The Federal Parliament of Austria recently announced that the Agreement with the UNESCO on the establishment of the International Centre for the Promotion of Human Rights at the Local and Regional Levels would be discussed in the meeting of the foreign policy committee on 30 June.
The committee states that thanks to the establishment of the International Centre in Graz, Austria’s location and multilateral focus can be strengthened further and made more dynamic.
The next meeting of the Austrian National Parliament, in which the Agreement is due to be ratified, is scheduled to take place in July 2020. With the ratification, the International Centre for the Promotion of Human Rights at the Local and Regional Levels is granted the legal basis to fulfil its main objective: to contribute to efforts at the global, regional and sub-regional levels aimed at empowering regional and local authorities to mainstream human rights in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the New Urban Agenda. As such, its operations may fully commence now.
More information on the parliamentary process regarding the Agreement between the Republic of Austria and UNESCO can be found here (in German): https://www.parlament.gv.at/PAKT/VHG/XXVII/I/I_00181/index.shtml
An English version of the Agreement is available here: https://www.parlament.gv.at/PAKT/VHG/XXVII/I/I_00181/imfname_797027.pdf
