Mapping Local Human Rights Practices in Triveneto

Abstract

This project aims to investigate how human rights are implemented in the policies and regulatory acts adopted by municipal administrations in the Triveneto area (Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and Trentino-Alto Adige).

The project is conceived as a starting point for a broader investigation into local human rights engagement, which should further expand the scope of analysis and lay the groundwork for an exchange among local officials working on these issues in Italy and abroad. Local human rights practices will be studied across four specific policy areas, the right to housing, gender-based violence, inclusion and non-discrimination of migrants and minorities, and initiatives to promote human rights education, with respect to a sample of 100 municipalities in the Triveneto region.

Objectives

The project has three interconnected and incremental objectives.

First, it aims to investigate the overall local commitment to human rights in the Triveneto region by systematically collecting good practices and weaknesses in the legislation and policies advanced by a significant sample of subnational governments in the area (municipalities, provinces, regional authorities).

Second, it seeks to formulate a set of indicators to assess local human rights policies in cooperation with local stakeholders (including academia, subnational governments, and civil society). In this regard, the project draws on research and co-production experiences in other contexts (see the examples of York and Graz, among others).

Third, the project aims to lay the groundwork for a lasting dialogue between Italian and non-Italian local administrations where close cooperation with academia on human rights policies and their evaluation has already been developed, in order to compare experiences and lessons learned in promoting human rights at the local level across different national, political, and socio-economic contexts. To achieve these goals, and thanks to the networks of international partners involved in this project, public officials from their municipalities (York, Graz) will be invited to participate in the project's main events.

Mapping Local Human Rights Practices in Triveneto
Scientific area: Area 16 – Political and Social Sciences
Funding type: B.I.R.D. – Integrated Budget for Departmental Research
Project type: National
Project status: Open
Scientific responsibility: Coordinator
Start date: 20 May 2024
End date: 19 May 2026
Duration: 24 months
Amount: € 26,000
Coordinator: Pietro De Perini

Participants

Angelica Vascotto (project research fellow), University of Padova
Marco Mascia, University of Padova
Paola Degani, University of Padova
Paolo De Stefani, University of Padova
Elisa Gamba, University of Padova
Piergiuseppe Parisi, University of York
Klaus Starl, UNESCO International Centre for the Promotion of Human Rights at Local and Regional Levels under Graz, Austria
Francesca Benciolini, Councillor for Peace and Human Rights, Municipality of Padova
Claudia Pividori, Centro Veneto Progetti Donna, Padova
Luigi Zanin, Director of the International Cooperation Unit, Veneto Region

Contats: pietro.deperini@unipd.it