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Human Rights Go Local

Human Rights Go Local

International Centre for the Promotion of Human Rights

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humanrightsgolocal

Leading think tank dedicated to empowering local authorities through a human rights-based approach to governance 🕊️
Under the auspices of @UNESCO 🇺🇳

From Evidence to Action: a look back at our contri From Evidence to Action: a look back at our contribution to the ECCAR Steering Committee meeting held in Vienna last March.

The aim of our session was to establish a common understanding of key terms used by local authorities to set policy objectives and evaluate the outcomes of measures accordingly.

Why are these definitions important?
The city reports submitted to ECCAR show that local authorities need greater capacity to evaluate the successes they have achieved. While they are increasingly documenting the resources, activities and measures they invest in anti-racism work, cities face greater difficulties in assessing and documenting what has actually changed and been achieved on the ground.
That is why clear definitions within the framework of a theory of change are essential.

By understanding the links between objectives, activities, outputs and outcomes, local authorities come one step closer to creating impact. Cities can better assess whether measures and strategies are leading to the desired changes.

Ultimately, this helps cities demonstrate how actions against racism improve people’s lives and strengthen inclusive communities. 🤝

👉 Find out more about our consultancy services (link in the bio)

@eccar_network 

📷: by Joe Pohl @joeisavailable
Women’s rights are local rights. 🌍 Through three p Women’s rights are local rights. 🌍
Through three peer-to-peer webinars in 2025, female leaders, local officials, and gender experts from Graz and a broad variety of African cities and networks exchanged ideas, shared good practices, and built stronger connections.

Together, we worked on:
▪️ political participation
▪️ protection from gender-based violence
▪️ inclusion through sport

Let’s turn dialogue into action for gender equality and female empowerment. ✨

With special thanks to our valued partners:
@uclgafrica @najat_zarrouk @land_steiermark
Just released: Global Evaluation of ECCAR’s City R Just released: Global Evaluation of ECCAR’s City Reports 2025 🌍

Based on 36 city reports and 66 good practices, the report highlights how members of the European Coalition of Cities against Racism are tackling racism through local action.
It examines how cities develop, implement, and evaluate anti-racism actions, and sheds light on how subnational policies are designed and carried out to prevent, eliminate, and sanction racism in Europe.

Key takeaway: Cities’ successes in counteracting racism rely on strong political commitment at the highest level, continuous involvement of target groups, and the definition of measurable objectives.

Authored by the European Training and Research Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Graz for the @eccar_network and its member cities.

This report is a field-tested roadmap for city leaders, practitioners, and partners building inclusive, resilient and racism-aware communities.

👉 Explore the report & good practices (link in our bio)
Graz is celebrating 25 years as a human rights cit Graz is celebrating 25 years as a human rights city this year. Just in time for the anniversary, the 2025 Human Rights Report has been published, highlighting the human rights situation in the City of Graz and making six recommendations for the further implementation of human rights culture. These relate to childcare, urban diversity management, political and social participation, hygiene in public spaces, protection against discrimination and climate protection.

🔗 Find the link to the report in our story! 

#humanrightscity #cityofgraz #graz #humanrightsaccountability
Missed the 5th edition of the “Human Rights Go Loc Missed the 5th edition of the “Human Rights Go Local: What Works” Academy and Conference (2–5 February 2026)? The high-level closing Conference on “Local Governments and Human Rights-Based Budgeting: Pathways to Accountability” is now online!

Hear from leading voices including Elke Kahr (Mayoress of Graz), Claudia Luciani (Council of Europe), Emilia Saiz (UCLG), Dafna Feinholz (UNESCO), Savitri Bisnath (The New School), and Alison Hosie (Scottish Human Rights Commission), moderated by Martha Davis (Northeastern University), as they discuss key recommendations for human rights-based budgeting at the local level.

👉 Rewatch the 2026 closing Conference here:

https://www.youtube.com/@humanrightsgolocal/videos
The City of Graz has been honoured with the ECCAR The City of Graz has been honoured with the ECCAR Award for its commitment to human rights and anti-discrimination: after the European Coalition of Cities against Racism (@eccar_network) presented the award to Graz at its General Assembly in Zurich in October 2025, the official handover ceremony to all those involved took place yesterday at the City Hall. The award was presented by ECCAR President Benedetto Zacchiroli to Mayor Elke Kahr. This was followed by an open exchange with representatives from politics and city administration as well as members of the Human Rights Advisory Board, the Migrant Advisory Board (@migrantinnenbeirat.graz) and the European Training and Research Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (ETC Graz).

Photo: Stadt Graz/Fischer
Unser Zentrum macht mit bei „Starke Schule – stark Unser Zentrum macht mit bei „Starke Schule – starke Gesellschaft“, einem kostenloses Bildungsangebot für Schulen und Bildungseinrichtungen des AMS des BIB (@bmb.gv.at) und BMASGPK (@bmasgpk_aut).

Das Workshopangebot des ETC Graz umfasst:

📘 UN-Menschenrechtsrat – Konferenzsimulation (Modul 1 & 2, Fokus Todesstrafe)

🗣️ „Hätt’ ich doch was gesagt…!“ – Strategien gegen Stammtischparolen

👀 Schau nicht weg! – Handeln erwünscht

💪 Zivilcourage – (k)ein Kinderspiel?

Das Angebot ist für das Schuljahr 2025/26 gültig. Das Kontingent für April–Juli 2026 ist voraussichtlich ab Do, 26.02.2026 verfügbar. Die Buchung erfolgt auf der Webseite der OeAD.

💬 English version in the comments

#starkeschule #menschenrechte #demokratiebildung #zivilcourage #workshops
Meet our speaker Dorian Rommens! He will be presen Meet our speaker Dorian Rommens! He will be present at tomorrow's Next Generation session during the last day of the Academy.

Dorian Rommens is a historian and social sciences expert with extensive experience in international policy and human rights. He joined UNESCO in 2016 and from 2017 to 2024, he served as the Social and Human Science Coordinator at UNESCO’s Mexico Office, where he led initiatives on youth, sports, intercultural dialogue, social inclusion, and artificial intelligence. His leadership positioned UNESCO as a key player in policy-making and international cooperation in Mexico and Latin America. In June 2024, he joined UNESCO Headquarters in Paris as programme specialist, contributing to the global programs on inclusion, rights, and intercultural dialogue within the social and human sciences sector, coordinating the UNESCO Global Alliance against Racism and Discrimination and the UNESCO Disability Inclusion Strategy.

Interested in the topic of this year's event? Register to the closing Conference on 5 February!

#HumanRights #HumanRightsGoLocal #Academy #Conference
Meet our Academy speaker Amanda Richer! Amanda is Meet our Academy speaker Amanda Richer!  Amanda is a Displacement Consultant for One Health Clinic and co-founder of Shelterapp. From local advocacy to global policy work with the UN NGO Working Group to End Homelessness she is a recognized leader, educator, and speaker on solutions that will ensure that communities and environment are treated with dignity and care.

At the 5th Academy and Conference “Human Rights Go Local: What Works” she will be presenting us with the thoughts on the day during the closing session of the second event day. We already look forward to her input!

#Academy #Conference #HumanRightsGoLocal #HumanRights
Only three more days to go until our 5th Academy a Only three more days to go until our 5th Academy and Conference "Human Rights Go Local: What Works"! The subject of this year's event is human rights-based budgeting as a tool to harness accountability in human rights.

We have asked our speaker Aulia (Aura) Rachmah Putri what human rights accountability means to her and why she has agreed to take on a role as a speaker during our next generation mentoring session. Here is her quote!

@archputri is a human rights advocate. Together with Alyaa Nabiilah Zuhroh she co-founded Inisiatif Suara Nusantara, a civil society initiative focused on Human Rights Cities, democratic participation, and social inclusion in Indonesia. 

#HumanRightsEconomy #HumanRightsCities #Academy #Conference HumanRights
Only a few more days until the 5th Academy and Con Only a few more days until the 5th Academy and Conference "Human Rights Go Local: What Works" will start off!

Today we want to introduce you to Shams Asadi, Human Rights Commissioner of the City of Vienna (@menschenrechtsstadt.wien). She studied architecture and urban planning and has many years of practical and academic experience in Urban Regeneration and Urban Development. The human rights dimension of urban development accompanied her from beginning of her professional life and since 2010 human rights are the main subject of her career.

Shams Asadi will be a speaker during the "Next Generation" session on the third event day. We already look forward to her presentation!

#HumanRights #Academy #Conference #NextGeneration @stadtwien
Meet one of our plenary speakers for our upcoming Meet one of our plenary speakers for our upcoming “Human Rights Go Local” Academy and Conference 2026: Morten Kjaerum, Adjunct professor at the University of Aalborg, Denmark and affiliated scholar at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (RWI) in Sweden.

Mr. Kjaerum is a former Director of the @raoulwallenberginst and was the first Director of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (@fundamental.rights) in Vienna, Austria, from 2008 to 2015. Before that, he was Director of the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) from 1991 to 2008. Mr. Kjaerum serves and has served on numerous boards. Among others he was chair of the International Coordination Committee for National Human Rights Institutions and he chaired the group of Directors of EU Agencies. He has also served as Chair of The Board of the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE).

He has written extensively on human rights issues and lectured at universities across continents. His most recent publication “Human Rights Economies and Subnational Governance”, Eds Morten Kjaerum, Martha Davis and Savitri Bisnath, Routledge, was published recently in 2025. 

We are happy to have his expertise on board for the event!

 #HumanRightsEconomy #HumanRightsGoLocal #Academy #Conference #Accountability #HumanRights
What does human rights accountability mean to you? What does human rights accountability mean to you? Join us online at the Next Generation Session of the 5th Academy & Conference "Human Rights Go Local", where speaker Alyaa Nabiilah Zuhroh will share her insights.

#HumanRights #Academy #Conference #HumanRightsCities #HumanRightsAccountability
New publication alert 📚 “Local Governments and Hum New publication alert 📚 “Local Governments and Human Rights-Based Approaches to Budgeting — Pathways to Accountability” is out now!

This volume equips local governments and their partners with the practical knowledge, tools, and Inspiration needed to embed human rights principles into budgeting processes. It seeks to bridge the gap between theory and practice by offering guidance on how to design, implement, and monitor budgets that advance human rights while strengthening accountability and transparency. 

By highlighting real-world experiences and lessons from cities and international organisations, the book demonstrates how local authorities can operationalise the concept of a Human Rights Economy. 

Part of the Human Rights Go Local paper series (Vol. 6), jointly edited by our Centre and the UNESCO Chair in Human Rights and Human Security at the @universityofgraz.

Order the paperback through the link on our website!

#HumanRights #LocalGovernment #PublicFinance #PublicBudgeting #HRBA #Accountability #Transparency #Participation #MunicipalFinance #HumanRightsEconomy
Today our #speakerseries for the upcoming 5th "Hum Today our #speakerseries for the upcoming 5th "Human Rights Go Local: What Works" Academy and Conference continuous with our plenary speaker from the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe (@councilofeurope).

Since March 2024, Austrian politician Gudrun Mosler-Törnström has served as the Standing Rapporteur on Human Rights of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities. As President of the Congress (elected in October 2016), she worked to strengthen democracy at local and regional levels and actively promoted better community relations rooted in mutual respect and acceptance of diversity.

Due to a meeting of the Monitoring Committee in Strasbourg, she will unfortunately no longer be able to join the Academy as a speaker. She sends us her best wishes for the event and emphasized what human rights accountability means for the Congress with this quote.

It has recently been confirmed that Peter Drenth, Regional Minister in the Province of Gelderland (Netherlands) and Deputy Standing Rapporteur on Human Rights of the Congress, will be replacing her at the opening on Day One of the Academy on 2 February 2026. We already look forward to his participation as a plenary speaker!

#HumanRights #CouncilOfEurope #CongressOfLocalAndRegionalAuthorities #GoodGovernance #CivicEngagement #HumanRightsAccountability #LocalGovernment #RegionalGovernment #EventAnnouncement #SaveTheDate
🌍 Although we have been quite busy organising our 🌍 Although we have been quite busy organising our highly anticipated “Human Rights Go Local: What Works” Academy and Conderence from 2-5 February 2026, this has not been the only thing we are currently working on. 

🔗 If you are curious about what we are up to in the new year, you can check out our 2026 work programme, which has been recently published on our website. In this document you will find a detailed overview of our plans – from researching and monitoring human rights to capacity building and facilitating knowledge exchange.

❗One thing is certain: in 2026, we will continue to focus on making cities and human settlements more inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable through a human rights-based approach.

#humanrights #humanrightsdeclaration #localauthorities #sdg11 #sdg11sustainablecitiesandcommunities #Academy #Conference
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