What can you find in this section?

This section organises material present in the sections: tools, case studies and publications, and places it within the context of a general approach to human rights impact assessment (HRIA). There is not one uniform way to perform a HRIA. Rather there are steps that need to be followed. Each step can be taken by using different tools depending on the activity that is being assessed. In this section 8 steps are presented. These 8 steps are based on the Aim for human rights HRIA Approach. Under each step you will find an introduction to what the step does, tools, reference material and case studies that could be used to take that step.

HRIA steps

The Aim for human rights HRIA approach is an approach of eight procedural steps that together provide an approach for developing a cyclic approach to policy development and project management. Under each step different tools can be used to implement the step.  

The constituent elements of the framework are:

  • Eight procedural levels:
  1. Assessment of the actual human rights situation
  2. Political analysis
  3. Development of a view on the desired situation
  4. Selection of essential questions
  5. Formulation of policy options and activities
  6. Decision on policy and activities
  7. Monitoring
  8. Evaluation
  • Measuring results by using quantitative and qualitative pre-determined objective indicators.
  • Cyclic approach: plan - do - check/ feedback - adapt. A cyclic approach adds to the effectiveness of activities: one can learn from the experience and use the lessons learned in future situations.