A/HRC/30/49 people. In this respect, the quality of the services that local governments provide to such groups “tests” the degree to which local governments in practice respect human rights. 10 30. In a number of countries, efforts are made to mainstream human rights into local authorities’ activities. Thus, measures are taken to foster participatory governance, to conduct human rights-based audits and impact assessments, to reframe local concerns as human rights issues, to establish procedures for verifying the compatibility of local policies and regulations with human rights, to report on local compliance with human rights treaties, to provide systematic human rights training to local civil servants, to raise public awareness of human rights, etc. Drafting a local human rights charter (or human rights ordinance)11 setting out specific human rights responsibilities that fall upon the local government can be regarded as another important step towards localizing human rights. In this context, it is highly desirable that local authorities have human rights offices with sufficient human and financial resources that could fully take charge of human rights issues within the respective local competences. V. Main challenges faced by local governments in the protection and promotion of human rights 31. The main challenges faced by local governments in the protection and promotion of human rights are political, economic and administrative. The biggest challenge facing local governments is lack of political will, particularly in countries with non-democratic systems or with incipient democracies. This is exacerbated by political conflicts and tensions in the country. Local governments in such States suffer from a lack of autonomy and the absence of long-term vision/planning and/or commitment. In some cases, tensions and power struggles may exist between central and local governments, especially in situations of instability or conflict. Furthermore, in States with a highly centralistic structure it may also be difficult to develop a strong political effort for human rights at the local level. The lack of autonomy and self-government inhibits the accountability and the sense of responsibility for the implementation of human rights. Centralized policies and structural adjustment measures may often impede the observance of human rights in local governments. 32. A second challenge to local governments that obstructs their implementation and promotion of human rights is shortage in institutional capacity and/or resources, due either to the lack of political will to enable local governments, or to the difficult economic situation in the country. The report of the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to nondiscrimination in this context, Leilani Farha, on the roles of local and other subnational levels of government, highlights the conclusion that “decentralization is not always favourable to the implementation of the right of adequate housing” (A/HRC/28/62, para. 71). For even though decentralization is potentially conducive to participatory democracy, citizen engagement, transparency and accountability, these positive features remain contingent on the existence of mechanisms and political will to implement democratic governance. Lack of the necessary resources and budgets to finance the implementation of projects and services at the local level undermines the ability of local governments and detracts from their legitimacy in local communities. 10 11 Ibid. Human rights ordinances adopted in several cities in the United States of America, beginning with the San Francisco Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women ordinance, could be specifically mentioned, as they represent a good example of incorporation of human rights into local policies and measures. 9