A/HRC/42/22 while certain counties and cities have their own action plans for inclusion. Three municipalities in Croatia have joined the European Alliance of Cities and Regions for Roma Inclusion,15 and others participated in Roma inclusion projects. In Portugal, the city of Lisbon addresses discrimination against minorities through the SOMOS programme, 16 a human rights education programme that fosters social cohesion by raising awareness and offering training to city officials. In Colombia, the city of Medellín has implemented a cultural plan to consolidate peace and democratic participation, recognizing the cultural rights of persons from, inter alia, the Afro-Colombian, indigenous and internally displaced populations.17 16. Cities and local governments also play a critical role in tackling the challenge posed by large flows of people within and between countries in a manner that guarantees their rights. The Mexican state of Coahuila de Zaragoza, a place of transit, reception and residence for migrants, developed article 14 of the Civil Registry Law for the State of Coahuila de Zaragoza, which guarantees the right to identity for all, regardless of a person’s immigration status. In Barcelona, Spain, a “neighbourhood document” that attests a person’s connections with the city, and can be produced by migrants in an irregular situation before procedures of expulsion or internment. Likewise, in Canada, the city of Montreal adopted an action plan for 2018–2021 dedicated to the integration of newcomers in order to build inclusive communities. 17. A number of local governments have taken harm-reduction measures for people who use drugs: in Liège, Belgium, a drug consumption room has been opened to reduce the risks of blood-borne disease transmission and overdose; the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality in South Africa has invested in harm reduction to make sterile injecting equipment and opioid substitution therapy available; while in Buenos Aires, legislators and civil servants sought advice from the non-governmental organization Intercambios when developing harm reduction interventions in nightclubs. 18 Given the challenge that tobacco poses to the right to health, cantons in Switzerland have passed local smoke-free air laws, leading the federal Government to draft federal legislation highlighting the fact that local governments may act before national Governments, and influence them. 19 18. Civil society plays an important role at the local level where there is a legislative implementation gap. Cities for CEDAW 20 empowers civil society and municipalities to implement the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women despite existing domestic law voids created by non-ratification (for example, by enacting ordinances requiring local government to address gender inequality, 21 such as Ordinance No. NS-300.919 in the County of Santa Clara).22 III. Effective methods to foster cooperation between local government and local stakeholders for the promotion and protection of human rights 19. Political will, together with openness and transparency, on the part of local governments is essential to facilitate cooperation for the promotion and protection of human rights. Greece reported a “strong feeling of social consciousness” within local 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/roma_croatia_strategy_en.pdf. See www.romaalliance.org/uploads/bloc770/list_of_cities_and_regions_participating_to_the_alliance.pdf. See https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/coyote-magazine/somos. See www.agenda21culture.net/sites/default/files/files/good_practices/medellin-eng_def.pdf (submission by UN-Habitat). Submission by Harm Reduction International. Submission by Action on Smoking and Health. http://citiesforcedaw.org/background/. Submission by the Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy of the Northeastern University School of Law and the Columbia Human Rights Institute. Submission by Santa Clara University School of Law. 5