Purpose:
The House of Peace and Human Rights aims at disseminating the culture of peace, the promotion of human rights, peace processes and the recovery of historical memory. It does so in cooperation with other local, regional and international stakeholders.
Stimulus/Rationale:
The House founding document states:
“We are convinced that intercultural dialogue, the reinforcement of social cohesion, the respect for diversity and the promotion of human rights are the criteria that must inform the design and execution of local policies, with special emphasis on the value of the role of cities as territories where people of different origins and ideas meet and cohabit.
“The culture of peace hinges, most of all, on educational processes and methods for solving conflicts from a standpoint of respect for human rights, of dialogue and mediation. In this sense, we have, all of us, from within our own cities, to help to create a new world order with structures and mechanisms that seek to eradicate direct violence in all its forms, as well as structural violence (poverty, social exclusion, economic and social inequality, inequality between men and women, exclusion for reasons of sex, culture, etc.).”
Process:
Lines of work
The House of Peace and Human Rights structures its activities in the following areas of work:
- Training, Education and Research, including grants for study and research, promotion of exchanges between teachers and researchers, commissioning of studies on specific themes, design, and development of educational projects.
- Raising awareness through programmes and campaigns organised annually, for example, the celebration of significant days (Universal Children’s Day, Human Rights Day, etc., the Human Rights Film Festival, a programme of exhibitions, lecture seasons and round table discussions.
- Historical memory and recognition to all persons whose human rights have been undermined, including activities with the local Forum of Victims, the project “Garden of Memory”, the commemoration of the European day in memory of victims of terrorism.
- Information and counselling on human rights, including legal advice and direct psychological counselling, training on equality and the fight against discrimination, reflection forums on inequalities between North and South
- Study and documentation, including film archives specialised in human rights, in close collaboration with the Film Unit of Donostia Kultura, Tabakalera and The Basque Film Archives, educational resources for training in human rights questions.
- Recognition and reinforcement of social movements working for human rights, justice and solidarity, including grants and the provision of municipal facilities, the promotion of joint initiatives in favour of peace, respect for civil rights, non-discrimination and solidarity, collaboration in Peace Missions and tasks of observation in local elections.
- Dissemination of publications.
Mainstreaming Human Rights and multilevel governance
The Human Rights area, through the House of Peace and Human Rights, located in the Aiete Palace, works together with other municipal and international and local organisations working in the field of cooperation, cultural diversity, peace, historical memory and coexistence:
- The Human Rights Commission of the San Sebastian City Council, created in 1999, open to all the political groups of the City Council. This body, chaired by the mayor, analyses different aspects of municipal policy in relation to human rights.
- The Cooperation Department
- The Cultural Diversity Department
- Euskal Fondoa
Additionally, collaborations with the University of the Basque Country and and third-sector organisations such as Globernance, take place.
Key reference documents: Report 2022
