A/HRC/42/22 Korea, which has developed a human rights training course for public officials in Gangwon Province. 26. Dialogue and cooperation between local governments and civil society has assisted the former in developing knowledge of human rights and has served as a catalyst for human rights progress at the local level. For instance, in São Paulo, Brazil, a special committee for homeless persons (Comitê Intersetorial da Política Municipal para a População em Situação de Rua), which comprises equal members from government and civil society, held public hearings, evaluated public policies addressing homelessness and identified access to housing as a major priority, which led to the establishment of a subcommittee to address homelessness more effectively. In Vienna, a two-year participative process involving local government and civil society led to the declaration of Vienna as a human rights city. 30 In Sweden, the outreach campaign conducted in the municipality of Pitea had the objective of finding solutions to human rights issues by working with civil society. 31 Likewise, in Nuremberg, Germany, a human rights office engages with civil society through a round table on human rights, the “curatorium” for integration and human rights and committees for persons with disabilities, and for refugees and migrants. 27. Inter-institutional agreements can be particularly helpful in allowing local governments to mainstream human rights. In the Plurinational State of Bolivia, interinstitutional agreements foster cooperation between local government and local stakeholders for the promotion and protection of human rights. In January 2019, a cooperation agreement was signed between the municipal governments of La Paz and El Alto regarding the disposal of waste and the prevention of endemic diseases, while another agreement was concluded between the city of Tarija, the Ministry of Planning and the National Fund for Productive and Social Investment for projects to provide rural areas with drinking water. Inter-institutional agreements that adopt a human rights-based approach can be an effective way to give effect not only to the right to water and sanitation but also to the right to an adequate standard of living. 28. Partnerships between local government, civil society and international actors have been another important way to foster cooperation to overcome local challenges. Since the refugee crisis of 2015, civil society organizations and international actors have worked with municipalities in Greece on human rights protection. Local governments, supported by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and funded by European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (European Union), have been able to implement the Raising awareness and Empowerment Against Child Trafficking (REACT) project and the Emergency Support to Immigration and Accommodation (ESTIA) programme, aimed at, inter alia, ensuring decent living conditions by providing refugees with health care and education. 32 The Mediterranean City-to-City Migration programme, 33 which helps improve rights-based migration governance in North African and MiddleEastern cities,34 operates through partnership and the exchange of good practices with cities in Europe, with a focus on the integration and inclusion of migrants. 29. In some countries, agreements have been reached between governments and local authorities to strengthen human rights at the local level. In Sweden, for instance, an agreement was signed in 2014 by the Government and the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions, a body composed of all municipalities and county councils that represents and advocates for local governments. The agreement, which provides for, inter alia, steps to increase awareness of human rights among elected officials and civil servants, is an effective means to ensure compliance with human rights commitments that have an impact on municipal and county council activities. 30 31 32 33 34 See www.wien.gv.at/english/social/integration/pdf/human-rights-declaration.pdf. Submission by the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions and the Raoul Wallenberg Institute for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. See https://ec.europa.eu/echo/blog/home-away-home-refugees-greece-empowered-through-rentedaccommodation-and-cash-assistance_en. https://ec.europa.eu/trustfundforafrica/region/north-africa/regional/mediterranean-city-city-migrationmc2cm-phase-ii_en. Submission by UN-Habitat. 7