A/HRC/41/21 5. As the custodian agency for four indicators under Goal 10 (on reducing inequality within and among countries) and Goal 16 (on promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, providing access to justice for all and building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels), OHCHR has developed methodologies to operationalize these indicators. This has entailed compiling data on the existence of independent national human rights institutions in countries; on the killing of and other forms of violence against journalists and other media personnel, trade unionists and human rights advocates; and on the number of conflict-related deaths; and the prevalence of discrimination, based on grounds of discrimination prohibited under international human rights law.5 6. The present report contains a selection of State initiatives as well as practices developed in the context of OHCHR technical cooperation programmes, which have proven effective and have yielded visible results in supporting State efforts to align national policies, strategies and laws with international human rights norms and with the Sustainable Development Goals, including their targets and indicators. For the preparation of the report, OHCHR invited Member States to contribute by providing concrete examples of experiences and practices. Information on different experiences, including methodologies used and lessons learned, was also gathered from OHCHR headquarters and field presences, OHCHR regional and country offices, human rights components of United Nations peace missions, and human rights advisers to United Nations country teams supporting States through technical cooperation and advisory services. II. Experiences and practices supporting States in the design and implementation of human rights-based national policies aimed at realizing the Sustainable Development Goals A. Using indicators and improved statistical data for sustainable results 7. The 2030 Agenda – including Goal 17 – seeks to strengthen global partnerships to support and achieve its ambitious targets, bringing together national governments, the international community and civil society. One particular aspect is the commitment to improving data collection, monitoring and accountability (targets 17.18 and 17.19). This is also crucial to ensuring focused actions and monitoring real progress. Making use of its expertise on human rights indicators, OHCHR has worked with States to develop national policies and capacities that allow them to measure, monitor and report on their progress towards implementing the 2030 Agenda. However, given the human rights risks in the collection, use and dissemination of data, it is imperative that all States adopt a human rights-based approach to help protect the human rights of data subjects. 8. OHCHR has supported States for the adoption of a human rights approach to data collection, by defining six key principles: (a) All identity categories must be developed through a participatory approach. Data collection should not create or reinforce discrimination, bias or stereotypes. (b) Participation is central to a human rights-based approach to data, which should ensure free, active and meaningful participation of relevant stakeholders, in particular the most marginalized population groups. (c) Disaggregation on the basis of the grounds of discrimination enshrined in international human rights law is essential in order to reveal underlying disparities in the development process and to highlight the specific challenges that different population groups face. 5 OHCHR, UN Human Rights Report 2017, p. 35. 3