Searching the truth: The need to monitor human rights with relevant and reliable means

Abstract

Human rights can never be fully measured in statistics; the qualitative aspects are too essential. The conclusion, however, is not that the human rights community should avoid using quantitative facts, but rather should learn how to use them. The challenge is to develop know-how on how to plan such fact-finding, to assemble the data, to organize them meaningfully and to present and disseminate them properly – in order that high standards of relevance and reliability are met.

High-quality information is the principal tool for human rights monitoring; such data can show whether agreed standards are indeed respected and implemented. This is of course why such reporting, in fact the very concept of “monitoring”, is controversial with some governments. However, promotion and monitoring cannot be separated. No serious donor – bilateral or multilateral – can provide assistance in the field of human rights without having the facts.

The improvement of human rights should be seen as a constant process of monitoring, response to the facts, further monitoring, etc. Fact-finding is hostile only for those who want to suppress knowledge about the true situation. Transparency about the established facts is a threat only against those who are afraid of discussion.

In this, the United Nations system is biased – in favour of openness. The procedures in the human rights mechanisms are based on transparency and the willingness of governments to provide information and allow scrutiny. Reports should be provided to the treaty monitoring committees and their questions answered; special rapporteurs should be free to come and inspect. It is hoped that governments at home would mirror this open attitude and establish local monitoring systems.

National reforms are essential. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has asked each State party about data gathering relevant to the Convention, the institutional framework for such statistics and the methodologies used. The assumption has been that a well functioning statistical bureau could be essential for children's rights in that it could provide the decision-makers with feed back on measures needed to make reality of the child rights norms.

It is not sufficient that freedom of information is established by law. There should be a culture of transparency and openness throughout the government administration. The national statistical agency should be given reasonable resources and be protected from political manipulation. At the same time the data collection should give priority to what is politically relevant, for instance focus on disadvantaged groups and equality gaps.

Aid is important in this field. There is a huge gap between poor and rich countries in statistical resources, a difference that in turn hinders development. A gap is emerging between the new possibilities to process information electronically and the quality of the information to be fed in. The risk, of course, is that unreliable data be used for such processing, leading to distorted conclusions.

In this picture the non-governmental organizations represent a hope. When they can benefit from international exchanges, when they are guided by a clear policy and detailed guidelines for monitoring, when they are well trained and when they can act without risking their safety and get support when in trouble – then, they can contribute to real change.