As the failure or refusal of states to deliver on human rights becomes more evident, cities and municipalities are stepping up. Across North America, grassroots organizers are working with, and sometimes through, local governments to reclaim their rights, building from the ground up a new future grounded in dignity, justice, and democratic participation.
From housing justice to anti-racism and democratic accountability, local human rights organizing is emerging as a powerful force in the global human rights movement. This series spotlights the growing Human Rights Cities movement in North America — where cities are becoming frontline laboratories for human rights innovation and communities are leveraging international norms to confront inequality, reshape global rights discourse, and bring human rights home.
This series, co-sponsored by the Young Initiative at Occidental College, the University of Pittsburgh Global Studies Center, and the Global College at the University of Winnipeg, was created in partnership with the Human Rights Cities Alliance (HRCA), a growing network of human rights advocates and scholar-practitioners translating international human rights standards into local policy and action.
