{"id":32389,"date":"2025-07-29T15:29:59","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T13:29:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/?p=32389"},"modified":"2025-11-05T15:37:33","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T14:37:33","slug":"western-balkans-human-rights-cities-initiative-the-importance-of-a-human-rights-based-approach-in-local-government","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/sq\/post\/32389?lang=en","title":{"rendered":"Western Balkans Human Rights Cities Initiative: The importance of a Human Rights Based Approach in local government"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/wp-content\/uploads\/BHRCI-Mapping-of-Challenges-and-Opportunities.pdf\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-32396\" src=\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/wp-content\/uploads\/BHRCI-Mapping-of-Challenges-and-Opportunities-pdf-1-791x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"647\" srcset=\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/wp-content\/uploads\/BHRCI-Mapping-of-Challenges-and-Opportunities-pdf-1-791x1024.jpg 791w, https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/wp-content\/uploads\/BHRCI-Mapping-of-Challenges-and-Opportunities-pdf-1-232x300.jpg 232w, https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/wp-content\/uploads\/BHRCI-Mapping-of-Challenges-and-Opportunities-pdf-1-768x994.jpg 768w, https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/wp-content\/uploads\/BHRCI-Mapping-of-Challenges-and-Opportunities-pdf-1-9x12.jpg 9w, https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/wp-content\/uploads\/BHRCI-Mapping-of-Challenges-and-Opportunities-pdf-1.jpg 1088w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a>This survey on the human rights situation in Albania and North Macedonia is part of a broader effort to strengthen democratic governance, civic participation, and human rights mainstreaming in the Western Balkans. Both countries, as EU candidate states, are navigating complex processes of decentralisation and multi-level governance while aspiring to align their institutions with European standards under Chapter 23 (Judiciary and Fundamental Rights) and Chapter 24 (Justice, Freedom and Security) of the EU acquis. The Human Rights Cities approach, highlights that human rights only acquire full meaning when they protect people where they live their daily lives. Experiences from cities such as Malm\u00f6, Graz, and Utrecht show how municipalities can embed rights in their governance systems, involve civil society in decision-making, and co-create inclusive solutions that strengthen trust and democracy.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This survey on the human rights situation in Albania and North Macedonia is part of a broader effort to strengthen democratic governance, civic participation, and human rights mainstreaming in the Western Balkans. Both countries, as EU candidate states, are navigating complex processes of decentralisation and multi-level governance while aspiring to align their institutions with European [&hellip;]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":32393,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[156,117,116],"tags":[376,387],"class_list":["post-32389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-test","category-117","category-116","tag-376","tag-democracy-and-rule-of-law-2"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Western Balkans Human Rights Cities Initiative: The importance of a Human Rights Based Approach in local government - EPI<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/sq\/post\/32389\/?lang=en\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"mk_MK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Western Balkans Human Rights Cities Initiative: The importance of a Human Rights Based Approach in local government - EPI\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This survey on the human rights situation in Albania and North Macedonia is part of a broader effort to strengthen democratic governance, civic participation, and human rights mainstreaming in the Western Balkans. Both countries, as EU candidate states, are navigating complex processes of decentralisation and multi-level governance while aspiring to align their institutions with European [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/sq\/post\/32389\/?lang=en\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"EPI\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/EPI.Skopje\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-29T13:29:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-05T14:37:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/wp-content\/uploads\/BHRCI-mockup.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"\u041d\u0430\u0443\u043c \u041b\u043e\u043a\u043e\u0441\u043a\u0438\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@epi_skopje\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@epi_skopje\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\u041d\u0430\u0443\u043c \u041b\u043e\u043a\u043e\u0441\u043a\u0438\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/post\/32389?lang=en#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/post\/32389?lang=en\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\u041d\u0430\u0443\u043c \u041b\u043e\u043a\u043e\u0441\u043a\u0438\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/#\/schema\/person\/d3bccda7c7052a8ff666427b79e54a83\"},\"headline\":\"Western Balkans Human Rights Cities Initiative: The importance of a Human Rights Based Approach in local government\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-29T13:29:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-05T14:37:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/post\/32389?lang=en\"},\"wordCount\":145,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/post\/32389?lang=en#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/wp-content\/uploads\/BHRCI-mockup.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"2025\",\"Democracy and Rule of Law\"],\"articleSection\":[\"\u0418\u0437\u0434\u0430\u043d\u0438\u0458\u0430\",\"\u0418\u0437\u0432\u0435\u0448\u0442\u0430\u0438\",\"\u0418\u0441\u0442\u0440\u0430\u0436\u0443\u0432\u0430\u045a\u0430\"],\"inLanguage\":\"mk-MK\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/post\/32389?lang=en\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/post\/32389?lang=en\",\"name\":\"Western Balkans Human Rights Cities Initiative: The importance of a Human Rights Based Approach in local government - EPI\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/post\/32389?lang=en#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/post\/32389?lang=en#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/wp-content\/uploads\/BHRCI-mockup.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-29T13:29:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-05T14:37:33+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/post\/32389?lang=en#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"mk-MK\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/post\/32389?lang=en\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"mk-MK\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/post\/32389?lang=en#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/wp-content\/uploads\/BHRCI-mockup.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/wp-content\/uploads\/BHRCI-mockup.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":750},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/post\/32389?lang=en#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Western Balkans Human Rights Cities Initiative: The importance of a Human Rights Based Approach in local government\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/\",\"name\":\"EPI\",\"description\":\"\u0418\u043d\u0441\u0442\u0438\u0442\u0443\u0442 \u0437\u0430 \u0435\u0432\u0440\u043e\u043f\u0441\u043a\u0430 \u043f\u043e\u043b\u0438\u0442\u0438\u043a\u0430\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"mk-MK\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/#organization\",\"name\":\"European Policy Institute - Skopje\",\"alternateName\":\"EPI Skopje\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"mk-MK\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/wp-content\/uploads\/epi-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/wp-content\/uploads\/epi-logo.jpg\",\"width\":909,\"height\":909,\"caption\":\"European Policy Institute - Skopje\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/EPI.Skopje\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/epi_skopje\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/epi.skopje\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/epi-skopje\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/#\/schema\/person\/d3bccda7c7052a8ff666427b79e54a83\",\"name\":\"\u041d\u0430\u0443\u043c \u041b\u043e\u043a\u043e\u0441\u043a\u0438\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"mk-MK\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f9e8b68f998732685ae37ad350a11a67233e1bf00791e498034822ca264146d6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f9e8b68f998732685ae37ad350a11a67233e1bf00791e498034822ca264146d6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"\u041d\u0430\u0443\u043c \u041b\u043e\u043a\u043e\u0441\u043a\u0438\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/sq\/post\/author\/naum-lokoski\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Western Balkans Human Rights Cities Initiative: The importance of a Human Rights Based Approach in local government - EPI","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/sq\/post\/32389\/?lang=en","og_locale":"mk_MK","og_type":"article","og_title":"Western Balkans Human Rights Cities Initiative: The importance of a Human Rights Based Approach in local government - EPI","og_description":"This survey on the human rights situation in Albania and North Macedonia is part of a broader effort to strengthen democratic governance, civic participation, and human rights mainstreaming in the Western Balkans. Both countries, as EU candidate states, are navigating complex processes of decentralisation and multi-level governance while aspiring to align their institutions with European [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/sq\/post\/32389\/?lang=en","og_site_name":"EPI","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/EPI.Skopje\/","article_published_time":"2025-07-29T13:29:59+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-11-05T14:37:33+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":750,"url":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/wp-content\/uploads\/BHRCI-mockup.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"\u041d\u0430\u0443\u043c \u041b\u043e\u043a\u043e\u0441\u043a\u0438","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@epi_skopje","twitter_site":"@epi_skopje","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"\u041d\u0430\u0443\u043c \u041b\u043e\u043a\u043e\u0441\u043a\u0438","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/post\/32389?lang=en#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/post\/32389?lang=en"},"author":{"name":"\u041d\u0430\u0443\u043c \u041b\u043e\u043a\u043e\u0441\u043a\u0438","@id":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/#\/schema\/person\/d3bccda7c7052a8ff666427b79e54a83"},"headline":"Western Balkans Human Rights Cities Initiative: The importance of a Human Rights Based Approach in local government","datePublished":"2025-07-29T13:29:59+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-05T14:37:33+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/post\/32389?lang=en"},"wordCount":145,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/post\/32389?lang=en#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/wp-content\/uploads\/BHRCI-mockup.jpg","keywords":["2025","Democracy and Rule of Law"],"articleSection":["\u0418\u0437\u0434\u0430\u043d\u0438\u0458\u0430","\u0418\u0437\u0432\u0435\u0448\u0442\u0430\u0438","\u0418\u0441\u0442\u0440\u0430\u0436\u0443\u0432\u0430\u045a\u0430"],"inLanguage":"mk-MK"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/post\/32389?lang=en","url":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/post\/32389?lang=en","name":"Western Balkans Human Rights Cities Initiative: The importance of a Human Rights Based Approach in local government - EPI","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/post\/32389?lang=en#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/post\/32389?lang=en#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/wp-content\/uploads\/BHRCI-mockup.jpg","datePublished":"2025-07-29T13:29:59+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-05T14:37:33+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/post\/32389?lang=en#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"mk-MK","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/post\/32389?lang=en"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"mk-MK","@id":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/post\/32389?lang=en#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/wp-content\/uploads\/BHRCI-mockup.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/wp-content\/uploads\/BHRCI-mockup.jpg","width":1000,"height":750},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/post\/32389?lang=en#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Western Balkans Human Rights Cities Initiative: The importance of a Human Rights Based Approach in local government"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/","name":"EPI","description":"\u0418\u043d\u0441\u0442\u0438\u0442\u0443\u0442 \u0437\u0430 \u0435\u0432\u0440\u043e\u043f\u0441\u043a\u0430 \u043f\u043e\u043b\u0438\u0442\u0438\u043a\u0430","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"mk-MK"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/#organization","name":"European Policy Institute - Skopje","alternateName":"EPI Skopje","url":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"mk-MK","@id":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/wp-content\/uploads\/epi-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/wp-content\/uploads\/epi-logo.jpg","width":909,"height":909,"caption":"European Policy Institute - Skopje"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/EPI.Skopje\/","https:\/\/x.com\/epi_skopje","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/epi.skopje\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/epi-skopje"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/#\/schema\/person\/d3bccda7c7052a8ff666427b79e54a83","name":"\u041d\u0430\u0443\u043c \u041b\u043e\u043a\u043e\u0441\u043a\u0438","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"mk-MK","@id":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f9e8b68f998732685ae37ad350a11a67233e1bf00791e498034822ca264146d6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f9e8b68f998732685ae37ad350a11a67233e1bf00791e498034822ca264146d6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"\u041d\u0430\u0443\u043c \u041b\u043e\u043a\u043e\u0441\u043a\u0438"},"url":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/sq\/post\/author\/naum-lokoski"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/sq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/sq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/sq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/sq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/sq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32389"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/sq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32389\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32400,"href":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/sq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32389\/revisions\/32400"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/sq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/sq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/sq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epi.org.mk\/sq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}