Measuring the New Sustainable
Development Goals:
Opportunities and Challenges for
Human Rights
Nicolas Fasel
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
‘CCSA Session on International Statistics: Statistical Indicators for Monitoring and
Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals’
ISI World Statistics Congress 2015
“On the eve of the Arab Spring, there were still reports
about the remarkable economic and social progress and
general improvements in governance and the rule of law
that some countries in the region were achieving. At the
same time, United Nations human rights mechanisms and
voices from civil society were painting a different picture,
and reporting on exclusion, the marginalization of
communities, discrimination, absence of participation,
censorship, political repression or lack of an independent
judiciary and denial of basic economic and social rights.”
Ms Navy Pillay, South Africa,
High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2008-2014
(in Human Rights Indicators: A Guide to Measurement and Implementation )
MDGs indicators framework useful in
+ Broadening notion of development, beyond GDP
+ Mobilizing policy action and resources
+ Strengthening monitoring
- Narrow set of socio-economic indicators,
masking inequalities and discrimination,
vulnerable (invisible) populations and ignoring
related aspects (e.g. governance, peace, security)
- Lack of accountability
“Any legal or regulatory mechanism, or networks or
partnerships, set up to mobilize the data revolution for
sustainable development should have the protection of
human rights as a core part of their activities, specify
who is responsible for upholding those rights, and
should support the protection, respect and fulfilment
of human rights”
A World that Counts – Mobilizing the Data Revolution for
Sustainable Development, November 2014
MDG statistics matter for economic and
social rights
“Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate
for the health and well-being of himself and of his family,
including food, clothing, housing and medical care and
necessary social services, and the right to security in the
event of unemployment, sickness, disability,
widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in
circumstances beyond his control.”
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 25.1
But MDG statistics did not measure important
dimensions of human rights
• Inequality and discrimination (e.g. SDG 10, SDG 17.18)
• Use of maximum available resources with a view to
achieving progressively the full realization of economic
and social rights recognized in the Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (SDG 17)
• availability, accessibility (e.g. affordability),
acceptability and quality of good/services (often
referred to as ‘AAAQ’ in the human rights field) relevant
to economic and social rights (e.g. SDG 2)
MDG statistics did not measure important
dimensions of human rights
• Freedom from fear (in addition to freedom from
want), security of person and access to justice (SDG
5, 16)
• Participation in public affairs and related freedoms
(SDG 5, 16)
(Consistency with indivisibility and interdependence of
civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights,
enshrined in international human rights law)
International human rights commitments
International human rights commitments
Human rights matter for SDG statistics
• Obligation to be registered immediately after birth
(ICCPR, Art. 24)
• Freedom of Expression includes access to information
(UDHR, Art. 19, International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, ICCPR, Art. 19)
• Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
(CRPD) Article 31 specifically about Statistics and Data
collection: “States Parties undertake to collect statistical
data, to enable them to formulate and implement
policies to give effect to the Convention” and…
Human rights matter for SDG Statistics
• “The information collected shall be disaggregated,…, used to help
assess the implementation of States Parties' obligations (…) and
to identify and address the barriers faced by persons with
disabilities in exercising their rights”
• “The process of collecting and maintaining this information shall
comply with internationally accepted norms to protect human
rights and fundamental freedoms and ethical principles in the
collection and use of statistics”
(CRPD,
Article 31)
• “Civil society, in particular persons with disabilities and their
representative organizations, shall be involved and participate
fully in the [national implementation and monitoring] process”
(Article, 33)
SDG agenda to be “consistent with international
law” (Rio +20) suggests a Human Rights-Based
Approach (HRBA) to statistics & data collection
• Aligning indicators with human rights standards
• Data disaggregation “leaving no-one behind”
• Participation of concerned populations in data
collection efforts
• Safeguards in data collection and dissemination
• Measuring both conduct and result
Considerations on way forward (HRBA)
• Consistent with SDG 17.18 and “leaving no-one
behind”: (1) disaggregation of SDG indicators by
grounds of discrimination prohibited by international
human rights law (2) new data sources including
“invisible populations” (e.g. homeless people,
minorities, migrants)
• Capacity strengthening and partnership with other data
producers and users, such as relevant civil society
organizations and national human rights institutions
• Human rights training for statisticians and statistics
training for human rights practitioners
• Building on and sharing of good practices
Key resources for HRBA to SDG statistics
“We should never forget that behind every
piece of statistical data are human beings
who were born free and equal in dignity
and rights”
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
(in Human Rights Indicators: a Guide to Measurement and
Implementation)