International human rights, though universal in theory in that everyone is entitled to them by virtue of being human, is in practice predicated upon the architecture of the nation-state. States must consent to be bound by treaties, follow through with their recommendations, and must approve humanitarian interventions to stop genocide. Yet increasing numbers of states are denouncing, ignoring, or pulling back from human rights principles and commitments with nationalist, neocolonial, and populist arguments. This lecture articulates a possible way forward: sub-national government, and in particular cities, as agents and sites of human rights promotion and actualization. It lays out the general ways in which cities – with rapid urbanization, economic power, innovation, and government closest to the people – offer a promising way forward. It also traces the potential and pitfalls of two city initiatives in the area of gender equality: US cities and counties adopting laws to implement the UN Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the newly formed City Hub and Network for Gender Equity (CHANGE) formed between Los Angeles, Barcelona, Freetown, London, Mexico City, and Tokyo.
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