II. >> C onceptualizing Indicators for Human Rights >> The conceptual framework in accessing education and enjoying their right to education in that country. The situation could then be subjected to a further qualitative analysis to arrive at a more definite assessment of discrimination. In certain instances, indicators like “proportion of employees (e.g., migrant workers) who report discrimination and abuse at work” or especially “proportion of employers choosing the candidate of the majority ethnic group between two applicants with exactly the same profile and qualification except for their ethnic background” allow a more direct assessment of discrimination faced by certain population groups in a society.10 Also, in reflecting the cross-cutting norm of non-discrimination and equality the emphasis has to be on indicators that capture the “accessibility” to, and not just the “availability” of, such goods and services that allow an individual to enjoy her/his rights. A cross-cutting norm may also be addressed as a “procedural right” that has a bearing on the realization of a specific “substantive right”; hence, it is defined in reference to that right.11 Thus, compliance with the norm of “access to remedy” in the context of freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment could be captured using an indicator like the “proportion of victims of sexual or other violence with access to appropriate medical, psychosocial and legal services”. Similarly, compliance with the norm of non-discrimination in the context of the right to education, as a substantive right, could be captured using an indicator like the proportion of school-age girls actually enrolled in school to the proportion of boys in the same age group enrolled in school. For the human rights principle of participation, the aim is to reflect whether segments of the population in a country have been participating in the adoption of measures that the duty bearer is implementing and that concern its obligations (e.g., proportion of targeted populations reporting satisfaction with how involved they feel in decision-making affecting their enjoyment of the right to adequate housing, or access of targeted populations to channel(s) of participation in decision-making or implementation of programmes by the State in fulfilling its human rights obligations), or the extent to which they have been consulted in the selection of indicators included in the country’s reporting procedure (see chap. V). At a more aggregate level, changes in the magnitude of indicators, like the Gini coefficient,12 that reflect the distribution of household consumption expenditure or income to assess whether the development process in a country is encouraging participation, inclusion and equality in the distribution of returns, could be used as proxy indicators.13 Indicators on work participation and educational attainment of the population, in general, and of specific groups, in particular (for instance, women and minorities), could also be useful in this context (see further discussion in chaps. IV and V on specific examples of indicators to capture cross-cutting norms as well as the right to participate in public affairs). Finally, the first steps in the implementation of the principle of accountability are already being taken as one translates the normative content of a right into relevant and reliable quantitative and qualitative indicators. Indeed, the availability of information sensitive to human rights, and its collection and dissemination through independent mechanisms using transparent 10. See chap. IV, table 13 on non-discrimination and equality and box 23. 11. Substantive rights have a relatively clear content and may also have a “level/progressive” component in their realization, such as the right to education or the right to participate in public affairs. The procedural rights like the right not to be discriminated against or the right to remedy are critical to the process of realizing substantive rights and may be easier to define in the specific context of substantive rights. 12. See glossary of statistical terms. 13. Ibid. 40 Human Rights Indicators