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From the 28th of June to the 1st of July, the city of Nantes hosted the fourth edition of the Global Forum on Human Rights in the City. The Forum, which was originally put forward by UNESCO, takes place every two years thanks to the support of the Greater Nantes Metropolitan agglomeration, the Loire Region, the county of Loire-Atlantique, and the city of Nantes, and has been under organization, since 2008, of the International Permanent Secretariat on ´Human Rights and Local Government´.
Focusing on the question "In a world in crisis, what about Human Rights?", the Forum featured around thirty round tables and gathered a record 2800 participants- the highest number in the history of the Forum. The message which featured throughout all the debates was that ´none of the economical, social, food related and environmental crises could justify drawbacks in the safeguarding of human rights around the world. Far from being inevitable, these crises force us to rethink the implementation of human rights and to imagine answers for the future´.
The local government representatives gathered at Nantes recalled the importance of the solidarity networks which are created or strengthened at each Forum, and highlighted the fundamental role played by cities in upholding human rights. This makes it all the more of a priority to support the network cooperation encouraged by the world organization of cities, UCLG, as well as projects as the Global Charter on Human Rights in the City.
The UCLG Committee for Social Inclusion and Participative Democracy (CSIPD) organized a number of activities as part of the fourth edition of the Forum : a debate on the Global Charter-Agenda on Human Rights in the City, a round table on the European Charter for Human Rights in the City, and a preparatory meeting for the upcoming conference on the European Charter, which will be held in the city of Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina, from 7 to 9 October 2010. 
On the Global Charter-Agenda for Human Rights in the City
The Global Charter-Agenda for Human Rights in the City is a project supported by the UCLG Committee for Social Inclusion and Participative Democracy (CSIPD) and coordinated by the city of Nantes and the region of Pays de la Loire, whose aim is to encourage the implementation of local policy which supports human rights. Following a writing period (2007-8) and a participative debating period (2009-2010), the project shall enter the adoption and promotion phase following the III UCLG World Congress- the Local and Regional Leaders Summit, which will take place in Mexico City from 16-20 November 2010. The added value of the Charter-Agenda is that each of the Human Rights featured in the document is accompanied by an action plan which situates the actions of local governments with respect to the implementation of this right.