A/HRC/42/22 upon the submissions received for the present report, hold important lessons for local governments seeking to further align their legal framework, policies and programmes with human rights norms. 7. Local governments have put in place strategies and action plans to advance human rights and incorporate human rights into public administration. In Albania, laws on local self-governance and the Strategy for Decentralization and Local Government (2015–2020) enable municipalities to deliver local social services, maintain a healthy environment and promote sustainable development. In Mexico, 20 local governments published a human rights programme and 23 states have a human rights office. The Republic of Korea has adopted local government ordinances concerning human rights. Some ordinances provide for the establishment of local human rights committees to review the local government’s human rights action plan and to advise on local human rights issues; for example, in 2012, the city of Seoul enacted a human rights ordinance. Seoul has a human rights department, and it incorporates human rights into public administration through its human rights action plan for 2018–2022. In Indonesia, local authorities have the power to introduce local regulations on human rights; 10 local regulations on human rights were passed in Pakpak Bharat alone.3 In Spain, the city of Madrid developed a strategic plan incorporating human rights, gender and intersectionality in municipal policies. Its human rights forum allows for involvement in policy design and evaluation, while its strategic framework for 2018–2021 for the policy of global citizenship and international cooperation, based on human rights, 4 influences municipal policy planning. In Canada, the city of Montreal has adopted human rights-related declarations that underpin its activities and guidelines, policies and practices that ensure diverse participation in municipal life. 8. Local governments help to advance human rights through independent periodic reviews. For instance, civil society in Geneva prepared an “independent periodic review” of fundamental rights,5 pursuant to article 42 of the Constitution of the Republic and Canton of Geneva. This legal provision enables civil society to hold local authorities to account in the realization of human rights. 9. Local governments are play a critical role in ensuring the progressive realization of economic and social rights, such as the right to adequate housing. One such example can be seen in the city of Terrassa, in Spain. Since 2013, the government has sanctioned banks that leave their properties empty for “non-compliance with the social use of housing”. It has also engaged in strategic litigation by filing an appeal with the Constitutional Court to uphold the application of such sanctions to promote the right to housing and challenge the commodification of housing. Local governments in Barcelona (Spain), Amsterdam, New York and Montevideo address gentrification through their policies, aware that an adequate housing strategy safeguards human rights, particularly in urban areas where inequality, homelessness and gentrification are rising. 6 To date, six cities have adopted the Homeless Bill of Rights.7 10. Local governments can also help to ensure that new technologies effectively reduce existing inequalities and encourage the use of technology to increase human rights protection at the local level. In Amsterdam, for instance, OpenCity Amsterdam facilitates residents’ input in policymaking by providing digital participation tools. 8 In Barcelona, an “open digitization plan” resulted in the Ethical Digital Standards policy toolkit, designed to help cities to develop transparent digital policies.9 The Cities Coalition for Digital Rights 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Submission by the International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development. See www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/LocalGvt//Local/20190218Madrid3.pdf. See http://libradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Rapport_EPI_2019.pdf. Submission by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat). See www.housingrightswatch.org/billofrights. www.amsterdam.nl/bestuur-organisatie/meedenken-meepraten/openstad-online/. See www.barcelona.cat/digitalstandards/en/init/0.1/index.html. 3