How do human rights come into play when cities provide transport, design public spaces or build new kindergartens?
Human rights can be the guiding principles for all decisions and strategies at the city level.
Cities that build human rights principles in their decision-making processes are called ‘human rights cities’.
This movement started in the ‘90s in Rosario, Argentina. It was embedded in the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna and has since spread across all continents.
Graz became the first human rights city in Europe, celebrating the 20th anniversary of their Declaration this year.
Barcelona, Lund, Middelburg, Nuremberg, Salzburg, Utrecht, Valencia, Vienna and York have also declared themselves as human rights cities. Other cities are in the process of adopting their declarations.
What does it really take to become a human rights city?
The Fundamental Rights Forum 2021 will provide more insights into this.
The Forum will bring together already declared as well as aspiring human rights cities. They will share their experiences and re-affirm their commitments to protect and promote fundamental rights in their decision making.
To support their initiatives, FRA will release a framework of commitments for human rights cities in the EU at the Forum.
The framework will provide guidance on how to become a human rights city.
Following on from discussions at the previas Fora in 2016 and 2018, the guidance will build on international, European and EU human rights instruments, in particular the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
The Forum will also showcase promising practices on implementing and promoting fundamental rights at the local level.
Join us at the Forum to discover more!