Participation plays a crucial role in the promotion of democracy, the rule of law, social inclusion and fair economic development. It builds trust in the institutions and decisions that influence public life. Public participation is also necessary to overcome global challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, in the long term.The pandemic has had a twofold impact to the right to public participation. On the one hand, in some states it limited the ability of the public and CSOs to meaningfully take part in the emergency response to the pandemic. On the other hand, it gave rise to new initiatives enabling participation.
In 2018, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released the Guidelines providing practical recommendations on how States can put in practice the right to participate in public affairs.
In addition to our comprehensive and easy-to-use summary of these Guidelines, we now publish a repository of good practices showcasing some of the new initiatives we identified. The purpose of this collection is to offer a variety of examples on how the UN guidelines could be implemented effectively.