The document discusses integrating human rights into statistics in South Africa. It recommends moving from survey-based organization to organizing statistics around themes, and establishing a unit focused on marginalized groups. This would increase participation, transparency, and understanding of user needs. It also discusses measuring human rights to comply with international agreements South Africa has signed. The governance survey is used as an example, noting it includes questions on discrimination, rights knowledge, and democracy perceptions with disaggregation by attributes like gender, disability and ethnicity. While progress has been made, further participation at the community level and formalizing research ethics are areas for additional growth.

1. Integrating Human Rights
and Statistics
Some perspectives from South Africa

2. The present and future statistical opportunities
and challenges will not be met unless…
we change the way
we think
we organise and structure
we do

3. Twocatalyststousingahumanrightsbased
approachtodata…
• Move from survey based organisational structure to statistical
themes.
• Establish a special statistical unit that specifically looks at
marginalised and vulnerable populations i.e. gender and vulnerable
group (elderly, youth, disabled, children) statistics. Most NSO’s
already have migration units.

4. FROM SURVEYS TO STATISTICAL THEMES
Victims of
Crime
Survey
Domestic
Tourism
Survey
General
Household
Survey
Governance,
Public Safety
& Justice
Education
Service
Delivery
Gender and
Vulnerable
Groups
Tourism

5. Whywasthisimportant?
• Increased participation, transparency and inclusion of other Government sectors and civil
society in statistical processes and vice versa.
• Better communication and greater understanding of the users and their policy, strategic
and planning imperatives leads to more appropriate and accessible publications and
dissemination to a wider range of stakeholders.
• Work begins to transcend household surveys into all collections related to that statistical
theme.
• A focal point for gender and vulnerable group statistics:
Consolidates knowledge and information on the theme and highlights the importance of
cross-cutting inclusion.
Acts as an enabler for disaggregation friendly survey instruments and statistical
publications.

6. FROM SURVEYS TO STATISTICAL THEMES
Victims of
Crime
Survey
Domestic
Tourism
Survey
General
Household
Survey
Governance,
Public Safety
& Justice
Education
Service
Delivery
Gender and
Vulnerable
Groups
Tourism
Focal point

7. WhymeasureHumanRights?
South Africa is a signatory of
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• International covenant on Economic
Social and Cultural rights (signed 1994,
ratified 2015)
• International covenant on civil and
political rights (signed 1994, ratified
1998) and additional protocols
• At least 25 other aligned conventions
and protocols

10. Need
analysis
Develop-
ment and
testing
Analyse
Disse-
minate
Evaluate
Input
Statistical Process: Governed by the Statistics Act no 6. of 1999;
South African Statistical Quality Assurance Framework; Policies and
Standards
Output
Other
projects
Resour-
ces
Planning
documents and
stakeholder
requirements
Specificatio
ns and
reports
Stake-
holders
Strategy
Environ-
ment
Survey tools,
programs
and systems
Design
and plan
Keep and update metadata
Run programs
for analysis
Creation of
derived
variables
Finalise
outputs for
analysis
Review of
literature
Advocacy and
small group
meetings
Survey
instruments
Tabulation plan
Identify data
items
Develop/
Revise Manual
Editing
system
Monitor use of
survey tools
Research
Methodology
Processing
systems specs.
Develop/
revise survey
tools
Printing of
questionnaires
Testing and
review of survey
tools
Develop/
Revise project
plans
Develop/
revise
automated
editing and
imputation
system
Monitor
training
Statistical Value Chain: GPS&J Survey
Editing
and im-
putation
Develop editing
and imputation
programs
Quality
assuran-
ce
Develop
programs for
analysis
Interpret data
and write
narrative
report
Verification
and validation
Produce
products for
dissemination
Media release
Manage and
attend to user
enquiries
Evaluate data
quality and
present to
Survey
operations
Lessons learnt
Stakeholder and
internal review
Edited data
Releases
and reports
Evaluation
reports
Finalise metadata
Develop
metadata
Archive
document
Accountability Transparency
Privacy
Stakeholder
consultation:
Govt, academics,
civil society; Int.
agencies
HRC on data
requirements
ICESCR, DSD on
CRPD, CGE on
the AGDI
Mapping of data
systems
Participation
Transparency

11. Human Rights specific content of
Governance, Public Safety and Justice questionnaire
(measured every two years)
Disaggregation and self-identification
• Sex, age, ethnicity, migration, disability, religion, civil status,
income/Living standard measure.
• Ethnicity include an option ‘’Other (specify)’’ which enables self-
identification
• The inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity is still being
researched. Caveat is sample size for what is currently still a
statistical rare event.

12. Human rights specific questions
• Perceptions about women, people’s sexual orientation and
the disabled.
• Perceptions and knowledge about human rights, the
constitution and the bill of rights
• Perceptions about the most import characteristics of a
democracy as well as the extent to which it is practised in the
country.
• General practise, personal experience and reporting behaviour
related to discrimination in South Africa (incl at courts).
• Extent to which democratic rights are exercised through
voting.

13. Areasforfurthergrowthandimprovement?
• Establish a system to
systematically guard research
ethics
• Increased participation at grass
roots level in defining the
measurement agenda, supplying
data and participation in
dissemination processes

14. Thank You
For more information about StatsSA projects:
Isabelle Schmidt
isabelsc@statssa.gov.za