A/HRC/28/42 strategies. In that regard, a human rights-based approach can help to ensure policy coherence, including by highlighting the interrelatedness and interdependence of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. 70. Women are particularly at risk of social exclusion as they are often exposed to multiple forms of discrimination based on gender, ethnicity or socioeconomic status. Special measures are needed in order for women to be ensured equal rights to fully participate in public life in general and in decision-making that affects them specifically. 71. In order to strengthen monitoring, accountability and transparency, there is often a need to build capacities for the collection and analysis of detailed and disaggregated information, and to develop human rights indicators. Such data are crucial to identify gaps and disparities that are based on key social determinants, including gender, ethnicity, economic status and geographic location. Free access to current data can allow the public to monitor progress in the implementation of human rights through development and povertyreduction programmes. Experiences in developing indicator frameworks that are specifically tailored to local circumstances show particular promise in that regard. 72. Promoting the integration of human rights in national budget processes has become an increasingly important area of work for OHCHR. The promotion and protection of all human rights require budgetary resources and, in the case of economic, social and cultural rights, Member States are obliged to provide “maximum available resources” to “progressively realize” those rights. Government budgets are fundamental tools for policy implementation and an effective way to ascertain whether national development priorities are being implemented. Budget monitoring, analysis and advocacy, from a human rights perspective, have the potential to provide concrete evidence of governments’ efforts to respect, protect and fulfil all human rights for all without discrimination. 73. The experience of OHCHR also shows that, while participatory and inclusive processes are essential for sustainable and effective development, they are also inherently complex and demanding for all parties concerned. Any initiative aimed at engaging a wide range of stakeholders with varying claims and interests must therefore factor in sufficient time and resources to build the awareness and capacities of rights-holders and duty-bearers to fully assume their respective roles in an informed and responsive manner. Such processes also require resilience, preparedness to commit and willingness to engage in positive and effective communication with a diverse range of counterparts. The work of OHCHR on reducing institutional care of persons with disabilities has generated useful examples of how national law and practice can be reformed through open and inclusive processes. Perhaps most importantly, meaningful participation and inclusion obviously need to go beyond mere information sharing or consultations, and require the empowerment of people to take an active part in decision-making, so as to ensure that poorly conceived participation exercises are not used to legitimize predetermined outcomes. In that regard, OHCHR has in many instances taken a facilitating role and managed to bring rights-holders and duty-bearers together to discuss and address often complex human rights issues. Those experiences show that empowerment and confidence-building need to go hand in hand in order to address discrimination and cultural barriers that prevent effective participation by marginalized groups, such as indigenous communities and vulnerable minorities. 17

Select target paragraph3

Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents