Guidelines of the state capital

The anti-discrimination declaration of the state capital Stuttgart is a clear signal both to the city society and at the same time to the city administration. In the council of elders of the city council, the declaration was noted with approval.

The present declaration is based on a large number of occasions which have been and are being discussed for some time in the municipal council, in the administration, but also in public, and which by far do not only concern anti-Semitism. For example, there have been death threats against members of municipal bodies, or events have occurred such as the assassination attempt in Halle an der Saale with a right-wing extremist background. Employees of the administration are also repeatedly exposed to hostility and attacks.

The state capital Stuttgart is thus clearly committed to the equal participation of all population groups in social life, recognizes diverse ways of life and opposes all forms of misanthropy, discrimination, anti-Semitism, exclusion and racism. It resolutely opposes all hostilities, threats and assaults against employees and office holders.

The declaration is intended to serve as a basis for action guidelines or concepts in the administration that build on it.

The law on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) came into force in the Federal Republic of Germany on March 26, 2009. The UN CRPD pursues the goal of a society whose basic understanding is that all people are different and that everyone has strengths and weaknesses with which they can contribute to social life. Inclusion follows the principles of appreciation and recognition of diversity. Heterogeneity is thus a normal (positive) fact of life. Consequently, this means that barriers are removed, society opens up and adapts its structures to the needs of people with disabilities.

The state capital Stuttgart takes the law on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities very seriously. In particular, the state capital Stuttgart advocates that Stuttgart’s urban society be developed into an inclusive community in the sense of the UN CRPD, in which people with and without disabilities live, learn, live and work together as a matter of course. The City Council therefore adopted the following mission statement at its meeting on December 3, 2015:

Mission statement

The municipal council expressly recognizes the goals of the UNCRPD and supports in particular their implementation in the state capital Stuttgart.

The goal is a city society in which the existence of differences is normality, in which barriers are abolished and in which every person can participate with his or her special characteristics.

3. the municipal council is committed to ensuring that citizens as a whole develop a greater understanding for people with disabilities, for their rights and needs, and for their opportunities to participate in life in the urban society.

4. the urban society is further developed with the participation of people with disabilities into a pluralistic, inclusive community in which all people have their place and in which the diversity and differences of the individuals who make it up are respected and perceived as enrichment.

5. people with disabilities are a visible part of the city community. The Municipal Council is particularly concerned that they have the opportunity to participate in society in a self-determined way and to help shape it.

(6) The municipal council is committed to ensuring that processes, structures, offers, services and facilities are designed in such a way that they are accessible and appropriate for all people, including people with disabilities in particular.

7. the municipal council, together with the urban society, faces the challenges of the UN CRPD by gradually implementing its goals based on the results of the participation process for the Stuttgart Focus Action Plan and incorporating inclusion into general, political action.

Explanation/reasoning:
The German government already presented the “National Action Plan of the Federal Government for the Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - Our Path to an Inclusive Society” in 2011. Under the coordination of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Family, Women and Senior Citizens, the state government also adopted an implementation plan for its area of responsibility and at the same time commissioned the ministries to implement it. The action plan was explained to the general public at a state inclusion day in October 2015 and dealt with in greater depth in specialist forums.

As part of a broad-based participation process, the state capital of Stuttgart has also begun to apply the goals of the UN CRPD to its municipal tasks and responsibilities and to draw up a focus action plan for its area of responsibility. The state capital Stuttgart is thus following on from the action plans at federal and state level.

As part of the Stuttgart participation process for the development of a focus action plan for the implementation of the UN CRPD, in which people with disabilities, their relatives, experts from the disability aid, interested and knowledgeable citizens as well as representatives from politics and administration have participated, numerous proposals for measures and demands have been developed, which must now be successively implemented. The municipal council supports, promotes and accompanies this process. The mission statement for implementing the goals of the UN CRPD creates a framework for general and political action in the course of the upcoming change processes in the state capital Stuttgart.

In September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the “2030 Agenda” for sustainable development. The goal: improvement toward a world in which everyone acts in an ecologically compatible, socially just and economically effective manner. The city of Stuttgart is also increasingly committed to this. Learn more about how the city is driving forward the implementation of the goals:  Stuttgart global and sustainable

In order to improve corporate management, monitoring and transparency at the city’s associated companies, the City of Stuttgart has adopted a “Public Corporate Governance of the City of Stuttgart”. It summarizes standards for increasing efficiency, transparency and control, which are intended to provide a binding basis for all associated companies of the state capital Stuttgart.

The set of rules on public corporate governance consists of two parts:

Part A
Part A, the actual Public Corporate Governance Code, contains essential standards for the responsible management of publicly financed companies in addition to the statutory provisions in the form of stipulations, recommendations and suggestions.

Part B
Part B is for practical implementation and contains concrete specifications and suitable instruments to enable the necessary transparency and control in the interaction between the holding company and its shareholder, the city (holding administration), in a practicable, efficient and sustainable manner.

The public corporate governance of the state capital Stuttgart is regularly reviewed with regard to new developments and can be adapted if necessary.