“To best implement human rights at local level, it is fundamental that local authorities are aware of international standards; this awareness also allows us to advocate more effectively for human rights delivery within multilevel dialogue structures, and to voice our needs and priorities from a strengthened position,” stressed Congress Spokesperson on Human Rights Harald Bergmann (Netherlands, ILDG) at the opening of the Forum on “Localising human rights in Georgia: strengthening capacities of local authorities” on 25 March 2022.
The first meeting of the Forum of exchange on human rights at local level, organised by the Congress project in collaboration with the National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia (NALAG), brought together thirteen selected municipalities to address challenges for improving social inclusion, promoting equal opportunities, and incorporate a gender perspective in local political action.
The Forum saw the active participation of mayors and local councillors from both majority and minority political groups, as well as municipal staff, who engaged in peer exchange on best practices. A baseline assessment process was launched on this occasion to identify local authorities’ own capacities for human rights implementation. The participants agreed on follow-up steps and identified their capacity development needs for implementing human rights-based policies.
“Raising awareness has always been one of the fundamental pillars of our human rights work at the Congress,” concluded Mr Bergmann, introducing the Congress Handbook on human rights at local level. The third volume of the Handbook will focus on environment and human rights, one of the priorities promoted by Georgia during its 2019-2020 Presidency of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers.
This event is organised in the framework of the project “Strengthening Participatory Democracy and Human Rights at Local Level in Georgia”, implemented by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities and the Directorate General of Democracy, Division of Elections and Participatory Democracy, within the Council of Europe Action Plan for Georgia 2020-2023 with the financial contribution of the Austrian Development Cooperation. The project aims to strengthen institutional frameworks for citizen participation, support local authorities and their national association in their efforts to protect and promote human rights and ensure that civil society organisations have real impact on local decision making.
Human rights at local and regional levels - vol.1
Human rights handbook for Local and Regional Authorities - vol.2 - Social Rights