The municipality of Utrecht is co-initiator of the campaign. We are convinced that the international cooperation of cities and a greater movement of human rights cities will be a great incentive for a growing number of cities to translate human rights locally in its many dimensions. Moreover, as cities we are jointly faced with major tasks in the field of, for example, zero-emission, circular economy, migration, equity and digitization, where international standards must be translated locally. That is a big and complex task and we need each other's support for that. Cities cannot handle these challenges on their own. The number of cities that use human rights 'explicitly' in improving local policies and initiatives is still relatively small. Moreover mutual support at national level (also in the Netherlands) is very limited. That is why we, as Utrecht, have a great interest in international cooperation of cities to learn from each other, support each other and motivate each other to do more.
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Human Rights City: general approach
We have embedded various social policy areas in an explicit human rights approach. Since 2010, Utrecht has contributed to the EU Framework for Human Rights Cities that was launched October 2021 in Vienna. This framework is partly based on the practice developed in Utrecht as a human rights city, but also on the ambition to make the EU Charter for Fundamental Rights much more widely known and serve as inspiration for local policy development. Our ambition in the upcoming years is to seal human rights in our social policies, whereas human rights are the cornerstones of safeguarding an equal and a fair city for everyone.
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The City of Utrecht appointed a special co-mayor specifically responsible for Inclusion, Diversity and Human Rights; supported by a dedicated team of around 20 policy-advisors who work specifically on topics such as asylum, human rights and inclusion.
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The City of Utrecht actively aiming to become more inclusive and diverse with regard to e.g. staff and manners of inclusive marketing / use of language.
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Utrecht actively implements the EU Human Rights Cities in the EU Framework as the first Human Rights City of The Netherlands.
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Sustainable monitoring structures are in place e.g.: here and here
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Also using the SDG lens: Global Goals - Doelstellingen Global Goals - Utrecht (incijfers.nl).
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Welcoming City for refugees - Plan Einstein
Plan Einstein is an locally, national and international unique and trendsetting concept which creates meaningful encounters and mutual understanding among residents of the Utrecht asylum seeker centre, local residents and other ‘Utrechters’. We organise common education voluntary activities, meetings, joint collaboration and sharing knowledge, Plan Einstein works on the truthful inclusion of ‘minorities’ and ’majorities’.
With EU grant from Urban Innovative Action we started to work, in a poor neighbourhood of the city, with many stakeholders like the (peoples and official) universities, Welcome in Utrecht, Refugee council, Build your own future, cultural organizations like the Wild west, the front room, Common Ground Garden, protestant and catholic churches, sports organizations (Sportbuddies, U-Board) and refugees and local citizens to offer a broad pallet of services and activities for everyone in the city. Plan Einstein facilitates the inclusive developing of skills, expanding your social network, free open spaces for meaningful encounters of local citizens and refugees and is evidence based. The Plan Einstein concept is inspiration in our open welcoming policy for all Utrecht citizens and all kinds of hubs in the city. We already started with neighbourhoods. gardening and cultural plan Einstein hubs across the city and will expand these kind of hubs.
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The Utrechtse Anti-Discrimination Agenda
Utrecht firmly stands up against any form of discrimination. As from 2016, we developed in close collaboration with partners, organizations and citizens the Utrechtse Anti-Discriminatie Agenda: a comprehensive and integral approach on how the municipality of Utrecht proceeds against any kind of discrimination in a broad range of fields. In 2021 we published the most recent Utrecht Anti-Discrimination Agenda. Our core-message and thus ambition is clear: discrimination is unacceptable.
The Anti-Discrimination Agenda was developed during an extensive participation progress with partners and citizens within Utrecht during November/December 2019 until april 2021. We continue to stay in close contact with them during the execution of the agenda via de PACT (an agreement) we made with dozens of organisations and partners active in a broad range of domains. The anti-discrimination office Art. 1 Midden Nederland is the gate-way for reporting any form of discrimination.
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A place for everyone - Together we are Utrecht
The action plan Together we are Utrecht focusses on diminishing polarisation and radicalization in Utrecht and invests in creating an open, social and welcoming Utrecht for everyone.
The action plan ‘Together we are Utrecht’ has been developed during an extensive participation process with Utrecht citizens. Close collaboration on ‘ground level’ in the different neighbourhoods of Utrecht are until this day maintained after the implementation of the action plan: neighbourhood-networks, representation-organisations, police, and municipality created an intense network for communication and monitoring. A broad range of trainings, support, youth support, special education programmes are designed to reach, protect and help Utrecht citizens who are in the spot of polarisation and radicalisation. A regular overview on the actual situation with regard to polarization and radicalisation is periodic presented to the Municipality.
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Sustainability and civic society engagement
In Utrecht we have a longstanding cooperation with our (social) partners and the innovative networks in which we bring them together on Utrecht Human Rights City. We involve them in the steps we undertake during – for example- new policy making and its implementation. These local stakeholders are our crucial eyes and ears in order to understand what we – as a city – have to do in order to fight discrimination and enhance diversity and inclusion. In Utrecht a wide range of civil society initiatives, CSO’s, NGO’s, social entrepreneurs, et cetera have an active contribution to our local culture of inclusion and diversity culture. On the website of the Human Rights Coalition Utrecht you can find around 100 organisations closely related to all kind of inclusion work, that work together under the umbrella of the Coalition. To spotlight some of them:
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LHBTIQ+: COC Midden Nederland, Colored Qollective, PANN, Midzomergracht Festival, Jonge Utrechtenaers, U-pride (city of Utrecht internal staff network organization)
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Discrimination Complaint Options: Art. 1 Midden Nederland, National Institute for Human Rights
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BIPOC: Keti Koti Utrecht, Tori Oso, 030%, Stichting Asha, NiNsee
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Disability: SOLGU
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Refugees: Vluchtelingenwerk, SNDVU, STIL, Seguro.