I commend the women and men, the countries, State agencies, regional and national human rights institutions, statistical offices, civil society organizations and United Nations entities that were engaged in and have contributed to making this pioneering work on human rights indicators a reality. As illustrated by several national and regional initiatives, this work, which is still in progress and in connection with which my Office continues to receive a growing number of requests for support and assistance, provides useful tools in strengthening national capacity for human rights implementation. I trust that the continued engagement, dialogue and cooperation among all stakeholders, including the human rights and development communities, will truly help foster human rights-based and peoplecentred development at country level. Indicators are in this sense a potential bridge between the human rights and the development policy discourses. I hope this Guide will be widely disseminated, within and beyond traditional human rights forums, and invite all users and other stakeholders to share their knowledge and experiences and send feedback to my Office. Most importantly, we should never forget that behind every piece of statistical data are human beings who were born free and equal in dignity and rights. We must strive to make their human rights stories, especially those of the powerless, visible through robust indicators and to use them in constantly improving our human rights policies and implementation systems to bring positive change to people’s lives. Navi Pillay United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights IV Human Rights Indicators