Parallel Event

Workshop on Developing Human Rights Cities.
Organized by PDHRE and OHCHR.
3.00 - 6.00 PM,
6 June 2001,
Conference Room 3

Organizer:
People's Movement for Human Rights Education (PDHRE) with support from United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat)

Since 1998, PDHRE, drawing on its rich experience and perception of Needs, and with the enthusiasm of local communities, is facilitating the development of Human Rights Cities. This is a historic initiative in which programs are developed to examine traditional beliefs, collective memory and aspirations as related to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights -guided by the commitments made and obligations undertaken by the governments. Governments, local authorities, civil society organizations, community institutions and groups and people themselves can improve learning and information exchange about human rights as related to their life in the city. This process is very important to assure that all laws, policies, resources and relationships in the community, maintain the dignity and serve the well being of all its members.

Four cities namely Rosario (Argentina), Thies (Senegal), Haqpur (India) and Kati (Mali), are implementing ongoing programs with in this initiative. Three more cities respectively in the Philippines, Bangladesh and Austria are now joining this effort. The program is driven by an exciting and expansive definition of human Rights learning as a tool for political, economic and social change. Human rights education highlights the normative and empirical power of Human rights as a tool in individual and collective efforts to address Inequalities, injustices, and abuses at home, in the work place, in the Streets, prisons, courts, and issues such as housing, food, education and healthcare.

At the meeting during Istanbul+5,it is hoped that this experience will be shared with civil society, municipal authorities and other stakeholders in human settlement development

An effort is being made to include components of the realization process of housing rights to the discussions of this meeting where the Special Rapporteur assigned by the Commission on Human Rights on Adequate Housing, representatives of the Global Parliamentarians on Habitat and representatives of UNCHS (Habitat) can make contributions.