Todd Landman

Alexandra Wilde

Emilie Filmer-Wilson

Thord Palmlund

This document is written as a practical guide on indicators for human rights-based approaches to development programmes for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Country Offices (COs). The guide specifies four critical areas for using indicators:

1. Understanding the human rights situation at the country level through the identification and application of indicators that can be used to provide an assessment of the baseline human rights situation.
2. Understanding the capacities of individuals and groups as 'rights holders' to claim their rights, as well as the capacities of state institutions as 'duty bearers' to promote and protect human rights on the ground.
3. Identifying and using indicators for ensuring the incorporation of human rights principles in the design, implementation, and monitoring of UNDP programmes.
4. Identifying and using indicators to determine the likely impact of programmes on furthering human rights in the country.

The guide contains separate sections on different aspects relating to the development and application of indicators across the key elements of human rights programming. It summarises the normative evolution in human rights and explains how human rights have been mainstreamed into the activities of all UN agencies. The guide reviews the main existing indicators for human rights and discusses their limitations for human rights-based programming. Two hypothetical programme examples on access to clean water and the prevention of torture are used to show how indicators can be implemented for human rights programming. Finally, the Guide offers advice on how COs can use indicators for all phases of programme design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.

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Email from Alexandra Wilde to The Communication Initiative on April 6 2006, and Oslo Governance Centre website.