YORK : HUMAN RIGHTS CITY

Lady Mayoress, Sheriff, Sheriff’s Lady, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

It has been a pleasure today, to meet Tomas Rajakovics and to understand better how his fellow Councillors in the Austrian city of Graz came to take a unanimous vote to declare Graz the first European City of Human Rights in 2001 and pledged to consider human rights issues in all its future decisions. A unanimous vote, including parties from the Communists to the far-right Freedom Party… but then, who would be against human rights? Only very bad people, I think…

So, many congratulations to Graz, and thank you Tomas, for coming to meet us in England.

York has been on a similar trajectory towards the designation of our city as the first city in the UK to declare itself as a Human Rights City. And I think it is interesting that the impetus for this has come from the community within York, rather than from politicians.

There is, perhaps, a great tradition in this city, of democratic innovation, since York gained control of its own finances and trade over 800 years ago. The philanthropy of the Rowntrees – one of our famous Quaker families - and particularly the pioneering social research of Seebohm Rowntree – brought a greater understanding of poverty and led to the establishment of the Welfare State. Presently, the active and dynamic network of voluntary organisations working on human rights and social justice issues in the city is impressive: (York City of Sanctuary, York LGBT Forum, York Older People's Forum, York Racial Equality Network, York Travellers Trust, York Women's Aid), and also internationally (York Against the War, YorkAmnesty International, York Fair Trade Forum, York Justice & Peace Group, York One World Linking Association, and International Service - the only UK international volunteering organisation based outside London… all make York an ideal candidate to take the step forward as a Human Rights City.

And even as an aetheist, I should not omit to say that faith groups have led much of the work on social justice and human rights. The current Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, is an outspoken advocate of certain human rights concerns. I’ve already mentioned the Quakers but other Christian traditions have also spoken up for human rights and I’m pleased to see other religions represented here today too.

It is vital that the Council and other authorities in the city are fully committed to supporting the concept of a Human Rights City and that process of engagement has been building for around a decade. Here we are. Congratulations to all the people who have worked to get us to this point of agreement. Congratulations especially to Professor Paul Gready and his colleagues at the Centre for Applied Human Rights at the University of York. Paul will be speaking to you later about ‘where we go from here’ so I don’t need to labour the point about how important the centre has been in leading this debate.

I don’t claim to have been involved in committees or the steering group which has done the groundwork for York as a Human Rights City, but I have supported the concept, and I have worked with the Centre for Applied Human Rights to organise films at City Screen with filmmakers coming to tell their tales from around the world. I have met the Human Rights Defenders who have come to York to share their expertise, and gain some respite from the tensions in their home countries. A wider recognition of people’s struggles can only be a good thing, but it is right for each city which considers its position in respect of human rights to do so in its own context. We may share some similar concerns with Graz, but York might also have different concerns, and these would possibly have greater differences in China or Colombia, for instance.

York is York, and we will have our own particular problems which impinge on people’s health and well-being; things like… making our wonderful old buildings accessible for people with disabilities, the current lack of facilities for people with mental health problems, the wider cuts in public health which could force more of our residents to travel long distances for treatment, and the congestion and associated air-pollution shortening people’s lives and impacting on their health. That’s just a random selection of ideas and there will need to be some processes for determining priorities for action.

I feel honoured that this day has come along during my tenure as Lord Mayor. The Lady Mayoress is equally proud as her eldest son holds a Master’s Degree in Human Rights and International Law and currently works for the United Nations Development Programme based in Addis Ababa.

Social justice has been a theme for me in my term in office as two of my four charities deal directly and specifically with human rights issues here in York; these being York LGBT Forum and York Racial Equality Network. Both those charities work to reduce bullying, discrimination, harassment, and are concerned about how these problems may be magnified for younger people and, indeed, for older people.

I know, also, that the Lord Mayor Elect, who will take office at the end of May, intends to continue in a similar vein by choosing Refugee Action York as one of her charities. I’m delighted to hear this.

I have had a most interesting and enjoyable year as Lord Mayor of York. A lot of things will stick in our minds for the rest of our lives... dementia permitting. The Civic Party has met a great number of people who do vital and, sometimes, incredible work to help others in our city – sometimes that has been people going diligently about their jobs, and sometimes it has been voluntary workers, or acts of friendship and community. All of those things have touched us greatly, but for myself, there will be two things to which I will attach great importance, and I only hope that these will continue to have significance for the city of York and our place in the world. One is the signing of a ‘Sister Cities’ declaration with Nanjing, and the other will be the signing of this declaration of York as a Human Rights City. Naturally, I would hope that these are compatible, and maybe new opportunities can be found in looking at the two in tandem, but that is for the future…

Today is a most auspicious occasion. A step forward in a year which has been otherwise characterised by insularity, uncertainty and pessimism. Let us not dwell on that tonight. Let us look forward, with hope and determination, to make the world, and in particular our own small part of the world, a better place.

Permit me to read you the declaration, which I shall then sign on behalf of the city…

THE DECLARATION

York, in becoming a Human Rights City, embraces a vision of a lively, diverse, fair and safe community built on the foundations of universal human rights. This vision is shared by citizens and institutions in our city, including the City Council, North Yorkshire Police, voluntary organisations and faith communities.

We are building on York's own particular history of democratic innovation, philanthropy and an international outlook, all of which have shaped our commitment to social justice.

This declaration marks an ambition. A significant point in a journey, not a final destination. As the UK's first Human Rights City we are committed to making our vision real, putting fundamental rights at the heart of our policies, hopes and dreams for the future.