I. >> H  uman Rights and Indicators: Rationale and Some Concerns >> What are human rights? 4 International human rights normative framework The international human rights normative framework has evolved since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948.9 Drafted as “a common standard of achievement for all peoples and nations”, it spelled out basic civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights that all human beings should enjoy. It has been widely accepted as an instrument containing the fundamental norms of human rights that should be respected, protected and realized. The Declaration together with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights form the International Bill of Human Rights. The other conventions adopted by the United Nations to address the situation of specific populations or issues in the promotion and protection of human rights are: The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; The Convention on the Rights of the Child; The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families; The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; and The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. These nine conventions and their optional protocols constitute the core international human rights instruments of the United Nations. Their provisions form the essence of the normative human rights framework of the United Nations. The treaty bodies (sect. B below) that review their implementation have developed the normative basis of the standards reflected in the treaties and the obligations of the duty bearers that follow from those standards through treaty-specific general comments and recommendations. Other human rights mechanisms, such as the special procedures of the Human Rights Council, have also contributed to the normative understanding of human rights standards. While covenants, statutes, protocols and conventions are legally binding on those States that ratify or accede to them, there are many other universal human rights instruments with a different legal status. Declarations, principles, guidelines, standard rules and recommendations have no binding legal effect, but have an undeniable moral force and provide practical guidance to States in their conduct.10 As the human rights standards have become codified in international as well as regional and national legal systems, they provide a set of performance measures to hold duty bearers—primarily States—to account. The normative standards on rights, as well as their correlated legal obligations discussed above should be translated into policies and measures that define and facilitate the implementation of human rights. However, policymakers, development and sometimes even human rights practitioners find it difficult to link these concepts with implementation practices. This makes it difficult to directly use such standards in policymaking and in pursuing the realization of human rights. It is this gap that the work on indicators for human rights is trying to address.11 9. Since 1948, the Declaration has been translated into more than 370 languages (see www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/ Introduction.aspx (accessed 25 April 2012)). 10. For example, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples elaborates on existing international human rights as they apply to indigenous peoples. 11. See also United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service, The United Nations Human Rights System: How To Make It Work For You (2008). 14 Human Rights Indicators