38/22 Summary of the intersessional panel discussion on the role of local government in the promotion and protection of human rights - Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

GE.18-06181(E)

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Human Rights Council Thirty-eighth session

18 June–6 July 2018

Agenda items 2 and 3

Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner

for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the

High Commissioner and the Secretary-General

Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,

political, economic, social and cultural rights,

including the right to development

Summary of the intersessional panel discussion on the role of local government in the promotion and protection of human rights

Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

Summary

The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 33/8.

It provides a summary of the intersessional panel discussion on the role of local

government in the promotion and protection of human rights, held on 4 September 2017.

United Nations A/HRC/38/22

I. Introduction

1. The Human Rights Council, in its resolution 33/8, decided to convene between its

thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth sessions a panel discussion on the role of local government in

the promotion and protection of human rights, the objective of which was to identify ways

in which local governments could promote, protect and fulfil human rights effectively,

particularly in the context of implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,

in close cooperation with national Governments. The Council requested the United Nations

High Commissioner for Human Rights to liaise with States and all stakeholders, including

relevant United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, the treaty bodies, the relevant

special procedures of the Human Rights Council, national human rights institutions and

civil society, with a view to ensuring their participation in the panel discussion.

2. In resolution 33/8, the Human Rights Council also requested the High

Commissioner to prepare a report on the panel discussion in the form of a summary and to

submit it to the Council at its thirty-eighth session. The present report was prepared

pursuant to that request.

3. The Deputy High Commissioner opened the panel discussion, which was moderated

by John Fisher, Director of the Human Rights Watch office in Geneva. The panellists were

Katharina Pabel, member of the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee and Professor

of Public Law at the University of Linz; An Hee-jung, Governor of South Chungcheong

Province, Republic of Korea; Sara Sekkenes, adviser on conflict prevention and

partnerships, Governance and Peacebuilding Group, United Nations Development

Programme (UNDP); and Wanjiru Gikonyo, national coordinator and a founder of the

Institute for Social Accountability.

II. Opening statement

4. In her opening statement, the Deputy High Commissioner said that the panel

discussion was concerned with power, possibility, purpose and proximity in governance. It

was a question of how the most local, proximate and immediate powers of government

might humanize, rather than dehumanize, their inhabitants and their environment. It was a

tale of this third, sometimes even fourth, tier of the government of a State, which was most

directly accessible and thus potentially most accountable, to the people, and which had not

yet been brought sufficiently to the centre stage of the human rights story.

5. The Deputy High Commissioner added that this concerned all individuals in their

daily lives and the services, utilities, freedoms and spaces that were the tangible

manifestations of human rights that had been set out in the International Covenant on

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political

Rights. That affected how the State worked at the local level to ensure that schools, courts,

hospitals, roads, police, community centres, garbage removal and water and sanitation

systems were woven together to craft a habitat that enabled the population to go about their

daily lives in dignity, hope and productive endeavour.

6. The Deputy High Commissioner stated that the right to contribute to governments at

all levels was deeply embedded in the human rights storyline and manifestly essential to

democracy at the local level. She stressed that civil society was not merely a partner for

effective local administration; it operated so that people could come together to tackle

shared problems, express common aspirations, pursue common interests and alert the

authorities to issues ranging from new needs to long-standing problems. Civil society

organizations were essential strategic and operational partners for local governments. They

had a consultative role to assist in human rights planning and implementation. They also

had a monitoring and assessment role concerning the way in which local governments were

implementing human rights. They acted as capacity-builders that could help to strengthen

the human rights expertise and awareness of local government officials and provided a

regular, open channel of communication between local governments and inhabitants.

7. The Deputy High Commissioner noted that the role of local governments was

strongly acknowledged in the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Beyond the

relevance of Sustainable Development Goal 11, which focused on making cities and human

settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable, some other Goals were equally

relevant. They included Goal 2 on ending hunger and achieving food security, Goal 3 on

ensuring healthy lives, Goal 4 on inclusive and equitable quality education, Goal 6 on the

availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, Goal 8 on

sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and

decent work for all, and Goal 16 on providing access to justice for all and building

effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. The fulfilment of those

responsibilities required an overriding focus on inclusion and on leaving no one behind.

The Deputy High Commissioner noted that this overriding goal had also been highlighted

in the report of the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee on the role of local

government in the promotion and protection of human rights (A/HRC/30/49), in which it

had indicated that local governance must focus on non-discrimination, gender sensitivity,

representation of minorities and active inclusion of those who were otherwise marginalized.

8. The Deputy High Commissioner noted that today, more people lived in cities than in

rural areas and that urbanization was expanding at an unprecedented rate. She observed that

rapid urbanization had often led to greater disparities, deeper inequality and more

discrimination. However, she added that it was not too late to turn the corner, to open up

new spaces and establish new infrastructures to truly humanize the environment for all. She

added that there was no village, city or slum without people and there were no people

without human rights that must be protected, respected and upheld.

III. Statements by the panellists

9. The panel moderator, Mr. Fisher, observed that all levels of government had a

responsibility for human rights and that local government as the level of government closest

to the people could have a real and meaningful impact on people’s lives each and every

day, and indeed often the greatest impact. He noted that services relating to health, housing,

and water and sanitation were examples of economic, social and cultural rights

implemented by local government. He added that local government also implemented civil

and political rights by providing access to justice, facilitating the organization of peaceful

protests, promoting and enforcing non-discrimination policies and undertaking gender

mainstreaming. He noted that there was a very human story associated with local

government as people were, to a considerable degree, a product of the communities where

they had grown up and which had shaped their perceptions.

10. Ms. Pabel noted that the report of the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee

contained a number of useful elements. It included a definition of local government and its

role in the promotion and protection of human rights and a legal analysis of the human

rights obligations of the authorities at the local level. She observed that work at the local

level was rarely perceived as the implementation of human rights, either by the local

authorities or by the public. As a result, human rights remained distant in most policies and

practices at the local level, whereas they did actually concern human rights in practice.

11. She noted that the report explained the concept of a “human rights city”, a globally

developed initiative aimed at localizing human rights. That concept was a promising

approach to developing human rights governance in the local context, where local

government, local parliaments, civil society, the private sector and other stakeholders

cooperated to improve the quality of life for all people in a spirit of partnership based on

human rights standards and norms.

12. Ms. Pabel recalled four recommendations contained in the report: (a) civil society

should be actively involved in planning and implementation of human rights at the local

level; (b) the relevant United Nations mechanisms should be encouraged to engage in a

dialogue with local governments when monitoring domestic implementation of

international human rights commitments and local authorities should be involved in the

universal periodic review; (c) developments at the international level, such as new

recommendations, guidelines and best practices, should be brought to the local level; and

(d) there was a need to develop guiding principles for local governments and human rights.

13. She further noted that local authorities were close to the everyday needs of

individuals and took decisions, in particular relating to education, housing, health, the

environment, water, and law and order, which were directly connected with the effective

implementation of human rights. A clear link to the goals of the 2030 Agenda for

Sustainable Development could be established. Decisions at the local level could enforce or

weaken the possibility for individuals to enjoy their human rights and particular attention

must be given to the promotion and protection of vulnerable and disadvantaged groups.

14. Ms. Pabel concluded by highlighting the importance of having a proper legal

framework and adequate financial resources to ensure effective local governance and

adequate implementation of human rights. Furthermore, strengthening democratic

participation at the local level should go hand in hand with the promotion and protection of

human rights.

15. Mr. An began his statement by observing that local governments were the frontline

duty-bearers and agents of change in upholding human rights because local government

was the closest and most accessible tier of public administration within the State. He noted

that many human rights were embedded in the Sustainable Development Goals. He then

shared his experiences as Governor of South Chungcheong Province. Progress had been

made in implementing human rights in the province, an urban-rural region with a

population of over 2.1 million people. The province had enacted its own human rights

ordinance in 2012. That was followed by the establishment of a human rights commission

in 2013, a human rights declaration in 2014, the creation of a human rights centre in 2016

and a “2030 vision for gender equality” in 2017. He noted that the human rights promotion

team of the local authority dealt with a wide range of human rights issues and the human

rights watch group of 150 members, nominated through a public application process, had

actively engaged in workshops on human rights awareness, identified neglected areas of

human rights and shared good practices in the province.

16. In terms of challenges, Mr. An said it was important to resolve disparities between

urban areas and rural communities, particularly as rural communities had less good access

than urban areas to the public services essential to their enjoyment of human rights, such as

housing, education and culture. He added that rural communities and farmers faced many

challenges. Since taking office, he had adopted the three agri-innovations initiative to assist

farmers, rural villages and agriculture in local development, which shared many of the

goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

17. Mr. An said he had also tried to create an enabling environment for local human

rights governance. He stressed that the solution to accomplishing this was building trust

between local government and its citizens through their free and genuine participation. To

that end, the province had sought to use various channels to better communicate and

cooperate with its citizens and civil society. Furthermore, he said that multilevel

governance strengthened through decentralization was critical for the localization of the

Sustainable Development Goals, based on human rights and democracy, and added that the

local self-governing system in the Republic of Korea could be improved to allow for more

autonomy.

18. Mr. An argued that it was important for local governments to be connected with the

United Nations human rights system. He said local governments had not been given

adequate space to participate effectively in the universal periodic review and the work of

the human rights treaty bodies. He added that the role of local governments seemed to have

been significantly limited in the voluntary national reviews of the implementation of the

Sustainable Development Goals. He expressed the hope that the relevant international

standards would be further developed, so that they would be a useful instrument for local

governments in devising concrete strategies for the promotion and protection of human

rights.

19. Ms. Sekkenes stated that for human rights to be fulfilled and development to be

successful and equitable, it must be locally owned. Localization meant that the design,

implementation and monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals reflected the

priorities of the local people. She noted that the central message of the 2030 Agenda for

Sustainable Development was that development could only be sustainable if it included

everyone and left no one behind. Success would depend, to a large extent, on local action,

community participation and local leadership. Participation was very important and local

government should engage with all stakeholders, including civil society, traditional leaders,

religious organizations, academics, the private sector, human rights defenders and the local

offices of national human rights institutions, where they existed. Efforts should be made to

reach women and youth as well as the poorest and most marginalized groups.

20. Ms. Sekkenes explained that there should be interaction and exchange of knowledge

between local authorities, as well as with partners at the local level and at different levels of

government. She advocated for a model of decentralized cooperation that would build on

the mutual exchange of expertise between local authorities and local development actors.

Local governments had a role to play in harmonizing local interests and creating a common

development perspective, with a view to prioritizing expenditure at the local level. Human

rights, such as access to information and the right to be heard, and rule of law principles,

such as legality and accountability, needed to be integral in the delivery of public services.

21. Ms. Sekkenes said that UNDP was collaborating with the Global Taskforce of Local

and Regional Governments and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-

Habitat) on an online repository of tools and guidance for cross-learning between local and

regional governments (localizingthesdgs.org). UNDP was providing support to over 35

countries in that context. Stressing that there was no one-size-fits-all approach, she

mentioned several examples of cooperation. In Ecuador, UNDP was working with national

and subnational governments and with the Association of Ecuadorian Municipalities to

integrate the Sustainable Development Goals into national and subnational plans and ensure

the monitoring and review of their implementation. In Brazil, UNDP had partnered with the

National Confederation of Municipalities to strengthen the role of local governments in the

localization of the Sustainable Development Goals. The joint initiative sought to raise

awareness, integrate the Sustainable Development Goals into local plans and build up

monitoring and accountability systems. In Morocco, UNDP had worked with local

governments to establish maisons de développement, which focused on promoting

exchanges and developing partnerships between all development actors, and providing

them with a physical space to coordinate and harmonize development efforts. In fragile

contexts such as the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen, UNDP supported cooperation with

others to strengthen service capacity at the local level to maintain access to public goods

and services.

22. Ms. Gikonyo stated that the African Charter for Popular Participation in

Development and Transformation (1990) was the first concerted commitment by African

States to promote public participation. The Charter affirmed that nations could not be built

without the popular and full participation of the people and that participation empowered

people to involve themselves effectively in governance. Obstacles to effective public

participation included a lack of political will due to non-democratic systems and, in some

cases, in incipient democracies, a lack of institutional capacity, of effective cooperation

between national and subnational levels of government, and of information about human

rights obligations; a failure to recognize the role of civil society organizations; and the

absence of explicit human rights obligations in national governance frameworks. She

indicated that Kenya had adopted a progressive constitution in 2010, which contained an

extensive bill of rights. Devolution was embedded in the Constitution and public

participation was enshrined as a national value and constitutionally required in policy

development. The Constitution entrenched gender equality, economic inclusivity and

equity. The National Gender and Equality Commission, the Kenya Human Rights

Commission and the Office of the Ombudsman were also constitutionally protected. She

added that Kenya had mainstreamed the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda in its

national planning framework.

23. Ms. Gikonyo noted that local governments offered the opportunity for bottom-up

transformation, although acknowledging that central Governments could be intransigent at

times. She stressed that national politics still played into local government action through

national policy decisions. Nevertheless, the hegemony of national political parties was

checked by the creation of local government centres of power.

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

should support the involvement of citizens in decision-making and the management of

political and financial affairs, and should try to identify people’s needs.

30. One speaker observed that the extent of powers entrusted to local governments

differed from one State to another. Another speaker noted that central Government

provided resources to local governments to implement decisions adopted at the national

level in areas such as health, education and security. Some speakers expressed the view that

a measure of autonomy was important for local governments to implement human rights

effectively. One speaker emphasized that it was important to have a legal framework that

set out the role, responsibilities and prerogatives of local governments and the nature of

their relations with the central Government.

B. Integrating human rights into local government

31. A number of speakers indicated that for local governments to be effective in

promoting, protecting and fulfilling human rights, they needed to be democratic,

transparent, accountable and have a high degree of integrity. According to one speaker,

effectiveness depended on recognizing that citizens were the most important asset of a local

government and that they were the most honest and trustworthy allies of local government

institutions because of their interest in the well-being of the community. A number of

speakers stressed that local governments needed to build partnerships with a wide range of

civil society actors in order to integrate human rights effectively into their public services,

and for the delivery of public services to be monitored and assessed. One speaker indicated

that strong leadership and commitment at the central and subnational levels was required to

make human rights more specific and practicable for local needs.

32. A number of speakers emphasized the importance of capacity-building and the

training of public servants in local government on both national human rights law and

international human rights instruments. Several speakers indicated that they had already

implemented human rights training of public servants at the local level and one speaker

noted that the State had a programme of technical cooperation with the Office of the United

Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to provide such training.

33. Another speaker remarked that government efforts to integrate human rights into

implementation efforts was facilitated by the establishment of a national human rights

institution and that efforts to democratize human rights at the local level had been

concentrated on awareness-raising and training, in cooperation with civil society. In

addition to measures aimed at raising awareness of human rights and providing training for

local government officials, the speaker referred to specific measures that had been taken

with respect to various stakeholders, including human rights education efforts directed at

traditional leaders, religious leaders and teachers, with a view to ending harmful practices

incompatible with human rights and positive measures that would promote the protection of

human rights. As the representative of a developing country, the speaker noted that there

were a number of challenges facing local governments in promoting and protecting human

rights, including a lack of infrastructure throughout the territory of the State, a lack of

material and financial resources, and the need for capacity-building for local government

officials, in particular law enforcement officials, magistrates and social workers, and for

those working for civil society organizations.

34. One speaker underlined the importance of adopting administrative measures to

translate issues of human rights protection into concrete measures to be taken, or standards

to be obeyed, as guidance to local governments, and added that sharing of best practices by

different local governments was an essential measure to promote and protect human rights.

35. A number of speakers indicated that their States had already integrated human rights

issues into the national plans of action on human rights. One speaker noted that the State

action plan envisaged cooperation with local governments to increase access to minorities,

provide information to minorities in their native languages, provide better educational

opportunities for minorities and promote cultural diversity.

36. One speaker noted that a federation of local authorities served as an effective link

between local governments and various ministries of the central Government and that the

federation provided advice to the central government ministries on a range of issues, such

as housing, water, education, safety (including from natural disasters) and various types of

planning.

37. One representative of an NGO referred to several cities and districts that had already

adopted local regulations on “human rights cities” and others that were in the process of

adopting such a framework. In that context, the speaker stressed the importance of full

cooperation between NGOs, local government, the national human rights institution and the

central Government, including the competent ministries.

C. Role of local governments in implementing the 2030 Sustainable

Development Agenda and the New Urban Agenda

38. A number of speakers noted the role that local governments had in implementing the

Sustainable Development Goals and their link to human rights. One remarked that the 2030

Sustainable Development Agenda was people-centred and human rights-based and added

that implementation of human rights by local governments had to be based on a strong

awareness of the needs of rights holders. One State representative said that the State in

question had endorsed the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, that there should be an

equitable sharing of resources among all of its citizens and that a balance should be sought

that would benefit all individuals and groups. Another speaker stated that local

governments had a particularly important role to play in implementing the pledge in the

2020 Sustainable Development Agenda of leaving no one behind. It was notable that the

Sustainable Development Goals provided commitments to the needs of the most vulnerable.

The speaker added that local governments had an important role in trying to facilitate the

integration of refugees into their new community and that it would be useful to learn about

best practices from other States concerning the implementation of human rights at the local

level.

39. One speaker noted that the participation of subnational and local governments was

important to the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban

Development (Habitat III) and its preparatory process. The speaker noted that local

governments had been given a role in the implementation of the New Urban Agenda

(A/CONF.226/4, annex), which had been adopted at Habitat III. The speaker indicated that

Human Rights Council resolution 35/24, entitled “Human rights in cities and other

settlements”, had been inspired by the New Urban Agenda and its vision of cities for all. In

that resolution, the Council had also noted the efforts of some national and local

governments to enshrine this vision, referred to as “right to the city”, in their legislation,

political declarations and charters. The speaker indicated that the urban development policy

of the State in question was carried out by municipalities and was designed to ensure

comprehensive social functions for the city and the well-being of its inhabitants.

V. Conclusions

40. In their concluding remarks, the panellists stated that it was important for local

governments to have a better understanding of human rights so that they could be

better integrated into the delivery of public services. That could be done by providing

local officials with human rights training and education. Sharing best practices among

local governments, both nationally and internationally, would be useful. Another

possible approach was to use the human rights cities model, which included a range of

desired human rights outcomes.

41. The panellists stressed that in order to ensure effective local governance and

effective implementation of human rights, it was important for local governments to

have a proper legal framework and adequate financial resources. They stressed that

local governments needed to provide public services at an adequate level to the

population on a non-discriminatory basis, based on the human rights obligations of

the State. Local governments should ensure in particular that public services were

provided to the most marginalized and that the goal of leaving no one behind was

achieved.

42. The panellists emphasized that the protection and fulfilment of human rights

required cooperation with NGOs and other stakeholders on an inclusive basis. NGOs

and other stakeholders should be consulted on the planning and implementation of

human rights at the local level and on the monitoring and assessment of the

effectiveness of local government programmes. That could possibly include the

development of indicators to measure the degree of implementation of specific human

rights.

43. To encourage local ownership, it was important to have democratic institutions

and decision-making at the level of local government. Transparency and

accountability for decisions taken by local governments were highlighted. One of the

panellists mentioned that in his region, information on all public expenditures was

publicly available, as was the nature of the expenditures, which were made available

to the public in detail and posted on the Internet. That was important for maintaining

trust with the population. It was emphasized that efforts should be made to prevent

corruption and mechanisms should be in place to deal with it when it occurred.

44. The panellists also stressed the need for coherence and cooperation between

local government, the central Government and other levels of government.

Government departments had a tendency to work in silos and it was important to

have an integrated approach so that human rights could be mainstreamed across

departments at the local level, as well as at other levels of government. It was

important to have a continuous and free flow of information about human rights and

new human rights developments between the central Government and local

governments, particularly as that information was often concentrated at the level of

the central Government. The panellists added that there also needed to be more

coherence and coordination at the international level, including between United

Nations departments, offices and programmes, in their approach to assisting local

governments to implement human rights and the 2030 Sustainable Development

Agenda.

45. The panellists noted that there remained a number of challenges to the

promotion and protection of human rights in some States. For example, restrictions

on the activities of NGOs in some States had created serious obstacles to their ability

to be heard on policy development and decision-making at the local level. Those undue

restrictions had included prohibiting registration, forbidding foreign funding or

denying permits for particular activities for NGOs. More generally, restrictions on the

right to freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of

association had seriously limited the participatory rights of NGOs and other

stakeholders, and denied local government important sources of information

concerning ineffective or discriminatory delivery of public services, corruption and

other human rights violations. In fragile States marked by violence and degraded

institutions, local governments faced serious obstacles to delivering basic public

services.

46. In terms of how the Human Rights Council could stay engaged with local

governments, the panellists said that the development of guiding principles on local

government and human rights could be a potentially useful tool. It was suggested that

local governments should have a more specific role in the universal periodic review

process. It was also noted that a number of the special procedures mandate holders of

the Human Rights Council had addressed human rights that were implemented by

local governments and that there should be more engagement between the relevant

mandate holders and local governments. The Human Rights Council Advisory

Committee could also assist in following up on the recommendations set out in its

report on the role of local government in the promotion and protection of human

rights (A/HRC/30/49).