III. >> M  ethodological Approaches to Human Rights Indicators >> Sources and data-generating mechanisms the treaties, in the general comments of their treaty bodies and in the reporting guidelines for State parties to the use of such data in furthering the implementation of their human rights obligations.20 The Handbook on Social Indicators, in outlining the scope of statistics on living conditions and related social and economic conditions, provides a comprehensive list of fields.21 The list includes: population composition and change; human settlements, housing and geographical distribution of population; health and health services, impairment and disability, nutrition; learning and educational services; economic activity and population not economically active; socioeconomic groups and social mobility; income, consumption and wealth; social security and welfare services; leisure, culture and communications; time use; public order and safety; natural environment; and political activities. At the national level, socioeconomic statistics are often compiled in pursuance of legislation outlining development or administrative needs. At the international level, United Nations and other international conferences and summits have played an important role in the development of socioeconomic statistics; for example, gender statistics received impetus from the World Conferences on Women. Similarly, substantive work on environmental statistics has followed the global summits on the issue. The statistics are usually compiled by the various organizations within specific conceptual frameworks that are essentially geared to addressing their mandates. Among the United Nations agencies and programmes, besides the United Nations Statistical Division, there are long-standing initiatives on statistical indicators, particularly within the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) also collects information on the functioning of parliaments. In all these intergovernmental organizations, work on quantitative data and indicators for monitoring progress related to their mandates can be linked to the various commitments of State parties to international human rights instruments and are thus useful for human rights assessments. A more complete list of organizations and their databases is provided in annex II. There are also instances of NGOs using socioeconomic statistics for monitoring human rights, for example, the annual reports of Social Watch or the fact sheets developed by the Center for Economic and Social Rights. The assessments undertaken by both initiatives, although different, draw primarily from information available from the United Nations specialized agencies and programmes and the World Bank.22 The sources commonly associated with the formulation and compilation of socioeconomic statistics are: Administrative data Statistical surveys Censuses. 20. There are some direct references to the use of commonly used socioeconomic and administrative statistics in the human rights normative framework in chap. I, sect. E. 21. United Nations publication, Sales No. E.89.XVII.6, pp. 15–17. 22. See www.socialwatch.org and www.cesr.org. Human Rights Indicators 57