Historically speaking, the potential of statistical analysis for enhancing rigour and reliability in reporting on human rights has been demonstrated by pioneer work undertaken since the 1980s, and by a series of successful projects implemented during the 1990s. Nevertheless, it was only in 2000 that these issues were broadly debated during the International Conference on “Statistics, Development and Human Rights,” held in Montreux, Switzerland. The large, worldwide attendance at this conference, the vigorous political messages delivered by several heads of United Nations agencies, European Commissioners and national ministers, and the unexpected amount of technical and scientific contributions submitted (half of them coming from the developing world), showed the shared interest and strong will of the North and the South to enhance evidence-based assessment of human rights and democratic governance with proper capacities and tools.

The Conference allowed qualified representatives of three international communities – human rights practitioners, statisticians and development experts – to gather together for the first time and share expectations, experiences and views on why and how to develop evidence-based assessment and monitoring. Participants concluded that the issues raised in the Conference merited further exploration. Metagora is an example of a project born out of this logic, aiming to combine statistics and human rights issues.

Metagora, launched as a pilot project in 2004 for a two-year period, is policy-oriented in scope, multi-disciplinary in approach, inclusive and participatory in method. It is based on a North/South partnership. Seven organisations signed Partnership Agreements with the OECD for its implementation. The project therefore operates as a decentralised laboratory for innovation: it is the first international project on measuring human rights and democratic governance to undertake several pilot activities in different regions of the world simultaneously and in an interactive fashion.

The Metagora project aims to:

• Identify, document and raise awareness about current and recent work and initiatives in the field of measuring democracy, human rights and governance. The focus is on initiatives undertaken by national and local organisations;

• Develop and enhance methods and tools that allow the development of data and indicators upon which beneficiaries can formulate or evaluate policies promoting democracy, human rights and governance;

• Provide on the basis of the activities carried out and of the results obtained, outline guidelines on measuring, assessing and monitoring democracy, human rights and governance; and,

• Facilitate an informal process among the main producers of governance indicators, aimed at establishing a platform and a road map for a progressive international agreement on key indicators.

During the pilot phase, the Metagora activities included:

• Three pilot surveys on human rights/governance issues carried out in the Federal District of Mexico (on irregularities, abuses and ill-treatment by law enforcement bodies), in the Philippines (on the rights of indigenous peoples) and in South Africa (on the implementation of land reform);

• Two regional multi-country surveys on democracy and governance issues progressively implemented by official statistical agencies in eight capital cities of francophone Africa (since 2001) and in three countries of the Andean Community (since 2002);

• The development of indicators and a database on the right to education in Palestine;

• The establishment of a controlled vocabulary and harmonised procedures allowing local NGOs to collect and analyse data on human rights violations in Sri Lanka (since 2001);

• A worldwide survey on projects measuring human rights and democratic governance; and,

• The identification and production of relevant training materials.

1. Measuring human rights and democratic governance is technically feasible and politically relevant; data on human rights, democracy and governance can be collected and analysed using statistical tools.

2. On the basis of this information, it is possible to provide indicators that are relevant and useful for political decision and action.

3. Quantitative data and qualitative information can and should be interrelated to properly inform assessment of human rights and democratic governance.

4. Official statistical agencies can be involved in the measurement of human rights and democratic governance.

5. Statistical analysis and quantitative indicators bring a significant value-added to the work of national human rights institutions.

6. Statistical methods can substantially enhance the research and advocacy of civil society organisations in the fields of human rights and democracy.

7. Many initiatives in different regions of the world, with approaches and objectives similar to those of Metagora, have been identified and documented.

8. Through its implementation, Metagora is documenting the experiences, problems encountered and lessons learned in the form of training materials , so these activities (and the tested methods) can be replicated in other countries and contexts.

9. A North/South network of experts and institutions has been consolidated around Metagora and is continuously growing. This operational network, which is unique in the world, is providing the international community with skills and capacities needed to enhance measuring methods and indicators.

For further information regarding the Metagora project, please turn to the Synthesis Report produced by the Metagora Coordination Team.