The international conference “Cities for Rights” – to take place in Barcelona next 10 and 11 December – will coincide with the commemoration of two major ephemerides: the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the 20th anniversary of Barcelona's European Conference of Human Rights Cities (1998).
This last event (the 1998 Barcelona Conference) was a decisive political moment in the history of the global municipal movement, bringing together the commitment of European local authorities towards a shift for just, humane and democratic cities. The meeting brought together more than 70 European Mayors committed to defend human rights in the city, and gave rise to a joint declaration that led, two years later, to the adoption of the European Charter for the Safeguarding of Human Rights in the City (Saint Denis 2000).
Cities for Rights aims at strengthening this commitment on the basis of the experiences and political views resulting from 20 years of alliances between local governments, civil society and academia. It equally seeks at fostering a collective response to the current “scenario of regression of rights (which) is, unfortunately, a reality everywhere” (see concept note).
- Visit the official website