V. >> F ramework in Practice - Implementing and Monitoring Rights >> Setting up human rights monitoring systems C. S  etting up human rights monitoring systems Human rights monitoring is not divorced from other monitoring mechanisms such as those applied by any international, national or subnational administrative agency; monitoring, for instance, agricultural production and food security, human development, administration of justice, or even project-level development outputs and impact. A human rights monitoring system builds on existing monitoring systems by bringing in the human rights perspective through recognition of the stakeholders— the rights holders and the duty bearers—and the kind of information relevant to them in implementing and enjoying human rights. This necessitates a certain institutional arrangement for the collection and analysis of information and a focus on specific data that embody and reflect the realization of human rights. A good monitoring system requires a clear distinction to be made between institutions with administrative responsibility for implementing programmes and providing information on them, and institutions responsible for monitoring progress in the implementation of the programmes. This distinction between the generator of data and their use by a monitoring mechanism is particularly important for human rights assessments, because the inherent conflict of interest between the two roles could seriously compromise the accountability of the duty bearers and the credibility of the process. Human rights monitoring requires a focus on data related to attainments and enjoyment of rights for the most vulnerable and the marginalized population groups. This is not in conflict with the universality and inalienable nature of human rights. A shift in focus from national or regional averages to vulnerable groups, ideally going down to the level of an individual, makes it possible to assess the extent of discrimination or lack of equality or even violation of rights of that individual, which is a principal concern in monitoring the realization of human rights. Moreover, the state of well-being of a vulnerable and marginalized individual or population group can in itself be an indicator of the overall well-being and enjoyment of human rights for the entire population.26 This, however, does not mean that human rights monitoring is only about disaggregated information. As highlighted in this Guide, human rights monitoring requires an appropriate set of indicators anchored in human rights standards, based on population averages and on information pertaining to individual cases, as tools to facilitate a credible assessment of human rights implementation (see chap. II). Recognizing and incorporating these elements in monitoring systems strengthens them and makes them more appropriate for human rights measurement and implementation. In setting up rights-based monitoring and indicator systems at the country level, or strengthening existing mechanisms to promote and monitor the implementation of human rights, one can identify, among others, the following steps. 26. See the discussion on statistical averages vis-à-vis information on individual cases in chap. I. Human Rights Indicators 133