A/HRC/42/22 Sustainable Development Goals than cities that ignored human rights when pursuing sustainable development. 34. Local governments can help to raise awareness about the Sustainable Development Goals by using traditional and innovative methods. In the Plurinational State of Bolivia, the city of La Paz participated in the XII Ibero-American Congress of Municipalities, and signed a “letter of commitment of Ibero-American local governments” to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.46 In Norway, local governments raise awareness through local stakeholder participation and the development by local authorities of municipal planning strategies and masterplans promoting sustainable land use. The city of Utrecht in the Netherlands promotes efforts to reach the Sustainable Development Goals by focusing on educating local stakeholders and connecting local initiatives with national and international developments. Its global goals dashboard presents local data relating to the Sustainable Development Goals, and shows municipal employees how their work relates to them. 35. Regional and international networks raise awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals. The OHCHR Regional Office for Europe held a brainstorming session with the mayors of Palermo (Italy), Gdańsk (Poland), Malmö (Sweden) and Bristol (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) on leveraging cities’ commitment to human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals in May 2018. Informal networks47 enable cities to discuss localizing the Sustainable Development Goals.48 At the 2018 World Human Rights Cities Forum, held in Gwangju, Republic of Korea, 49 the connections between the cities’ human rights projects and the actions needed to implement the Sustainable Development Goals were considered; participants ultimately decided to adopt a 2030 Gwangju agenda for human rights cities by 2020.50 At the World Congress and World Council of United Cities and Global Governments, to be held in Durban, South Africa in November 2019, local governments will discuss progress in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.51 36. Voluntary reviews of the Sustainable Development Goals are important ways for local governments to follow up on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. The ministerial declaration adopted in 2017 at the high-level political forum on sustainable development underlined the importance of involving local authorities in voluntary national reviews. 52 The participatory process followed by the State of Hawaii and the City of Honolulu to implement the Sustainable Development Goals in Hawaii includes a voluntary local review for the high-level political forum in 2019. Self-assessment by local governments on progress in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals can be a valuable tool. The sustainability report prepared by the City of Nuremberg 53 reflected on the policies and programmes initiated concerning each Goal, the connection between the Goals and human rights, and the local challenges faced. 37. Many local governments pursue strategies linked to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. For instance, the City of Sucre in the Plurinational State of Bolivia, assisted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and a civil society steering group, will develop a strategy to localize the Goals. In Malaysia, local governments are implementing the Goals by means of “go green” strategies involving, for example, harvesting rain water or free low-carbon emission city buses. Mexico uses State human rights programmes as a tool in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda by local governments. In Madrid, a localization strategy for the Goals is informed by its human rights-based policy of global citizenship and international cooperation. 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 See http://localizingthesdgs.org/index.php/story/view/147. See http://nws.eurocities.eu/MediaShell/media/Concept_note_SAF_Utrecht_FINAL.pdf. Submission by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. See www.whrcf.org/E_p1100.php. See www.uclg-cisdp.org/en/news/latest-news/new-alliances-aimed-putting-human-rights-heart-2030agendas-gwangju-hosts. www.uclg.org/en/media/events/uclg-world-congress-and-world-council. www.un.org.ecosoc/files/files/en/2017doc/2017_draft_ministerial_declaration_hlpf-hls.pdf. See www.nuernberg.de/imperia/md/umweltreferat/dokumente/4_nachhaltigkeitsbericht.pdf. 9