From 2 to 5 February 2026, the fifth edition of the Academy and Conference “Human Rights Go Local: What Works” will take place under the theme “Local Governments and Human Rights-Based Budgeting: Pathways to Accountability”. The Academy and Conference series aims to showcase and synthesize innovative approaches and proven practices for protecting and promoting human rights at the local level. Making cities and human settlements more inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable is the overall goal of the event series.
The 2026 edition will provide an online platform for discussing tools and instruments for human rights-based budgeting from all over the world. Participants will explore effective approaches of human rights-based budgeting regarding their key factors of promoting local governments’ accountability to make human rights a reality for all. The Academy’s plenary sessions and workshops on Day 1 to 3 will be addressing the following questions:
• Stocktaking: frameworks and instruments:To what extent prove human rights-based budgeting approaches helpful for local governments to promote human rights? Which frameworks and instruments already exist?
• Lessons from the field: How can human rights-based budgeting approaches actually make a difference at the local level? What lessons have been learned so far and can be shared? How can existing practices best be transferred to other local contexts?
• Local authorities’ way forward to accountability: What do local authorities need to embed human rights-based budgeting approaches in local government systems worldwide? What steps need to be taken next so that budgets can be better accessed to promote local authorities’ human rights accountability?
Plenary sessions and workshops will bring together human rights experts and practitioners from the local, regional, national and international levels to discuss challenges, solutions and best practices. The Outcome Document as a tangible result of the Academy will be discussed with high-level policy makers at the Conference on 5 February 2026.
We welcome representatives of local governments (policy-making, public administration) and city networks, as well as human rights professionals and practitioners from think tanks, academia, civil society, and international or regional organisations. We also welcome those wishing to gain expertise on the subject. Special attention will be given to the participation of students, young professionals and individuals pursuing a new careeer as the next generation of human rights experts, who will have the opportunity to exchange practical knowledge with established experts in the field.
To get the latest news about the 2026 edition of the Academy and Conference you can subscribe to regular updates through our newsletter or get in touch with us via info@humanrightsgolocal.org. To learn more about past events in the series, click here.
EXTENDED until 29 January 2026
open until 4 February 2026
Important documents (pdf files):
The 2026 edition of the Academy and Conference is organised in collaboration with:
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of
Europe, the African Local Governments Academy (UCLG-Africa), United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), the Austrian Federal Ministry of European and International Affairs, the Federal Province of Styria, the City of Graz, and the University of Graz.
