Citizens should have the right to give opinions, to express their dissatisfaction and to debate the priorities of the municipality. Significant participation empowers citizens to make decisions but also to accept decisions made by those who represent them. Participation means cooperation.

Municipalities should stop discrimination. In this regard, the rights pertaining to citizens in the municipality need to give them the power to use those rights as preventive measure to the power of those powerful. The municipality shall create tools to identify those who are excluded, it will assess whether discrimination has occurred and shall compensate the rights of those who were violated. Rights arising from the process of good governance, including the right to give opinions, of information and to participate, are some of the major rights.

The right to sustainable development is a human right, and municipalities must therefore ensure the highest standards in education, health, environmental protection and other relevant social policies. Given that these cannot be ensured within an electoral mandate, they however require political and economic investment for years, thus local governments are under pressure to change policies in such a way that they can be distinguished from policies predecessors, but never to the detriment of the sustainable development.

Local governments have an obligation to provide certain services, including education, health, and housing, treatment of wastewater and of drinking water. This task is not something the municipality can decide according to its own will. It is understandable that some services are not being accessed immediately, but the local government should have a plan to achieve them. The municipality should provide a minimum of service at all circumstances. Therefore, in those municipalities where these services are not provided, it should be borne in mind that it is a priority to achieve them in order to guarantee protection of the human rights standard.

To assess whether the municipality provides economic and social rights, there are some of the criteria based on which one can assess the achievement of these obligations. These criteria are put in the form of questions: Are services provided? Are they in place? Are they accessible? Can they be achieved? Are they offered in a way that is appropriate for the community? Do they meet the needs of the community and their expectations?