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Data Justice

Make Human Rights Count

Data is necessary for the realization of human rights. Without it we cannot understand the prevailing human rights situation, we cannot make informed policy decisions, and we cannot assess the effectiveness of those policy decisions. But there is a human rights data gap. As decision-makers and power holders increasingly rely on huge amounts of data to make policies and decisions about people’s economic, social, and cultural rights, we cannot assume that this data is neutral or objective.

The Collective Position on Data and ESCR seeks to reaffirm the role of states in producing accurate, representative, and relevant data for policymaking. It identifies five key principles that states and non-state actors should apply during data collection, analysis, and use: equality and non-discrimination, high-quality data, participation, transparency and accessibility, and privacy and security. The position calls for the need to center and legitimize communities’ knowledge, perspectives and lived experiences in all data collection processes.

The Monitoring Working Group promotes the implementation of these principles by advocating for better data collection by states through litigation, advocacy, and community-led research. Through the Data Justice initiative, we aim to influence decision-makers to incorporate these principles and center communities’ narratives and demands in policies and projects affecting their economic, social, and cultural rights.

In 2024-25, the Monitoring Working Group will collaborate with the African Commission on People and Human Rights (ACPHR) to develop an addendum to the State Party Reporting Guidelines for ESCR in the African Charter, commonly known as the Tunis Reporting Guidelines. This addendum will incorporate the Collective Position’s principles on data and ESCR.

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Data Justice Advisory Group