About the data collection tools

Why a human rights-based approach to monitoring?

The indicator framework and data collection tools aim to complement and add value to existing land governance monitoring initiatives by more explicitly linking land governance to the human rights obligations of States. This can help bridge land rights and human rights monitoring, provide a stronger basis for advocacy and legal claims by rights-holder groups and their organizations, inform stakeholder and state reporting to human rights mechanisms, and produce information that can be used by States in implementing legal reforms and developing inclusive policies and programming to improve responsible land governance, and to reach their sustainable development commitments and corresponding human rights obligations.

The tools have been developed based on the understanding that access to land and natural resources is a prerequisite for the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights for billions of people around the world. At the same time, the competition for access to and control over land and natural resources has been growing intensely over the past decades because of intensive exploitation, including through mining, industrial farming, large scale infrastructure development and urbanization.

People who are poor and marginalized, including indigenous peoples, ethnic minorities, refugees, small-holder farmers, small-scale fishers, pastoralists, hunter-gatherers, and slum dwellers are disproportionately affected by and at risk of being dispossessed of their land, property and natural resources, as they often do not enjoy security of tenure and have fewer opportunities to effectively claim their legitimate tenure rights in the often unequal power relations with local and national authorities, elites and corporations.

The tools have been developed in collaboration between TMG Research, the Danish Institute for Human Rights and the Malawi Human Rights Commission with the financial support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and technical input from an expert reference group.

Methodology

The indicator framework has been developed using the OHCHR methodology for identifying human rights indicators. Hence, it encompasses structural, process and outcome indicators, to enable an assessment of (a) international commitments, domestic legislation and administrative regulations and institutions; (b) efforts undertaken to make rights effective through, for example, institutional arrangements, budgetary allocations and projects and programmes; (c) the actual result of such efforts, for example, in terms of tenure security for disadvantaged groups or individuals. Importantly, the indicator framework draws on existing indicators and data collection efforts and complements these from a human rights perspective.

Steps in the process:

Draw out human rights aspects of the VGGT

First, the VGGT were analysed paragraph by paragraph to identify the key human rights aspect (referred to as “attributes” in the OHCHR guidance). The key human rights aspects (for example “consultation with rights-holders in the process of recognizing or allocating tenure rights”) were identified to reflect the content of each VGGT paragraph as separate, measurable components.

The human rights aspects were then grouped into clusters, which are also used to structure the questionnaires:

1. Protection of legitimate tenure rights
2. Responsible governance of tenure
3. Protection against dispossession, land grabbing
4. Recognition and protection of multiple functions of land, fisheries and forests
5. Access to information, consultation and participation
6. Access to justice and reparations, right to remedy
7. Prevention of corruption
8. Promotion of responsible investments
9. Protection of human rights defenders
10. Taxation and valuation
11. International cooperation

 

Map existing indicators against the human rights aspects

Then, a review of existing indicators was carried out to test the availability of structural, process and outcome indicators. Existing indicators were mapped against the human rights aspects of the VGGT.

Indicators were draw from the following existing indicator frameworks:

• FAO Legal Assessment Tool (FAO LAT)
• FAO Census of Agriculture
• FAO Gender and Land Rights Database
• FAO Rural Livelihoods Information System
• Global Corruption Barometer
• Global Land Governance Index (LANDex)
• Indigenous Navigator indicator framework
• Land matrix large scale land acquisitions
• OECD Social Institutions and Gender Index
• Prindex
• RRI forest tenure
• SDG indicators (selected)
• VGGT expropriation, compensation, resettlement indicators
• World Bank LGAF Scorecard

 

Propose indicators based on criteria

Specific indicators (existing and new) were then proposed based on the following criteria.

• Broad coverage – the indicator framework should cover all clusters (see clusters above)
• Balance between broad coverage but keeping it simple and manageable (not detailed in all areas)
• As a preference, use indicators where data sources are available
• Use existing indicators in line with human rights standards where available and use SDG indicators where feasible
• Focus on marginalized groups with the highest risk of violations
• Focus on topics which represent the most fundamental building blocks for ensuring land rights for vulnerable and marginalised groups
• Focus on areas where human rights standards and guidance from human rights bodies can provide the most guidance on realising land and resource rights
• Prospects for use of data, collaboration with custodians on data collection
• Consider the ability of NHRIs and other legitimate data providers to collect data on specific areas and specific indicators
• Integrate disaggregation of data

• Need to correlate with real life experience

 

Develop questionnaires and guidance

Finally, the questionnaires were developed with consideration as to who would be able to collect and provide the data. Most of the structural indicators can be found in the national questionnaire and lend themselves to an assessment of laws, policies and procedures. The outcome indicators can mainly be found in the local questionnaire where rights-holders can self-report on how they experience the results of policy implementation or lack thereof and their enjoyment of rights. Process indicators can be found in both the national and the local questionnaire.

The guidance for data collectors is built into the questionnaires and introduces key concepts and points to specific guidance from the human rights system. It also points to the VGGT human rights linkages which can be explored in full here [insert link to HR and Land Navigator].