Measuring human rights: The challenges for the information society

The trend towards extending human rights policies beyond civil and political rights and embracing social and economic rights, including the so-called ‘right to development’ appears in contradiction to the increasing demand for concrete results and effective action for enforcement and progressive realisation. This paper argues that an evidence-based and sciencedriven approach to human rights can be the most appropriate response to this contradiction. By measuring through facts and figures what is the state of human rights, what inputs policies make to their enhancement, what outcomes public and private initiatives have, the credibility of national and international programs in this field can be restored, and all the relevant players can be made accountable with respect to their constituencies, public opinion, and the communities themselves whose human rights are at stake. The production and use of statistics in decision-making, their accessibility and responsiveness to users’ requirements, and the development of indicators and benchmarks, contribute to bringing about the political benefits of the information age and its technological potential. The paper reviews some basic trends in the information society and their impact on human rights and human rights policies. Then, we focus on statistics, the emerging need for new statistical tools and a wider use of good data, particularly for policy monitoring and benchmarking. Finally, we identify the main challenges involved in setting up effective statistical systems in support of human rights policies. We conclude by pointing out the importance of quality in statistics for improving the policy dialogue and decision-making on human rights situations in the information society.