V. >> F ramework in Practice - Implementing and Monitoring Rights >> Using indicators for human rights A. Using indicators for human rights Using indicators to promote and monitor human rights is relevant and fast evolving in different areas and levels of public engagement. The use of indicators is becoming increasingly common at the international level, whether by the human rights treaty bodies, in the universal periodic review (UPR), in assessing the impact of aid flows or in implementing rights-based approaches in policymaking and budget processes at country level. For national human rights action plans, too, the use of appropriate indicators is helping to harmonize such plans with national development plans, thereby contributing to mainstreaming human rights. More importantly, the use of indicators makes human rights advocacy more effective and empowers rights holders and defenders. All these endeavours stand to gain from the work on indicators for human rights presented in this Guide. In general, the importance of indicators, quantitative as well as qualitative, in these different applications rests on their usefulness in making situation analysis more concrete; identifying and pinpointing issues that need to be addressed and the gaps to be bridged; articulating or reviewing strategies and setting goals and targets; monitoring progress; and undertaking evaluation, assessing impact and articulating feedback (see fig. XV below). Ultimately, by adding value to all these steps, the use of appropriate indicators helps in improving public policy measures to promote and protect human rights. The examples in this chapter showcase how the use of indicators in one or more of these steps contributes to a better implementation of human rights. 1 Compliance monitoring Reporting on and follow-up to recommendations of treaty-based bodies and special procedures A structured and transparent approach to applying standardized information or indicators to national human rights assessments will facilitate the implementation of policy measures to secure the universal realization of rights. At the same time, it will help State parties meet their reporting obligations under the international human rights treaties (see box 25). Using appropriate quantitative indicators could help streamline reporting, make it more transparent and effective, reduce the reporting burden and, above all, improve follow-up to the recommendations and concluding observations of the treaty bodies and other human rights monitoring mechanisms, including the special procedures of the Human Rights Council, at the international, regional and national levels (see box 26).2 In addition, it will enable national human rights institutions and civil society organizations to exercise more effective oversight of the promotion and protection of human rights. When using indicators for such reporting and follow-up, it is instructive to consider the steps outlined in figure XI. These steps are also relevant to the selection of indicators for use in other compliance assessment mechanisms, such as UPR (see below). By definition, human rights compliance indicators are explicitly anchored in human rights standards (see also chap. I, sect. C 3 and box 3). The tables of illustrative indicators on different rights presented in this Guide therefore provide a starting 2. In 2011, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights started the development of indicators for measuring progress of rights under the Protocol of San Salvador, drawing on the OHCHR framework. For more information, see http://scm.oas.org/pdfs/2011/CP25807-I.pdf and http://scm.oas.org/pdfs/2011/CP25807-II.pdf (in Spanish, accessed 25 June 2012). 104 Human Rights Indicators