A/HRC/RES/57/12
for enhanced capacity-building and guidance to support local governments in implementing
human rights in their operations and strengthening engagement with United Nations human
rights mechanisms and bodies,
Underlining the importance of the collection and exchange of ideas and good
practices, between and among national and local governments, to enrich the understanding
of local needs and realities, identify and raise awareness of best practices and improve
dialogue and coordination between different levels of government,
Emphasizing the importance of cooperation among different United Nations agencies,
funds and programmes, within their respective mandates, in assisting and providing guidance
to local governments in incorporating human rights into all their work, in a manner that is
consistent with the constitutional frameworks of States,
Recognizing the benefits of the potential support that national human rights
institutions and national mechanisms for implementation, reporting and follow-up, where
they exist, as well as academic institutions and civil society, can provide to local governments
in the promotion and protection of human rights at the local level, including by providing
training and recommendations to support policymaking,
Underscoring the importance of data collection and disaggregation for a nuanced
understanding of the challenges faced in promoting and protecting human rights at the local
level,
Emphasizing that protecting civic space and providing an enabling environment for
civil society participation are essential to promote and protect human rights and to ensure the
effectiveness, transparency, accountability and sustainability of the work of local
governments, while recognizing that States and local governments should take appropriate
action to empower, including through capacity-building, civil society representatives to
exercise the right to participate in public affairs effectively and to engage meaningfully with
local governments on human rights issues, while respecting the local and national legal
frameworks,
Noting relevant international and regional initiatives to promote human rights at the
local level and the role of local governments in the implementation of such initiatives,
Noting also that local governments are increasingly connected with the United
Nations system and regional organizations, in particular with their human rights mechanisms,
including through the universal periodic review, the treaty bodies and the special procedures
and forums mandated by the Human Rights Council,
Recognizing the constructive role of local governments in and their contribution to the
strengthening of national mechanisms for implementation, reporting and follow-up, and
encouraging their continued participation in and contribution to these mechanisms,
Taking note of the Secretary-General’s call to action for human rights, in which he
encouraged the full use of international human rights mechanisms, including the universal
periodic review, the treaty bodies and the special procedures, to contribute to the
implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and their targets, inter alia, with
regard to the promotion and protection of human rights, particularly at the national and local
levels,
Recalling General Assembly resolution 76/6 of 15 November 2021 on the follow-up
to the report of the Secretary-General entitled “Our Common Agenda”, in which the
Secretary-General recognized the role of local governments in a more inclusive
multilateralism, which included voluntary local reviews of Sustainable Development Goals
implementation providing a model on which to build,
Recalling also the adoption of the Pact for the Future by the General Assembly by its
resolution 79/1 of 22 September 2024, in which States Members of the United Nations
requested the Secretary-General to provide recommendations on how engagement with local
and regional authorities could advance the 2030 Agenda, particularly the localization of the
Sustainable Development Goals, by the end of the seventy-ninth session of the Assembly,
for Member States’ consideration,
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