V. >> F ramework in Practice - Implementing and Monitoring Rights >> Using indicators for human rights Budget content and human rights To influence the budget from a human rights perspective, it is essential to align the programmes included in it with the State’s human rights obligations. Ideally, programmes should be designed to address the State’s human rights obligations and funded by the budget. This entails analysing the situation to identify development and governance issues through a human rights lens, articulating the human rights gaps, formulating strategies, costing the policy measures and including the required allocations in the budget to bridge those gaps (fig. XV). For example, a country with low literacy and school enrolment rates among girls (or children from targeted population groups) may have to introduce specific programmes to implement the human rights obligation to ensure compulsory primary education free of charge. This may include, for instance, a “midday meal programme”18 to attract and retain children from poor and other targeted communities in the schools (which may also help in improving their nutrition and overall health), public awareness campaigns and financial incentives, such as cash transfer programmes,19 to increase the school enrolment of girls and boys as well as the literacy of adults. Countries like India and Brazil are adopting such measures, particularly with the aim of improving educational outcomes among targeted population groups. In India, these programmes are now explicitly addressing the State’s obligations on the right to education. Consequently, their performance indicators (e.g., proportion of children covered by public nutrition supplement programmes) will be useful in monitoring the progress in the implementation of human rights. Within the framework set out in this Guide, these indicators will mostly be process indicators, though some structural indicators could also be included (box 36). In other instances, there may be a limited possibility of anchoring budget initiatives explicitly in human rights obligations. For example, in many countries social development programmes would already address some human rights concerns, albeit only indirectly, thereby curtailing the scope to introduce new programmes that directly address the State’s human rights obligations. There could also be cases where the finance ministry may not be favourably disposed to the use of human rights methodology in its work. The challenge will then be to use the available indicators and benchmarks creatively to highlight human rights gaps and force a review of the ongoing programmes and budgets from a human rights perspective. For instance, an analysis of budget allocations over time and among sectors and the corresponding actual expenditure patterns, or the composition and sources of budget revenue can reveal the human rights priority of the State. Similarly, an analysis of socioeconomic indicators will help pinpoint changes in the realization and enjoyment of rights. Some techniques for applying and interpreting indicators in this context are highlighted below. 18. The “Midday Meal Scheme” is the school meal programme adopted by States in India after a landmark decision by the Supreme Court in 2001 that directed the Government to provide cooked meals to all children in primary schools. 19. See “Report of the independent expert on the question of human rights and extreme poverty, Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona” (A/HRC/11/9). Human Rights Indicators 125