A/HRC/38/22 24. Ms. Gikonyo identified several lessons with respect to public participation and human rights. Democratization of institutions was one of the strongest indicators of political will, as well as separation of powers, horizontal accountability and protection of public servants from executive interference in administrative processes. Democratization of information was also key because access to information was an enabling right for public participation. The conceptualization of public participation into minimalist administrative requirements, as opposed to dynamic participatory processes in local governance, was one of the biggest challenges. She said that there was a need for models of service delivery rooted in partnerships with local communities and supported by principles of transparency, oversight by the public and revenue-sharing with local communities. She added that the community-centred service delivery model challenged the private sector model that many Governments used. 25. With respect to Sustainable Development Goal 6 on ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, Ms. Gikonyo said that this was a problem in Kenya, many residents were not connected to a waste management system and that more public participation was needed. Concerning Goal 8 on promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all, she noted that the informal sector represented 82.7 per cent of employment in Kenya. She also noted that although public policy broadly reflected that reality, efforts to promote integration into the formal economy and support the sector had largely not succeeded. Even though the informal sector continued to grow, it had not received the support that it needed. City planning processes had marginalized informal trade and informal traders continued to be harassed. She added that redistributive policies were tokenistic. State capture and the resultant corruption remained the biggest barriers to the implementation of the progressive laws that had been adopted. 26. Concerning civil society, Ms. Gikonyo said that in Africa, it had been called upon to play a dual role of fostering transition politics while helping to consolidate democratic gains. However, the space for civil society to act in had been shrinking around the world, including in Africa and in Kenya in particular. She said that there was a need to increase support for civil society so that it could engage on issues of local governance and advocate against the capture of local institutions and the resultant manifestations. IV. Summary of the discussion 27. During the discussion, contributions were made by representatives of Brazil, Chile, Egypt, Georgia, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Madagascar, the Republic of Korea (on behalf of four member States) and Romania. The following non-governmental organizations (NGOs) also made contributions: United Cities and Local Governments and the International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development. A. General observations 28. Many speakers noted that local government was the level of government closest to the people, the most visible and most accessible. It was further noted that this proximity of local government was not only physical but also ethnic and cultural in some cases. A number of speakers remarked that because local government was most frequently responsible for a range of basic and essential services for communities, such as education, health care, housing, water and sanitation, they were inextricably involved in the fulfilment of people’s human rights. It was pointed out that the role of local government was not limited to economic, social and cultural rights, but also included civil and political rights. An example given was the obligation to facilitate the right to peaceful assembly. It was noted that local government has an obligation to secure equality and justice for everyone at the local level and in particular to protect the human rights of women and specific groups, such as children, minorities, persons with disabilities, migrants, refugees and the poor and marginalized. 29. It was stressed that the proximity of local government to the people was an asset. It could be used to facilitate a continuous dialogue with individuals and groups concerning the protection and promotion of their human rights. One speaker said that local government 6