On Saturday, October 9, 2010, CESR will host a workshop at the 10th International Conference of National Human Rights Institutions, in Edinburgh, Scotland.
National human rights institutions (NHRIs)???defined generally as independent bodies, officially established by legislation or constitution with a specific mandate to protect and promote human rights???have been identified by the international community as key collaborators in the development and use of quantitative monitoring methodologies.
Nevertheless, NHRIs often lack the requisite expertise to meet this potential. While many have demonstrated a capacity to influence public policy in the political sphere, the traditional techniques they use to do so are often not as helpful in addressing the complexity associated with public policy in the socioeconomic sphere.
The workshop, co-hosted with Scottish Human Rights Commission, provides a forum for NHRIs to share experiences on monitoring economic and social rights. Panelists from the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, Defensor
??a del Pueblo of Peru, Human Rights Commission of the Maldives and the Scottish Human Rights Commission will present projects that use quantitative methodologies to enhance accountability for governments' socioeconomic policy.
The workshop discussions will enhance a new CESR project, in partnership with the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, on monitoring economic and social rights. The goal of the project is to develop and test a resource for NHRIs that provides guidance on using quantitative as well as qualitative monitoring methodologies, to support them to more effectively carry out their mandated functions in relation to economic and social rights.
CESR welcomes feedback on capacity gaps, needs and priority areas for NHRIs in monitoring economic and social rights. Please contact Allison Corkery: acorkery@cesr.org.
