“European integration is about ensuring that the rights enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Charter of Local Self-Government are realised in the daily lives of citizens. When we talk about the right to housing, health, education, or water and sanitation, we are speaking of services managed and delivered by local and regional authorities. If these services fail, human rights are undermined,” stated Congress Secretary General Mathieu Mori at the International Human Rights Conference “Lessons from Ukraine for the World: New Challenges in the Field of Human Rights”, in Kyiv on 10 December 2025.

“We must operationalise a human rights-based approach at the municipal level, ensuring that vulnerable groups are systematically included in planning and design, and that accountability mechanisms, like the Register of Damage, are accessible and non-discriminatory,” he continued, calling for strengthening municipal capacity and autonomy through predictable ring-fenced funding and for integrating human rights into the country’s reconstruction, in particular at local level, coupled with community-level dialogue to rebuild trust.

“As Ukraine moves forward, reconstruction, anti-corruption, and the alignment with European environmental and social standards represent the new frontiers for human rights implementation in the process of EU accession. The Congress aims to support you in this endeavour by mainstreaming human rights, by promoting a culture of rights at the local level, and by facilitating greater co-operation and political dialogue between all levels of government,” concluded Secretary General Mori.

The conference was organised by Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets, who had a bilateral meeting with the Congress Secretary General during the event.