Human Rights and Indicators: Rationale and Some Concerns Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home—so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any map of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person: the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.  Eleanor Roosevelt1 Human rights are the language of basic human wants, in keeping with the notion of dignity and equality of the human person. They help in articulating wants and the response of those who have to address those wants. They are a universal lan- guage of humanity to which a creative use of tools like indicators, both qualitative and quantitative, can contribute by strengthening its understanding and implementation. In developing this facet of human rights, the chapter addresses the following: Learning objectives 1 2 What are human rights, their characteristic features, obligations and the international normative framework? What are the United Nations human rights mechanisms? 3 What are human rights indicators: quantitative/ qualitative, fact- and judgement- based; performance and compliance indicators, and benchmarks? 4 5 Common concerns and some misconceptions on using indicators Use of indicators in the international legal framework 1. Chair of the committee created by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights to draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, at the presentation of IN YOUR HANDS: A Guide for Community Action for the Tenth Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, United Nations, New York, 27 March 1958. Human Rights Indicators 9