Human Rights Impact Assessment Tools and Instruments

HRIAs are implemented using tools or instruments that are designed for a specific context or policy area. They can be broad frameworks or they can be used to facilitate the implementation of a specific part of a human rights impact assessment.

A distinction is sometimes made between a HRIA tool and a HRIA instrument. An instrument refers to a specific framework for the implementation of a HRIA. Instruments define the steps that need to be taken, the sequence in which they are taken and the tools that should be used. As such instruments provide a more specific framework for HRIA than approaches. Different situations require different approaches. There are more specific instruments/frameworks for HRIA, such as the Health Rights of Women Assessment Instrument (HeRWAI) or the Strategic Programme Impact Framework. These instruments are designed to assess impact for a specific group, human right, or within a particular context.

HRIA tools are used in the implementation of a step or a number of steps in a HRIA instrument or a HRIA approach. HRIA instruments or approaches can be frameworks that as such may not provide enough guidance to carry out a HRIA. Thus various tools can be used to facilitate the implementation of the various steps of a HRIA instrument or HRIA approach. 

For example, the analysis of the human rights and political situation in a country is an important step in HRIA instruments and approaches. The Democratic Analytical Framework tool can be used to make such an analysis. Another example is the online tool Thesaurus of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which can be used for monitoring and evaluation. A HRIA tool can therefore be understood as the implementation of one or more steps in the HRIA-8 step approach.

The Resource Database section of this Resource Centre contains an extensive list of instruments and tools. For convenience these are all listed together under Toolsets. Each tool or instrument in the Toolsets database has a description of where it can be used, with links to case studies that have already used the tool/instrument (these are in the reports database). In each case, the steps covered by the tool or instrument are highlighted, documentation is provided, as are details of how and where to get further information.