Traditionally, when city mayors are crafting local policies, they always act without strategizing how international civil liberties can be expanded. Yet, according to Davis (2018), the city leaders have significant opportunities for advancing inalienable rights. Based on their official website, the City of Mountain View voted to be a human rights city on December 13, 2016 (“Human Relations,” n.d.). This blog post describes the records and the solutions of this city’s compliances to the global universal rights of an individual.
One of the solutions to the human rights challenges in Mountain View was the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Moreover, the urban center has an office for the commissioner who is responsible for the implementation of the adopted policies through facilitating mutual understanding, dignity, and enhancing civic engagement and respect. The top officials have also made resolutions which include raising awareness and shifting the discourse on racism, hate speech, and Islam phobia. Furthermore, Mayor Pat Showalter has been at the forefront to advocate for human rights as a standard for other policies. The result is that the city has numerous campaigns which focus on educating citizens to be responsible and respect others.
Thus, human rights activists have been appreciative of the move as it enhances equity despite individual differences. Two of the city councils, John McAlister and John Inks, opposed the move, but those who supported were more with a ratio of 5:2 (Noack, 2016). Some officials have been worried that the decision to make Mountain View a Human rights city makes the region vulnerable to legal liability as it submits to the foreign set of rules. However, the advantages are more than all the shortcomings since the commissioners meet on a regular basis to organize for campaigns that enhance equity while still regulating the policies in the city so that it does not conflict with federal roles.
References
Davis, M. F. (2018). Design challenges for human rights cities. Columbia Human Rights Law Review, 49(1), 27−66.
Human relations commission. (n.d.). City of Mountain View. 2020, Web.
Noack, M. (2016). Council votes to make Mountain View a human rights city. Mountain View Online. Web.