A/HRC/30/49
address the challenges in their own contexts, such as a district city within a metropolitan
city and an urban-rural complex area.
62.
Seoul, the capital of the Republic of Korea, has also declared itself a human rights
city and adopted an ordinance in 2012 to protect and promote human rights for its citizens.
The ordinance establishes a Human Rights Division within the City Government, human
rights policies, a Human Rights Ombudsperson, as well as concrete measures and
guidelines to safeguard adequate housing and protect citizens from forced evictions. Other
human rights ordinances include the Ordinance on the Promotion of Human Rights of
Persons with Disabilities and the Ordinance on the Protection and Promotion of Human
Rights of the Child and Youth. Human rights mechanisms include the Human Rights
Division, which carries out human rights education programmes and builds cooperation
with civil society, the Ombudsperson, the Seoul Committee on Human Rights and the
Citizen Jury on Human Rights Cases. Major policies on human rights implemented by the
Human Rights Division include the Seoul Action Plan on Human Rights, to mainstream
human rights in overall administration. Human rights sensitivity has been enhanced through
human rights education for civil servants and by supporting human rights organizations and
activities.
63.
Like Brazil’s groundbreaking City Statute (2001), the Mexico City Charter also
establishes new rights at a collective dimension of certain individual rights, such as the
social function of property. This is a key component of the right to the city that entails
fundamental urban reforms and the redistribution and regulation of urban land for the
purpose of constructing a more just and inclusive city. The Mexico City Charter also
incorporates at least two important principles addressing the right to the city as first
articulated by Lefebvre: (a) the right to participate in decisions affecting urban inhabitants
and the production of urban space; and (b) the right to appropriate urban space in favour of
its use value over exchange value. Notably, these components include legal rights, social
and political claims and material conditions.
64.
The Alliance for Democracy and Tolerance against Extremism and Violence focuses
on transferring successful projects and possible solutions among municipalities across
regions of Germany. In certain cities, local equality bodies as well as regional commissions,
human rights centres, equality bodies and other institutions are established by regional or
local governments and maintained by law. 27 The “human rights city council” of the City of
Graz (Austria) stands as one example.28
65.
In Slovenia, the Local Government Act (§39) defines rights of national minorities
and Roma population to have a formal representation in municipal council, and other
municipalities might establish municipal bodies to deal with human rights issues. The
programme for solving settlement issues of the Roma population is managed by the State
and financially supported by the State budget.
66.
In the United States, human rights mainstreaming in local administration is taking
place through initiatives such as Bringing Human Rights Home: How State and Local
Governments Can Use Human Rights to Advance Local Policy. It includes aspirational
commitments to, and raising awareness of, human rights, reframing local concerns as
human rights issues, reporting on local compliance with human rights treaties, conducting
human rights-based audits and impact assessments, and fostering participatory governance.
The federal role in respecting and ensuring human rights at the state and local level includes
fostering additional reporting, monitoring and education initiatives. The Human Rights
27
28
16
Austria, European Training and Research Centre for Human Rights and Democracy.
Ibid..
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