Statistics education and human rights monitoring

Abstract

The paper discusses the role of statistical knowledge for promoting and monitoring human rights. It is based on the assumption that skills to understand and analyze trends in quantitative data are needed to evaluate situations involving civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. For educators, the topic of human rights and statistics involves issues of value clarification, understanding and embracing the principles of human equality and dignity as well as skills for analyzing situations in human rights terms - topics that address the mind and the heart. Moreover, it lets students experience that statistical analyses play a role in understanding the pressing social and political issues of our time.