Since 1998, the IHRC has participated in the creation, development and promotion of the European Charter for the Safeguarding of Human Rights in the City.

As part of this work the IHRC:

- Formed part of the writing committee that drew up the Charter between 1998 and 2000 It was adopted in Saint Denis during the 2nd European Conference on Cities for Human Rights.

- Advises and accompanies the Ayuntamiento de Barcelona, as a promoting city of the Charter, in its attendance and preparation of different European conferences. The next conference will take place in Geneva in December 2008.

- Is the Scientific Secretary of the Xarxa de Pobles i Ciutats pels Drets Humans, a platform created by the Diputación de Barcelona, of which the more than 140 councils of the province of Barcelona that have signed the Charter are members.

The European Charter for the Safeguarding of Human Rights in the City

The European Charter for the Safeguarding of Human Rights in the City gathers the fundamental rights of city dwellers and the basic principles that must govern city life in order that the human rights of all those who live there be respected and encouraged.

The Charter does not strictly speaking have legal validity; its strength lies in the political commitment taken on by the cities that sign up to it.

It serves, in part, as a guiding instrument for the adjustment of local laws to new necessities in the protection and guarantee of human rights, and in part as a contextual framework for public policies in cities.

Since its approval in 2000 in the French city of Sant Denis, more than 350 European cities have signed up to the Charter.

The European Charter for the Safeguarding of Human Rights in the City came about in 1998 when the Ayuntamiento of Barcelona organised the Cities for Human Rights Conference as a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

From that first Conference arose the Compromiso de Barcelona, a non-articulated text that recorded the commitment of a number of cities to promote the protection of human rights in their local area.

A writing committee, in which the IHRC participated, was put in charge of the drawing up of the Charter. The project was presented at the 2 nd Conference, which took place in Sant Denis in 2000, and was approved by the more than 70 cities in attendance.

Conferences are held every two years and provide an opportunity for the cities involved to share their initiatives and difficulties in the implementation of the Charter. This serves as a means of bringing about new and more effective ways of achieving the enjoyment and guarantee of human rights in cities.

FURTHER INFORMATION

>> The juridical value and features of the European Charter for the Safeguarding of Human Rights in the City (In Spanish)
>> The European Charter for the Safeguarding of Human Rights in the City. Explication Note (In Spanish)

EUROPEAN CONFERENCES CITIES FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

>> Barcelona (1998)
Conclusions (in Spanish)

>> Saint Denis (2000)
Programa
Conclusions

>> Venecia (2002)
Programa (in Spanish)
Conclusions

>> Nuremberg (2004)
Programme and Conclusions

>> Lyon (2006)
Programa
Conclusions (in Spanish)

>> Ginebra (2008)
Programa (in Spanish)