The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), together with representatives of several European cities, including Barcelona, has presented a new framework for human rights cities in the EU.
This new framework aims to explain what it means to be a City of Human Rights, and to encourage more cities and local governments to make human rights an integral part of their work and municipal policies.
In the words of FRA Director Michael O’Flaherty, “Becoming a human rights city means explicitly linking the work of the city to human and fundamental rights obligations. Doing so can have an invigorating effect, boosting confidence in local government and fostering public debates that ultimately help make fairer societies for all.”
This new guide contains three main elements: the foundations, structures and tools for a city to be or become a human rights city. Mechanisms and agencies are provided that integrate this commitment to human rights into the work of the city and resources are provided to facilitate the implementation of a human rights-based approach in day-to-day municipal activities.
Finally, the document aims to stimulate an EU-wide discussion on a possible accreditation process for human rights cities in the future.
Barcelona, a city of rights
The city of Barcelona currently has the “Barcelona, city of rights” program, which works to include the human rights-based approach in public policies, and to design and deploy human rights policies based on thematic priorities, such as the development of the right to the city and citizenship rights, the fight against hate speech and discrimination, and work for full citizenship.
Barcelona’s model as a city of human rights is based on four concepts:
– The right to the city
– The human rights-based approach
– The intercultural perspective
– The feminist perspective
In fact, the new FRA report highlights as selected practices Barcelona’s Office for Non-Discrimination and the Barcelona Discrimination Observatory, which since 2018 has produced annual reports with detailed data on discrimination, actions and initiatives undertaken to address it, and suggestions for future actions.
You can read more about the Barcelona model as a city of human rights in this methodological guide.