A/HRC/RES/57/12 Noting that voluntary local reviews that take into account, where relevant, the role of local governments in the promotion and protection of human rights are good opportunities to take stock of progress made and the remaining gaps and challenges, Recognizing the benefits that the digitalization of cities, when adequate human rights safeguards are in place, brings to the promotion and protection of human rights at the local level, including by strengthening the accessibility, availability and quality of public services, strengthening democratic institutions and empowering civic engagement, while also recognizing the need to address its potential risks to the promotion and protection of human rights, in particular the serious risks arising from the scale and quality of the collection and processing of data, often relating to personal data, as well as its potential to exacerbate discrimination and digital divides, including the gender digital divide, Recognizing also the need for local governments, within their respective responsibilities and capacities under domestic legal frameworks, to develop, deploy and use new and emerging digital technologies in the context of the digitalization of cities in a manner that effectively respects, promotes, protects and fulfils the human rights of its inhabitants, with a view to realizing a vision wherein the rights of individuals are at the centre of schemes for such digitalization, and stressing the importance of sharing of best practices and multistakeholder cooperation towards this end, 1. Encourages States and local governments to enhance coordination and cooperation in developing and implementing laws, policies and guidelines that incorporate human rights promotion and protection into local governance, including those related to awareness-raising and capacity-building, taking into account the local needs and priorities in the delivery of public services and disparities among local governments in their capacity or resources to implement human rights obligations; 2. Also encourages States and local governments to collect, disaggregate and analyse data on the local human rights situation, with the aim of adopting evidence-based laws, policies and programmes; 3. Encourages States to provide local governments with adequate financial resources and technical capacities to fulfil their human rights responsibilities and strengthen cooperation in the distribution and allocation of such resources; 4. Also encourages States to promote the engagement of local governments in the work of regional and international human rights mechanisms and in implementing relevant recommendations, including in the preparation of State submissions for the universal periodic review and in follow-up thereto, in reviews by the treaty bodies of the reports of States parties and in the work of the special procedures of the Human Rights Council, in particular during country visits; 5. Invites relevant United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, regional human rights mechanisms, national human rights institutions, civil society representatives and other stakeholders to cooperate with local governments, as well as with each other, to support them, including through capacity-building, in discharging their human rights responsibilities and engaging in the work of regional and international human rights mechanisms; 6. Encourages local governments to ensure the participation of local stakeholders in local government activities and in public affairs and an enabling, inclusive, accessible and safe environment for civil society participation and to promote interaction and exchanges of knowledge with local stakeholders, including local civil society, in the formulation and implementation of local government programmes in efforts to promote and protect human rights at the local level; 7. Also encourages local governments, in cooperation with their national Governments, to guarantee protection against discrimination and equal access to political participation at the local level, especially for women; 8. Calls upon local governments, in the development and operation of schemes for the digitalization of cities, including smart city projects, within their respective responsibilities and capacities under domestic legal frameworks: 4