A/HRC/30/49 resources, which are not available everywhere; this should be taken into consideration both at the national and international level. It should be particularly emphasized that, whatever powers that are conferred upon local authorities, they would not be effective if no financial resources were available to carry them out. 23. The principle of shared responsibility of different tiers of government for the protection and promotion of human rights has been on several occasions underlined by the United Nations human rights treaty bodies. Thus, in its General Comment No. 4 (the right to adequate housing), the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights noted that States parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights should take steps “to ensure coordination between ministries and regional and local authorities in order to reconcile related policies (economics, agriculture, environment, energy, etc.) with the obligations under article 11 of the Covenant”. 8 IV. Role of local government in the protection and promotion of human rights 24. The legislation of a number of States – in some cases, at the constitutional level – explicitly requires local government to respect human rights (e.g. Australia, Côte d’Ivoire, Morocco and Slovenia). In some other States, the respective constitutional requirement applies to all public powers (e.g. Austria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, Kenya, Lithuania, Malaysia, South Sudan, Spain and Togo). In Luxembourg, the powers of the communes must be exercised in accordance with the law, which means that they are obliged to observe human rights guaranteed by the law. In some countries, the duty of local government to observe human rights is limited in the law to specific rights or principles. For instance, the Local Self-Government Act of Serbia stipulates that municipalities must ensure promotion and protection of the rights of national minorities and ethnic groups. In Slovenia, municipal administrations are required by law to take care of gender mainstreaming. In Ireland, the local government legislation does not specifically provide for the promotion and protection of human rights, but in discharging their functions local authorities are required to have regard for the need to promote social inclusion. Similarly, the legislation on local governments in India does not specifically mention protection of human rights among their responsibilities; however, the constitutionally mandated municipal functions directly relate to core human rights, such as implementation of initiatives for democratic inclusion, welfare measures and the local justice system. 25. Having an explicit legal provision which obliges local government to promote and protect human rights appears to be a more preferable approach. Local authorities are thus made aware of their human rights responsibilities, understanding that any failure to comply with these responsibilities will entail their liability under national law as well as international responsibility of the State as a whole. Further, such a provision imposes a clear obligation on local authorities to apply a human rights-based approach to delivering public services within their defined competences. Consequently, it may well encourage rights holders to claim their rights vis-à-vis local authorities. 26. Local authorities are close to citizens’ everyday needs and they deal with human right issues on an everyday basis. Therefore, there exists a clear and strong connection between human rights and local government. When performing their functions, local 8 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights General Comment No. 4, the right to adequate housing (art. 11 (1) of the Covenant), para. 12, adopted at the Sixth Session of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, on 13 December 1991, available from http://www.refworld.org/docid/47a7079a1.html. 7