority provided with public powers has to respect, protect and fulfil human rights. The linkage between the exercise of public powers and the observance of human rights is often/sometimes neglected at the local level. 34. A further challenge is the lack of information about the requirements resulting from human rights at the local level. Every person in charge of the local government must be aware of the obligations imposed by human rights. Often this awareness lacks a wellfounded knowledge about the content and the scope of human rights. As a result, many local governments fail to understand and incorporate human rights into local policy and practice. Efforts to increase human rights coordination are marred by a lack of transparency.12 35. The fifth challenge to local governments is the non-recognition of the role and contributions from civil society. This is usually coupled with a lack of understanding of human rights at the local government level. Failure to recognize and work with civil society curtails efforts by local governments to reach marginalized communities. 36. Another challenge to local government is the absence of human rights obligations in the priorities of donor and international development agencies in the context of decentralization. For example, in Indonesia, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the United Nations Development Programme and other donor agencies promoted decentralization while disregarding human rights.13 VI. Human rights mechanisms at the local level 37. The protection of human rights requires independent human rights mechanisms. Such mechanisms may take different forms in different communities, and there are several examples that could serve as a model for the implementation of human rights at the local level – local ombudspersons, consumer complaints boards, patient injury boards, antidiscrimination agencies, etc. The competences and structures of these mechanisms can be very diverse, but they must be seen as important means of safeguarding human rights and handling citizens’ complaints at first instance. Importantly, the establishment of a local human rights mechanism gives visibility to the role of local authorities in human rights protection. In order for them to effectively discharge their functions, these should be provided with sufficient human and financial resources and be accessible to everyone within the respective locality. 38. The European Charter for the Safeguarding of Human Rights in the City, adopted in Saint-Denis in 2000,14 provides for the creation of ombudspersons as a prevention 12 13 14 10 Human Rights Institute, Columbia Law School. Christopher Silver, “Do the donors have it right? Decentralization and changing local governance in Indonesia”, in Globalization and Urban Development, Harry W. Richardson and Chang-Hee Christine Bae, eds. (Berlin, Springer, 2005). Quoted in Report of the Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, para. 25. This important document is the result of the preparatory work initiated in Barcelona in 1998 in the framework of the Conference “Cities for Human Rights”, which was organized to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Hundreds of mayors and political