Monitoring development and human rights? A project for handling the challenge

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Mottet, Carol | Suarez de Miguel, Raul

Affiliations: Swiss Federal Statistical Office, Espace de l'Europe 10, CH-2010 Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Tel.: +41 32 713 60 09; Fax: +41 32 713 60 02; E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: This paper summarizes the main outcomes of the international Conference on “Statistics, Development and Human Rights” (Montreux, 4–8 September 2000), which revealed the enormous potential that statistical methods offer for improving monitoring of human development and reporting on human rights issues. The Montreux Conference was characterised by a multidisciplinary and cross-institutional approach, bringing together statisticians, development experts and human rights practitioners. Its conclusions translated the “spirit of Montreux” into a concrete program of action. Thus in the course of the last months a network of more that 50 academic institutions, international organisations, national statistical institutes and NGOs agreed to launch an independent international project: the “Development and Human Rights Observatory” (DHR-O). The objective of this project is to strengthen mechanisms and methods for monitoring development and human rights. It intends to facilitate, organise and implement interdisciplinary policy-oriented research, training programs and technical assistance to institutional building. In its present stage of development, DHR-O is focusing on three core areas: i) use of statistical methods, indicators and qualitative analysis for human rights reporting; ii) design, testing and pilot application of rights-based development indicators; and iii) design and evaluation of statistical tools for monitoring democracy and governance.

DOI: 10.3233/SJU-2001-182-314

Journal: Statistical Journal of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, vol. 18, no. 2-3, pp. 275-283, 2001