In developing their own budgets, subnational governments should ensure that their revenue and allocations comport with the national government’s human rights obligations. The national government, for its part, should monitor subnational budgets to ensure that local authorities are carrying out the relevant obligations, and that the national government is providing the necessary support. Local governments often have primary responsibility for service delivery affecting human rights, but localities may have more limited options for generating revenue than does a national government. Human rights will only be protected if the national and local governments, along with civil society, work together to address any human rights gaps. Having said that, because of their relative proximity to their constituents and greater flexibility, local governments have a special opportunity to expand participation of residents in setting priorities and developing programs, as discussed further below.
The formulation of a local human rights budget should begin with a process of identifying human rights obligations and gaps. This rights-based analysis can then form the basis for policy formulation and development of potential local programs and interventions to address human rights. The policy formulation then leads to budget work, i.e., costing out the programs and feeding this process into the budget cycle, including assessment of revenues and costs. This is a complex process that involves sensitivity to the tradeoffs involved in prioritizing various policy initiatives. Public participation in the process can be important to maximizing community satisfaction with the outcomes.