UNUnited Nations Economic Commission for Europe

Press Releases 2000

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Press Release ECE/STAT/00/9
Geneva, 9 September 2000

Measuring Human Rights: It Can and Should Be Done!

"Statistics is a powerful tool for the defence of human rights. It permits to identify the good performers, name and shame the laggards, stimulate emulation and competition for the adoption of best practise in human rights policies", says Paolo Garonna, Director of the Statistical Division of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE). "Even though, as in most social sciences, the quantification of the violations of human rights and the measurement of progress is difficult, it can and should be done".

This issue is being discussed at a Conference on "Statistics Development and Human Rights" sponsored by UN/ECE and organised by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office and the International Association of Official Statisticians, in Montreux, from the 4 to the 9 of September 2000.

Measurement of human rights requires the development of statistical concepts, definitions and classifications. For example what do we mean precisely by "participatory democracy" or "equal opportunities for all"? It requires also to accompany policy efforts with investment in data, so that it becomes possible to measure the impact of programmes on discrimination, human security, social and cultural rights. "Reporting on human rights performance should be based on a solid and common framework of questions and information, and accompanied by policy relevant indicators and comparable data" further stresses Mr. Garonna. "Standard concepts and indicators have to be set at the global level so that data and trends can be compared across countries and regions".

"What was done for national accounts and inflation in the past, or more recently with the Maastricht criteria for public deficits and debts, needs to be done now for human rights: construct indices and benchmarks to measure progress and evaluate performance. In the new context created by the information society, showing precisely what countries have done, and not done, can be even more effective than sanctions.

"I appeal - concludes Mr. Garonna - to the world of research, social scientists, economists, statisticians, to work with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) and other international organisations for building a system of measures and indicators to make human rights policies more transparent and effective".

For further information:

Mr. Paolo Garonna,
Director, Statistical Division
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE)
Palais des Nations
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

Telephone: (+41 22) 917 41 44
Fax: (+41 22) 917 00 40
E-mail: [email protected]

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Tel: +(41 22) 917 44 44, Fax: +(41 22) 917 05 05,E-mail: [email protected]

Thank you.