Mayor Malick-Lowe Joins Global Push for Local Human Rights

The Mayor of Banjul, Rohey Malick Lowe, joined global counterparts today at the United Nations in Geneva for a high-level meeting aimed at advancing the human rights agenda and strengthening collaboration between local and regional governments.

“Today at the United Nations in Geneva, I joined my colleagues around the world in a meeting that will push forward the human rights agenda and interchange between local and regional governments,” Mayor Lowe stated.

This important gathering builds on the foundation laid in Geneva in 2019, when the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in collaboration with United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), convened the first joint meeting with local governments under the theme “Addressing Social and Economic Inequalities at the Local Level.”

The 2025 meeting brought together a broad coalition of participants including mayors, local government officials, human rights experts, city networks, civil society organizations, academic institutions, and representatives from the UN Human Rights Commission. The goal was to enhance the role of local authorities in promoting and protecting human rights within their communities.

Several mechanisms and key recommendations were formulated during the discussions. One major outcome was the recognition of the importance of organizing regular OHCHR-UCLG meetings involving local governments, civil society groups, city networks, and stakeholders such as the Network of Locally Elected Women of Africa (Refela).

“Recommendations were also made to building the capacity of local governments on human rights, strengthening the engagement of local governments with the UN human rights system, establishing criteria for the process of building a human rights city and creating a structure for supporting and evaluating local governments that aim at becoming ‘human rights cities,’” Lowe explained.

The meeting concluded with the formal adoption of the Guidance Framework for Creating a Human Rights City, a comprehensive roadmap designed to support cities in embedding human rights principles in local governance and development planning.

Mayor Rohey Malick Lowe’s participation reflects Banjul’s continued leadership in inclusive, rights-based governance and its commitment to shaping a more just and equitable future through local action.