Using Indicators to Promote & Monitor
Implementation of Human Rights
Rajeev Malhotra
24 Sept. 2008, New Delhi
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Indicators for Human Rights Assessment
Some questions and observations:
 Why do we need indicators and why human rights indicators?
* objectivity, transparency, accountability;
* meeting treaty obligations and rationalising reporting;
* making public policy & programmes rights sensitive / compliant?
 Are human rights indicators different from commonly used
socio-economic and other administrative statistics?
 How do we identify human rights indicators? Where do we draw
the line? Conceptual vis-à-vis evidence based criteria for indicator
selection?
 Is rights-based monitoring different from monitoring as commonly
understood?
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Human Rights Indicator
Information – quantitative or qualitative:
• that can be related to human rights norms
and standards;
• that addresses and reflects the human rights
concerns and principles; and
• that are used to assess and monitor
promotion and protection of human rights.
Disaggregation of data important but not sufficient
3
Some Challenges in this work
Challenges in Identifying Indicators
• Need for an adequate conceptual basis;
• A well defined methodology;
• Using contextually relevant indicators at
country and local level; and
• Recognising specific monitoring requirements
of national and international mechanisms and
responding to them through appropriate
indicator selection
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Data Generating Mechanisms
• Event based data on human rights violation;
• Administrative data and official statistics;
• Households/
survey; and
individual
opinion
based
• Expert judgements and rating scales.
Data requirement for monitoring obligation to
promote and protect may be different. However,
in each case the objective should to move
towards/depend on the use of objective data
sets and methodology to collect information 5
Some Challenges …..
Objective
Subjective
Indicator articulated in quantitative
form and based on information on
objects, facts or events that are, in
Quantit- principle, directly observable and
verifiable.
A
ative
Indicator articulated in quantitative
form and based on information that
is perception, opinion, assessment
or judgment, using, for instance,
cardinal/ordinal scales. B
Example 1: prevalence of underweight children under
five years of age.
Example 2: reported number of arbitrary execution.
Example 1: percentage of individuals above 16 years
old who declare themselves ‘very satisfied’ with the
national public health policy.
Indicator articulated in narrative
form, (categorical form), and based
on information on objects, facts or
Qualitat events that are, in principle, directly
observable and verifiable. C
Indicator articulated in narrative
form, (categorical form) and based
on information that is perception,
opinion, assessment or judgment.
D
Example 1: the status of ratification of a human rights
treaty for a given country: ratified / signed / neither
signed or ratified.[i]
Example 2: description of an event comprising act(s)
of torture between a victim and a perpetrator(s).
Example 1: assessment expressed in narrative form
of how independent and fair is the judiciary.
Example 2: is the right to food fully guaranteed in
provisions of the national legal system of a given
country? yes/no.
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-ive
From Standards to Indicators
Aspects/attributes of RtH
 In your country what is the nature of health
problem, which population groups are more
vulnerable to illness / high mortality and what
has been done to combat the problem?
 Keeping
in mind international human rights
standards & health policy framework, what
aspects of health & related policies are
important for monitoring implementation of
RtH?
 What aspects of your country’s health policy
would you like to focus on in monitoring the
implementation of RtH?
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Attributes of Right to health
• Sexual and reproductive health;
• Child mortality and health care;
• Natural and occupational environment
• Prevention, treatment & control of diseases
• Accessibility to health facilities & essential
medicines
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From Standards to Indicators
Identifying indicators on RtH attributes
 What kind of indicators will be relevant to
monitor the legal & institutional framework for
implementation of RtH at country level?
 What kind of indicators will be relevant to
monitor steps being taken by govt. and CSOs in
furthering the implementation of RtH at country
level?
 As summary measure, what kind of indicators
will be relevant to monitor the enjoyment of
RtH at country level?
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Illustration - Right to Health
Reproductive
health
Structural
Child mortality &
health care
Outcome
Prevent, treat.
disease control,
Acc. to health
fac. & Medi
-International human rights instruments, relevant to the RtH, ratified by the State
-Period of application and coverage of RtH in supreme law/ Constitution/ bill of rights
-Period of application and coverage of domestic laws relevant to the implemntation of RtH
- Estimated proportion of births, deaths and marriages recoded through vital registration system
• prop of children
birth atten by getting medical
health pers.
checks
• prop recev
•Prop of children
pre & post
covered under
natel care
nutri supplement
progs.
•Rept cases
of genital
•Prop of children
mutilation
immunised
• pop prop with
sustainable
access to
improved
water source*
• pop prop
using solid
fuels
• pop prop
• per capita
immunized
against vaccine
preventable
diseases
• pop prop
applying
effective
prevetive
measures/ cure
public exp on
primary
health care
•Density of
medical &
para medical
personnel,
hospital beds
• prop of live
births with
low birth wg.
• MMR
•Incidence of
death/ disease
caused by
unsafe natural/
occ environ.
• Prevalence of death rates
associated with comu diseases
•Prev of disable mentally chall
• Suicide rates
• prop of
Process
Natural &
Occp. Enirn.
•IMR, under 5MR
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Attributes of Right to Social Security
• Income security for workers;
• Affordable access to health care;
• Family, child and adult dependent support; and
• Targeted social assistance schemes.
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Attributes of Right to work
• Access to decent and productive work;
• Just and safe working conditions;
• Training skill up-gradation & professional
development; and
• Protection from forced labour & unemployment
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Attributes of Right to Education
• Universal primary education;
• Accessibility to secondary and higher education;
• Curricula and educational resources; and
• Educational opportunity and freedom.
13
Attributes of Right to adequate housing
• Habitability;
• Accessibility to services;
• Housing affordability; and
• Security of tenure.
14
Attributes of Right to food
• Nutrition;
• Food safety and consumer protection;
• Food availability; and
• Food accessibility.
15
Attributes of Right to Fair Trial
• Access to & equality before courts & tribunals;
• Public hearing by competent & independent
courts;
• Presumption of innocence & guarantees in the
determination of criminal charges;
• Special protection for children; and
• Reviews by a higher court.
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The Framework
Human Rights Standards & Principles
Attributes of a right
Structural Indicators
Process Indicators
Indicators on Human
Rights Principles
Outcome Indicators
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Indicators on Human Rights Principles
Non-discrimination & equality
Effective remedies
Participation
Empowerment
Accountability
Disaggregated data
Substantive &
Procedural rights
General Proxy indicators
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Configuring Indicators for Human Rights Attributes
Structural / Commitment Indicators
Reflect the ratification / adoption of legal instruments and
existence of basic institutional mechanisms deemed necessary
for facilitating realisation of the concerned human right.
Process / Effort Indicators
Relate the State policy instruments with milestones (which
cumulate into outcomes that can be more directly related to
realisation of right), hence capture accountability as well as the
notion of progressive realisation
Outcome / Result Indicators
Capture attainments, individual and collective, that reflect the
status of realisation of the human rights in a given context
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OHCHR Approach : Main features
• Framework supports a common approach for
ESCR and CPR indicators - indivisibility of human
rights--- holistic strategies;
• Collectively, the indicators capture linkage
between States’ commitment of HRS with efforts
undertaken to meet those obligations, as well as
the consolidated outcomes of the efforts;
• Focus on translating systematically, consistently
& comprehensively universal human rights
standards into contextually relevant indicators;
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Main features of the approach
•Focus on quantitative indicators to complement
qualitative & quasi-judicial assessments of TBs;
• Focus on indicators reflecting HR concern of nondiscrimination & importance of an individual’s
access to relevant goods & services;
• Emphasis on disaggregation of data / indicators
by prohibited grounds of discrimination;
• Focus on use of objective data generating methods
(and not perception based data) with emphasis on
making use of commonly available information for
HR assessments;
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Main features of the approach
• Indicators focus on primary duty bearer, also
cover NGOs & role of international cooperation;
• Indicators focus on scope and recourse to judicial
remedy and cover quasi-judicial & administrative
remedies;
• Framework facilitates consistent, comprehensive
& contextually relevant identification of indicators
across human rights.
22
Monitoring Human Rights Implementation
Rights based monitoring requires:

Certain institutional arrangement for data collection ;

Making a distinction between data providers and data
interpreters from human rights perspective

Focus on specific data that embodies and reflects
realisation of human rights,

Focus on the most vulnerable and marginalised
population groups
Disaggregation of data is important, but equally
important is the need to use specific indicators
that explicitly reflect human rights standards and
principles
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Challenges in undertaking Rights-based Monitoring
•
Identification of monitoring stakeholders;
•
Facilitation of a country owned monitoring
mechanism;
•
Identification of major vulnerable groups;
•
Focus on non-discrimination and accessibility
indicators
•
Capacity building for data collection and
disaggregation
•
Reporting periodicity, publication, access
to information and follow-up
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Some other Challenges …..
• Moving the information base for human rights
indicators more-&-more into the domain of
administrative or official statistics
• Simplifying terminologies & harmonising
different
approaches towards a common framework
• Piloting & country level validation of identified
indicators;
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Human Rights Indicators : where are we?
 List of illustrative indicators developed so for on:
Right to life
Right to liberty and personal
security
Right to adequate food
Right to health
Right to participate in public
affairs
Right to adequate housing
Right not to be subjected to
torture
Right to work
Right to a fair trial
Right to education
Right to social security
Right to freedom of opinion and
expression
 Validation of work: expert consultations, country
level piloting of identified indicators with UN
agencies, NHRIs & other national stakeholders
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Status of international human rights instruments as of 21 Jan 2005
Ratification of 13 Core Human Rights Treaties and Optional Protocols
0-1
2-3
4-5
6-7
8-9
10 - 11
12 - 13
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