Training Manual on Human Rights Monitoring

Key concepts

Effective human rights monitoring requires an active information-gathering approach by
the HROs.An active information-gathering approach requires:

•	identifying which problems to pursue
•	developing contacts
•	establishing a presence at all levels of the society, generally before a crisis arises
•	assessing the perspective of contacts
•	collecting accurate and precise information, through receiving complaints, inquiries and interviews
•	verifying information mainly by checking their consistency with independent sources
•	analysing the information
•	following-up to encourage authorities to act diligently in responding to the problem, and reporting.

HROs should be particularly careful in coordinating their information-gathering and
investigative action with criminal investigations conducted by international or national
tribunals, in order not to jeopardize the work of such bodies. The form and ways of such
coordination is a policy issue to be decided by the leadership of the human rights
operation.

1. The principal objective of monitoring is to reinforce State responsibility to protect human rights. Human rights monitors collect prima facie information about human rights problems and illustrative patterns of violations. The process of collecting such information requires considerable effort. While the word “monitoring” might

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