Human rights and democracy are facing new challenges all over the world. At the same time, local governments are awakening to the important role they play in advancing human rights in their communities. Responding to this trend, and as part of its Municipal Partnership Programme, ICLD has developed a human rights network. The ICLD Human Rights Network brings together and supports partnerships among municipal governments committed to strengthening their systematic work on human rights at local level. The guiding framework for the Network is the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
In the Network, Swedish municipalities have been matched with a partner municipalities from South Africa, Botswana or Zambia. Together, the partners develop and carry out projects on such human rights issues as accessibility, gender equality, youth inclusion, child rights and more, depending on the needs of their communities.
An important component of the Network is academic research, which can play a key role in advising and researching the change projects at the local level carried out by the partnership municipalities. To that end, ICLD is reaching out to universities with the necessary knowledge to support the Network.
The exclusive ICLD International Training Programmes, Inclusive Local Governance is being offered to local government staff and politicians, from participating international municipalities. Read more here.
We are pleased to collaborate with RWI (The Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law) in this network.
Timeframe: 2021- 2024
Länder: Botswana, Zambia and South Africa
Collaborating partner: RWI
Partnerships in the network
Piteå and Chinsali
Zambia
Topic: Gender Equality
Jönköping and Stellenbosch
South Africa
Topic: Disability Rights
Falu and Mogale
South Africa
Topic: Youth Inclusion
Bollnäs and Lobatse
Botswana
Topic: Youth Inclusion
Kungsör and Rufunsa
Zambia
Topic: Youth Inclusion
Lund and Francistown
Botswana
Topic: Gender Equality
Voices from participants
What local political representatives and local government staff are saying.
This partnership will allow us to strengthen our gender equality work and become even better at including Kungsör’s children and young people our municipality.
Mikael Peterson
Mayor of Kungsör
Through this network, Ovanåker will get the opportunity to work together with some other Swedish municipalities and some municipalities in Southern Africa to together develop local democracy and work with human rights.
Håkan Englund
Mayor of Ovanåker
By gaining access to experts and research in the project, we hope to be able to work more strategically to include young people in Kungsör.
Josephine Härdin
Coordinator, Kungsör