I have noted that governance, even within the context of human rights, has been moving from system of command and principle, to system,s of assessment and reporting, where the techniques of ranking and assessment criteria substitute for the old legal order grounded in command. (Backer, Larry Catá, Global Panopticism: States, Corporations and the Governance Effects of Monitoring Regimes. Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, Vol. 15, 2007; Backer, Larry Catá, Transparency and Business in International Law — Governance between Norm and Technique (March 17, 2012);The 3rd U.N. Forum on Business and Human Rights--Streaming Live With Thoughts on the Forum as Estates General).
In October 2014, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights announced that it was developing indicators for freedoms of peaceful assembly and association. Its press release noted:
OHCHR has worked with human rights mechanisms and experts to develop illustrative indicators for civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. These indicators are being applied in a growing number of countries and used by a range of organisations from government and civil society . . . . Human rights indicators are essential tools in the implementation of human rights standards and commitments, supporting policy formulation, impact assessment and transparency.
But actually, these indicators are not merely tools, they are increasingly used as substitutes for governance--both because they do not require invocation of the "law making" procedures of international organizations, and because they are much easier to socialize as self enforcing mechanisms. This is made clear in the OHCHR "Main Features of OHCHR Conceptual and Methodological Framework," set out below.
This work is part of OHCHR's wider efforts in developing human rights indicators and supporting the integration and measurement of human rights at national and international levels, including in the context of the Post-2015 development agenda.
They have invited comments on the draft indicators, which may be accessed HERE. Please provide your comments by 31 January 2015 to civilsociety@ohchr.org.The indicators as developed to date follow.
The OHCHR is especially interested in civil society organizations that have developed or used quantitative or qualitative indicators and data in this area, we would be interested to receive this information and learn more about your work.
The OHCHR has produced Human Rights Indicators: A Guide to Measurement and Implementation, which it decribes this way:
The centrality of techniques of assessment in governance is well understood, and shapes the approach of the publication.The OHCHR has produced Human Rights Indicators: A Guide to Measurement and Implementation, which it decribes this way:
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has published Human Rights Indicators: A Guide to Measurement and Implementation. The publication aims to assist in developing quantitative and qualitative indicators to measure progress in the implementation of international human rights norms and principles.
The Guide describes the conceptual and methodological framework for human rights indicators recommended by international and national human rights mechanisms and used by a growing number of governmental and non-governmental actors. It provides concrete examples of indicators identified for a number of human rights—all originating from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights—and other practical tools and illustrations, to support the realization of human rights at all levels.
On a general level, the idea of measuring human rights is inspired by the thinking, once well summed up by the eminent development thinker and practitioner J.K. Galbraith, that “if it is not counted, it tends not to be noticed.” On another level and in a different context, one could go further and suggest “what gets measured gets done.” At the heart of this thinking is the recognition that to manage a process of change directed at meeting certain socially desirable objectives, there is a need to articulate targets consistent with those objectives, mobilize the required means, as well as identify policy instruments and mechanisms that translate those means into desired outcomes. In other words, there is a need for suitable information, for example in the form of statistics, indicators or even indices, in order to undertake a situational analysis, inform public policy, monitor progress, and measure performance and overall outcomes. (Ibid., 1).
But understanding doe snot produce either a drive toward coherence or uniformity. As an international organization presiding over a global community of states with substantially distinct views of the meaning of assembly and association, the toolbox is designed to be flexibly applied. And, indeed, the toolkit can be used as easily to hide as it can to expose. The toolkit can be used as much to change the meaning and application of principle and standard as it can be used to bend state conduct to coherent international standards. As such, it is important to remember that while the move from command to technique may produce more effective governance, it cannot suggest the direction of that effort or its coherence within wider streams fo standard setting at the international level. That is meade clear by the OHCHR's methodological statement.
Human Rights Indicators - Main features of OHCHR conceptual and methodological framework
OHCHR has developed a conceptual and methodological framework of indicators that can be applied and contextualised at national level. The OHCHR conceptual and methodological framework adopts a common approach to identifying indicators for monitoring civil and political rights, and economic, social and cultural rights.
The framework recommends the development of structural, process and outcome indicators. This configuration of indicators should help assess the steps being taken by States in addressing their obligations – from commitments and acceptance of international human rights standards (structural indicators) to efforts being made to meet the obligations that flow from the standards (process indicators) and on to the results of those efforts (outcome indicators).
The framework seeks neither to prepare a common list of indicators to be applied across all countries irrespective of their social, political and economic development. Nor to make a case for building a global composite measure for cross-country comparisons of the realization or enjoyment of human rights.
The framework provides guidance for the identification of contextually relevant and feasible indicators in compliance with international human rights norms and principles. Using the adopted framework, lists of illustrative indicators have been identified and are being validated on a number of human rights and thematic issues.
The adopted methodology focuses primarily on indicators that are or can be compiled by official statistical systems using administrative records and statistical surveys.
The framework focuses on quantitative as well as qualitative indicators. Efforts have been made to keep the indicators simple, based on objective and transparent methodology and, to the extent feasible, with an emphasis on disaggregation by type of prohibited discrimination and by vulnerable and marginalized population group.
Human rights indicators allow States to assess their own progress in implementing human rights and compliance with the international treaties, and also provide tools for civil society to monitor progress and ensure accountability. They can assist national governments in implementing rights-based policy, bolster cases argued by human rights advocates and provide further access to information.
Included here as well is the Opening statement by Ms. Flavia Pansieri on human rights indicators:
Opening Statement by Ms. Flavia Pansieri
United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights at Side event on Human Rights indicators
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure to be with you all, and I would like to thank our colleagues and friends from the Permanent Missions of Portugal and Paraguay for the invitation to take part in this important event.
If human rights are to be truly enjoyed by every human being, we must complement legislation with monitoring of implementation on the ground. Only with robust statistics can we establish the vital benchmarks that translate human rights commitments into targeted policies, and only they can measure how effective those policies are.
Thus, at the heart of the work on indicators undertaken by OHCHR is a commitment to strengthen human rights implementation on the ground.
Today we will hear from Paraguay and Portugal, two of the countries at the forefront of the development of indicators for human rights at the national level, in consultation with partners from civil society. These two countries are already putting into practice the human rights indicators methodology developed by OHCHR. The methodology is outlined in the publication Human Rights Indicators: A Guide to Measurement and Implementation , which was launched last year.
The Guide is one of our most in-demand publications. In fact, it is so popular that we have simply run out of hard copies, but you can download it in English, French and Spanish from our website, and there are flyers at the back of the room.
Why is there such a strong interest in human rights indicators? The main reason is, of course, that indicators provide essential evidence as to the level of enjoyment of human rights and the effectiveness of law and policy. They also help us to detect discrimination, provided they are sufficiently disaggregated. In short, indicators allow us to design and implement evidence-based policies and programmes at country level. Transforming human rights commitments into practice requires resources and good policy responses - in particular public interventions that empower the most vulnerable and marginalised population groups to advocate for their own rights.
While there is a longer tradition of using indicators in the promotion of economic and social rights, it is today widely recognized that indicators are also essential to measure civil and political rights, including on violence, participation in decision-making and the administration of justice. The use of statistical information is already apparent in the reporting of States and in the review processes conducted by treaty bodies and special procedures as well as in the peer review under the UPR. Indicators are critical if we are to measure progress across the reporting cycles, and for Governments to develop appropriate policy responses. Furthermore, OHCHR’s methodology on human rights indicators and benchmarking has contributed to developing national human rights action plans, including those designed to follow-up UPR recommendations and to making them more results-based.
The illustrative indicators provided in OHCHR human indicators guide come primarily from data collection carried out by national statistical institutions. These indicators constitute a bridge for the realisation of human rights at two levels:
Take the example of violence against women: States need data in order to assess rigorously the extent of this violence and the impact of their efforts to reduce it. Figures released by WHO last year tell us that globally one in three women have experienced physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner. [1] While this indicator does not give a comprehensive picture and needs to be complemented with qualitative analysis, it does show a very serious and worrying gap in women’s enjoyment of their human rights.
Collecting data at national level allows us to reach out to victims and survivors who may not have access to remedies, contribute to their empowerment and raise awareness of human rights issues among the population.
We need, however, to make sure that such data are collected with due respect for human rights. We know that this is not systematically done – not every question included in surveys in some countries respects the principle of the right to privacy, or the right of individuals to self-identification as members of minority or ethnic groups, for example.
We also need to pay particular attention to the independence and capacity of national statistical offices to ensure the quality, relevance and credibility of the figures they release. The system of independent national human rights institutions may provide interesting standards and practices in this context.
Ladies and gentlemen,
While interdependence and mutual benefit between the human rights and statistical communities are increasingly recognized, there is a critical need to strengthen dialogue and collaboration between these two communities. Both communities can further learn and benefit from one another’s experience, both at the national and international levels.
Learning about the experiences of Paraguay and Portugal is therefore particularly timely. It should encourage other countries, Governments and civil society to engage further in these efforts, and to also share their experience with OHCHR to contribute to our collection of good practices and lessons learned.
The importance of participatory processes and national ownership in the development of indicators, based on internationally accepted human rights standards, is a key feature of OHCHR’s approach on human rights indicators.
The work of Paraguay and Portugal demonstrates the practical relevance of our methodology. Such experiences and exchanges of practice help us to gain insights and to move forward in the building of the necessary bridges between human rights, statistics and policy-making.
I wish to thank again Portugal and Paraguay for their on-going work on indicators for human rights and for their initiative to organise this event. I understand that they have already been approached by other countries engaged in human rights indicators work.
As always, OHCHR stands ready to support countries in the use of its methodology for human rights indicators to enhance follow-up on recommendations from international human rights mechanisms and implementation on the ground.
Thank you.
- See more at: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=14786&LangID=E#sthash.1H5MLRMm.dpuf
Human Rights Council 26th Session
23 June 2014
13:00-15:00, Room XXIV, Palais des Nations
Colleagues,13:00-15:00, Room XXIV, Palais des Nations
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure to be with you all, and I would like to thank our colleagues and friends from the Permanent Missions of Portugal and Paraguay for the invitation to take part in this important event.
If human rights are to be truly enjoyed by every human being, we must complement legislation with monitoring of implementation on the ground. Only with robust statistics can we establish the vital benchmarks that translate human rights commitments into targeted policies, and only they can measure how effective those policies are.
Thus, at the heart of the work on indicators undertaken by OHCHR is a commitment to strengthen human rights implementation on the ground.
Today we will hear from Paraguay and Portugal, two of the countries at the forefront of the development of indicators for human rights at the national level, in consultation with partners from civil society. These two countries are already putting into practice the human rights indicators methodology developed by OHCHR. The methodology is outlined in the publication Human Rights Indicators: A Guide to Measurement and Implementation , which was launched last year.
The Guide is one of our most in-demand publications. In fact, it is so popular that we have simply run out of hard copies, but you can download it in English, French and Spanish from our website, and there are flyers at the back of the room.
Why is there such a strong interest in human rights indicators? The main reason is, of course, that indicators provide essential evidence as to the level of enjoyment of human rights and the effectiveness of law and policy. They also help us to detect discrimination, provided they are sufficiently disaggregated. In short, indicators allow us to design and implement evidence-based policies and programmes at country level. Transforming human rights commitments into practice requires resources and good policy responses - in particular public interventions that empower the most vulnerable and marginalised population groups to advocate for their own rights.
While there is a longer tradition of using indicators in the promotion of economic and social rights, it is today widely recognized that indicators are also essential to measure civil and political rights, including on violence, participation in decision-making and the administration of justice. The use of statistical information is already apparent in the reporting of States and in the review processes conducted by treaty bodies and special procedures as well as in the peer review under the UPR. Indicators are critical if we are to measure progress across the reporting cycles, and for Governments to develop appropriate policy responses. Furthermore, OHCHR’s methodology on human rights indicators and benchmarking has contributed to developing national human rights action plans, including those designed to follow-up UPR recommendations and to making them more results-based.
The illustrative indicators provided in OHCHR human indicators guide come primarily from data collection carried out by national statistical institutions. These indicators constitute a bridge for the realisation of human rights at two levels:
- first, a bridge between the international and the national. That is, a bridge between international human rights commitments and their translation, through policy measures, to the national level. In the context of the Millennium Development Goals for instance, we have seen countries developing more comprehensive systems of indicators and integrating further human rights and governance issues.
- Secondly, indicators are a bridge between the human rights and statistical communities at country level. We are increasingly seeing human rights reflected in statistical work, including through the engagement and collaboration of national human rights institutions with statistical organisations.
Take the example of violence against women: States need data in order to assess rigorously the extent of this violence and the impact of their efforts to reduce it. Figures released by WHO last year tell us that globally one in three women have experienced physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner. [1] While this indicator does not give a comprehensive picture and needs to be complemented with qualitative analysis, it does show a very serious and worrying gap in women’s enjoyment of their human rights.
Collecting data at national level allows us to reach out to victims and survivors who may not have access to remedies, contribute to their empowerment and raise awareness of human rights issues among the population.
We need, however, to make sure that such data are collected with due respect for human rights. We know that this is not systematically done – not every question included in surveys in some countries respects the principle of the right to privacy, or the right of individuals to self-identification as members of minority or ethnic groups, for example.
We also need to pay particular attention to the independence and capacity of national statistical offices to ensure the quality, relevance and credibility of the figures they release. The system of independent national human rights institutions may provide interesting standards and practices in this context.
Ladies and gentlemen,
While interdependence and mutual benefit between the human rights and statistical communities are increasingly recognized, there is a critical need to strengthen dialogue and collaboration between these two communities. Both communities can further learn and benefit from one another’s experience, both at the national and international levels.
Learning about the experiences of Paraguay and Portugal is therefore particularly timely. It should encourage other countries, Governments and civil society to engage further in these efforts, and to also share their experience with OHCHR to contribute to our collection of good practices and lessons learned.
The importance of participatory processes and national ownership in the development of indicators, based on internationally accepted human rights standards, is a key feature of OHCHR’s approach on human rights indicators.
The work of Paraguay and Portugal demonstrates the practical relevance of our methodology. Such experiences and exchanges of practice help us to gain insights and to move forward in the building of the necessary bridges between human rights, statistics and policy-making.
I wish to thank again Portugal and Paraguay for their on-going work on indicators for human rights and for their initiative to organise this event. I understand that they have already been approached by other countries engaged in human rights indicators work.
As always, OHCHR stands ready to support countries in the use of its methodology for human rights indicators to enhance follow-up on recommendations from international human rights mechanisms and implementation on the ground.
Thank you.
*****
Opening Statement by Ms. Flavia Pansieri
United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights at Side event on Human Rights indicators
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure to be with you all, and I would like to thank our colleagues and friends from the Permanent Missions of Portugal and Paraguay for the invitation to take part in this important event.
If human rights are to be truly enjoyed by every human being, we must complement legislation with monitoring of implementation on the ground. Only with robust statistics can we establish the vital benchmarks that translate human rights commitments into targeted policies, and only they can measure how effective those policies are.
Thus, at the heart of the work on indicators undertaken by OHCHR is a commitment to strengthen human rights implementation on the ground.
Today we will hear from Paraguay and Portugal, two of the countries at the forefront of the development of indicators for human rights at the national level, in consultation with partners from civil society. These two countries are already putting into practice the human rights indicators methodology developed by OHCHR. The methodology is outlined in the publication Human Rights Indicators: A Guide to Measurement and Implementation , which was launched last year.
The Guide is one of our most in-demand publications. In fact, it is so popular that we have simply run out of hard copies, but you can download it in English, French and Spanish from our website, and there are flyers at the back of the room.
Why is there such a strong interest in human rights indicators? The main reason is, of course, that indicators provide essential evidence as to the level of enjoyment of human rights and the effectiveness of law and policy. They also help us to detect discrimination, provided they are sufficiently disaggregated. In short, indicators allow us to design and implement evidence-based policies and programmes at country level. Transforming human rights commitments into practice requires resources and good policy responses - in particular public interventions that empower the most vulnerable and marginalised population groups to advocate for their own rights.
While there is a longer tradition of using indicators in the promotion of economic and social rights, it is today widely recognized that indicators are also essential to measure civil and political rights, including on violence, participation in decision-making and the administration of justice. The use of statistical information is already apparent in the reporting of States and in the review processes conducted by treaty bodies and special procedures as well as in the peer review under the UPR. Indicators are critical if we are to measure progress across the reporting cycles, and for Governments to develop appropriate policy responses. Furthermore, OHCHR’s methodology on human rights indicators and benchmarking has contributed to developing national human rights action plans, including those designed to follow-up UPR recommendations and to making them more results-based.
The illustrative indicators provided in OHCHR human indicators guide come primarily from data collection carried out by national statistical institutions. These indicators constitute a bridge for the realisation of human rights at two levels:
Take the example of violence against women: States need data in order to assess rigorously the extent of this violence and the impact of their efforts to reduce it. Figures released by WHO last year tell us that globally one in three women have experienced physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner. [1] While this indicator does not give a comprehensive picture and needs to be complemented with qualitative analysis, it does show a very serious and worrying gap in women’s enjoyment of their human rights.
Collecting data at national level allows us to reach out to victims and survivors who may not have access to remedies, contribute to their empowerment and raise awareness of human rights issues among the population.
We need, however, to make sure that such data are collected with due respect for human rights. We know that this is not systematically done – not every question included in surveys in some countries respects the principle of the right to privacy, or the right of individuals to self-identification as members of minority or ethnic groups, for example.
We also need to pay particular attention to the independence and capacity of national statistical offices to ensure the quality, relevance and credibility of the figures they release. The system of independent national human rights institutions may provide interesting standards and practices in this context.
Ladies and gentlemen,
While interdependence and mutual benefit between the human rights and statistical communities are increasingly recognized, there is a critical need to strengthen dialogue and collaboration between these two communities. Both communities can further learn and benefit from one another’s experience, both at the national and international levels.
Learning about the experiences of Paraguay and Portugal is therefore particularly timely. It should encourage other countries, Governments and civil society to engage further in these efforts, and to also share their experience with OHCHR to contribute to our collection of good practices and lessons learned.
The importance of participatory processes and national ownership in the development of indicators, based on internationally accepted human rights standards, is a key feature of OHCHR’s approach on human rights indicators.
The work of Paraguay and Portugal demonstrates the practical relevance of our methodology. Such experiences and exchanges of practice help us to gain insights and to move forward in the building of the necessary bridges between human rights, statistics and policy-making.
I wish to thank again Portugal and Paraguay for their on-going work on indicators for human rights and for their initiative to organise this event. I understand that they have already been approached by other countries engaged in human rights indicators work.
As always, OHCHR stands ready to support countries in the use of its methodology for human rights indicators to enhance follow-up on recommendations from international human rights mechanisms and implementation on the ground.
Thank you.
- See more at: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=14786&LangID=E#sthash.1H5MLRMm.dpuf
Human Rights Council 26th Session
23 June 2014
13:00-15:00, Room XXIV, Palais des Nations
Colleagues,13:00-15:00, Room XXIV, Palais des Nations
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure to be with you all, and I would like to thank our colleagues and friends from the Permanent Missions of Portugal and Paraguay for the invitation to take part in this important event.
If human rights are to be truly enjoyed by every human being, we must complement legislation with monitoring of implementation on the ground. Only with robust statistics can we establish the vital benchmarks that translate human rights commitments into targeted policies, and only they can measure how effective those policies are.
Thus, at the heart of the work on indicators undertaken by OHCHR is a commitment to strengthen human rights implementation on the ground.
Today we will hear from Paraguay and Portugal, two of the countries at the forefront of the development of indicators for human rights at the national level, in consultation with partners from civil society. These two countries are already putting into practice the human rights indicators methodology developed by OHCHR. The methodology is outlined in the publication Human Rights Indicators: A Guide to Measurement and Implementation , which was launched last year.
The Guide is one of our most in-demand publications. In fact, it is so popular that we have simply run out of hard copies, but you can download it in English, French and Spanish from our website, and there are flyers at the back of the room.
Why is there such a strong interest in human rights indicators? The main reason is, of course, that indicators provide essential evidence as to the level of enjoyment of human rights and the effectiveness of law and policy. They also help us to detect discrimination, provided they are sufficiently disaggregated. In short, indicators allow us to design and implement evidence-based policies and programmes at country level. Transforming human rights commitments into practice requires resources and good policy responses - in particular public interventions that empower the most vulnerable and marginalised population groups to advocate for their own rights.
While there is a longer tradition of using indicators in the promotion of economic and social rights, it is today widely recognized that indicators are also essential to measure civil and political rights, including on violence, participation in decision-making and the administration of justice. The use of statistical information is already apparent in the reporting of States and in the review processes conducted by treaty bodies and special procedures as well as in the peer review under the UPR. Indicators are critical if we are to measure progress across the reporting cycles, and for Governments to develop appropriate policy responses. Furthermore, OHCHR’s methodology on human rights indicators and benchmarking has contributed to developing national human rights action plans, including those designed to follow-up UPR recommendations and to making them more results-based.
The illustrative indicators provided in OHCHR human indicators guide come primarily from data collection carried out by national statistical institutions. These indicators constitute a bridge for the realisation of human rights at two levels:
- first, a bridge between the international and the national. That is, a bridge between international human rights commitments and their translation, through policy measures, to the national level. In the context of the Millennium Development Goals for instance, we have seen countries developing more comprehensive systems of indicators and integrating further human rights and governance issues.
- Secondly, indicators are a bridge between the human rights and statistical communities at country level. We are increasingly seeing human rights reflected in statistical work, including through the engagement and collaboration of national human rights institutions with statistical organisations.
Take the example of violence against women: States need data in order to assess rigorously the extent of this violence and the impact of their efforts to reduce it. Figures released by WHO last year tell us that globally one in three women have experienced physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner. [1] While this indicator does not give a comprehensive picture and needs to be complemented with qualitative analysis, it does show a very serious and worrying gap in women’s enjoyment of their human rights.
Collecting data at national level allows us to reach out to victims and survivors who may not have access to remedies, contribute to their empowerment and raise awareness of human rights issues among the population.
We need, however, to make sure that such data are collected with due respect for human rights. We know that this is not systematically done – not every question included in surveys in some countries respects the principle of the right to privacy, or the right of individuals to self-identification as members of minority or ethnic groups, for example.
We also need to pay particular attention to the independence and capacity of national statistical offices to ensure the quality, relevance and credibility of the figures they release. The system of independent national human rights institutions may provide interesting standards and practices in this context.
Ladies and gentlemen,
While interdependence and mutual benefit between the human rights and statistical communities are increasingly recognized, there is a critical need to strengthen dialogue and collaboration between these two communities. Both communities can further learn and benefit from one another’s experience, both at the national and international levels.
Learning about the experiences of Paraguay and Portugal is therefore particularly timely. It should encourage other countries, Governments and civil society to engage further in these efforts, and to also share their experience with OHCHR to contribute to our collection of good practices and lessons learned.
The importance of participatory processes and national ownership in the development of indicators, based on internationally accepted human rights standards, is a key feature of OHCHR’s approach on human rights indicators.
The work of Paraguay and Portugal demonstrates the practical relevance of our methodology. Such experiences and exchanges of practice help us to gain insights and to move forward in the building of the necessary bridges between human rights, statistics and policy-making.
I wish to thank again Portugal and Paraguay for their on-going work on indicators for human rights and for their initiative to organise this event. I understand that they have already been approached by other countries engaged in human rights indicators work.
As always, OHCHR stands ready to support countries in the use of its methodology for human rights indicators to enhance follow-up on recommendations from international human rights mechanisms and implementation on the ground.
Thank you.
*****
Opening Statement by Ms. Flavia Pansieri United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights at Side event on Human Rights indicators
Human Rights Council 26th Session
23 June 2014
13:00-15:00, Room XXIV, Palais des Nations
Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure to be with you all, and I would like to thank our colleagues and friends from the Permanent Missions of Portugal and Paraguay for the invitation to take part in this important event.
If human rights are to be truly enjoyed by every human being, we must complement legislation with monitoring of implementation on the ground. Only with robust statistics can we establish the vital benchmarks that translate human rights commitments into targeted policies, and only they can measure how effective those policies are.
Thus, at the heart of the work on indicators undertaken by OHCHR is a commitment to strengthen human rights implementation on the ground.
Today we will hear from Paraguay and Portugal, two of the countries at the forefront of the development of indicators for human rights at the national level, in consultation with partners from civil society. These two countries are already putting into practice the human rights indicators methodology developed by OHCHR. The methodology is outlined in the publication Human Rights Indicators: A Guide to Measurement and Implementation , which was launched last year.
The Guide is one of our most in-demand publications. In fact, it is so popular that we have simply run out of hard copies, but you can download it in English, French and Spanish from our website, and there are flyers at the back of the room.
Why is there such a strong interest in human rights indicators? The main reason is, of course, that indicators provide essential evidence as to the level of enjoyment of human rights and the effectiveness of law and policy. They also help us to detect discrimination, provided they are sufficiently disaggregated. In short, indicators allow us to design and implement evidence-based policies and programmes at country level. Transforming human rights commitments into practice requires resources and good policy responses - in particular public interventions that empower the most vulnerable and marginalised population groups to advocate for their own rights.
While there is a longer tradition of using indicators in the promotion of economic and social rights, it is today widely recognized that indicators are also essential to measure civil and political rights, including on violence, participation in decision-making and the administration of justice. The use of statistical information is already apparent in the reporting of States and in the review processes conducted by treaty bodies and special procedures as well as in the peer review under the UPR. Indicators are critical if we are to measure progress across the reporting cycles, and for Governments to develop appropriate policy responses. Furthermore, OHCHR’s methodology on human rights indicators and benchmarking has contributed to developing national human rights action plans, including those designed to follow-up UPR recommendations and to making them more results-based.
The illustrative indicators provided in OHCHR human indicators guide come primarily from data collection carried out by national statistical institutions. These indicators constitute a bridge for the realisation of human rights at two levels:
first, a bridge between the international and the national. That is, a bridge between international human rights commitments and their translation, through policy measures, to the national level. In the context of the Millennium Development Goals for instance, we have seen countries developing more comprehensive systems of indicators and integrating further human rights and governance issues.
Secondly, indicators are a bridge between the human rights and statistical communities at country level. We are increasingly seeing human rights reflected in statistical work, including through the engagement and collaboration of national human rights institutions with statistical organisations.
At these two levels, indicators facilitate the concretisation of human rights standards. Reliable indicators improve access to information, as part of the right to freedom of expression, and strengthen accountability. When the efforts taken and their results are measured and available in a transparent way to rights-holders, those rights-holders are in a better position to hold policy-makers to account.
Take the example of violence against women: States need data in order to assess rigorously the extent of this violence and the impact of their efforts to reduce it. Figures released by WHO last year tell us that globally one in three women have experienced physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner. [1] While this indicator does not give a comprehensive picture and needs to be complemented with qualitative analysis, it does show a very serious and worrying gap in women’s enjoyment of their human rights.
Collecting data at national level allows us to reach out to victims and survivors who may not have access to remedies, contribute to their empowerment and raise awareness of human rights issues among the population.
We need, however, to make sure that such data are collected with due respect for human rights. We know that this is not systematically done – not every question included in surveys in some countries respects the principle of the right to privacy, or the right of individuals to self-identification as members of minority or ethnic groups, for example.
We also need to pay particular attention to the independence and capacity of national statistical offices to ensure the quality, relevance and credibility of the figures they release. The system of independent national human rights institutions may provide interesting standards and practices in this context.
Ladies and gentlemen,
While interdependence and mutual benefit between the human rights and statistical communities are increasingly recognized, there is a critical need to strengthen dialogue and collaboration between these two communities. Both communities can further learn and benefit from one another’s experience, both at the national and international levels.
Learning about the experiences of Paraguay and Portugal is therefore particularly timely. It should encourage other countries, Governments and civil society to engage further in these efforts, and to also share their experience with OHCHR to contribute to our collection of good practices and lessons learned.
The importance of participatory processes and national ownership in the development of indicators, based on internationally accepted human rights standards, is a key feature of OHCHR’s approach on human rights indicators.
The work of Paraguay and Portugal demonstrates the practical relevance of our methodology. Such experiences and exchanges of practice help us to gain insights and to move forward in the building of the necessary bridges between human rights, statistics and policy-making.
I wish to thank again Portugal and Paraguay for their on-going work on indicators for human rights and for their initiative to organise this event. I understand that they have already been approached by other countries engaged in human rights indicators work.
As always, OHCHR stands ready to support countries in the use of its methodology for human rights indicators to enhance follow-up on recommendations from international human rights mechanisms and implementation on the ground.
Thank you
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