A/HRC/34/27 measurement and implementation of human rights indicators prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. C. Applying a human rights-based approach throughout the monitoring and data collection process 63. As State institutions, national statistical offices are human rights duty-bearers with an obligation to respect, protect and fulfil human rights, including the rights of the child, and independent statistics that are free from political interference are crucial to ensuring accountability. Respecting child rights in the monitoring and data-collection process of the 2030 Agenda requires a human rights-based “data revolution”, whereby core principles and standards are prioritized throughout the collection, production, analysis and dissemination of data.22 They include: (a) Ensuring the participation of children and all population groups, including the most marginalized: data-collection exercises should involve free and meaningful participation of stakeholders, including children, especially those from the most marginalized population groups, throughout the entire process. To protect children and groups who may be placed at risk by being identified in data-collection processes, civil society organizations, national human rights institutions, children’s ombudspersons and others should be involved insofar as they are competent to legitimately represent the interests of these children and groups; (b) Disaggregation of data on the grounds of discrimination prohibited under international human rights law: data disaggregation is a human rights obligation and a key commitment in the 2030 Agenda. It is crucial to enabling the assessment of disparities in outcomes for children and of discrimination against children from certain groups. The most marginalized children and groups should be a key focus of monitoring, through data disaggregated by the grounds of discrimination prohibited under international human rights law. The risks of data disaggregation to the protection of children’s rights must also be addressed, particularly in relation to its uses and the protection of the right to privacy. Decisions concerning data collection on children who are especially at risk or from “legally invisible” groups should be made in consultation with the children and groups concerned. Self-identification is an essential principle for groups at risk, and such exercises should include measures to ensure that they do not create or reinforce discrimination against certain children or groups; (c) Transparency and the right to information, while respecting the right to privacy: transparency is central to upholding freedom of expression and children’s right to information. Civil society organizations should be free to publish and analyse statistics without fear of reprisal and should comply with human rights and statistical standards for their own data collection, storage and dissemination. The right to privacy and personal data protection must be balanced with that of access to information, and data collected for statistics must be strictly confidential, used exclusively for statistical purposes and regulated by law in accordance with human rights, including the rights of the child. VIII. Conclusions and recommendations 64. As States embark on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, human rights should serve as the compass to guide effective delivery, in which 22 See OHCHR, “A human rights-based approach to data”. 17