What is the SDG – Human Rights Data Explorer?

Why explore the links between human rights recommendations and the SDGs?

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is explicitly grounded in international human rights treaties and the 17 SDGs “seek to realize the human rights of all”.  

The Human Rights Guide to the SDGs shows that more than 92% of the SDG targets reflect specific provisions of international human rights instruments. This means that human rights and SDGs are tied together in a mutually reinforcing manner and can be realised through integrated approaches. Moreover, it implies that the systematic qualitative analysis, data and recommendations of human rights monitoring bodies and mechanisms are essential for realising both human rights obligations and SDG commitments.

International human rights monitoring bodies such as the Treaty Bodies, the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and the UN Special Procedures provide country-specific high-quality recommendations that are immediately relevant for realising the SDGs in specific countries, for specific groups and with regards to particular themes and sectors.

Operationalising the links between human rights and the SDGs, and making use of human rights recommendations in national SDG implementation strategies, strengthens efficiency and policy coherence, increases accountability, and ensures that no one is left behind.

The vast amount of information can be difficult to use directly for this purpose, as they are are not explicitly linked to the SDGs from the outset. The SDG – Human Rights Data Explorer overcomes this problem by connecting the recommendations of international human rights mechanisms to individual targets of the 2030 Agenda.

How to use the SDG – Human Rights Data Explorer

Linking the recommendations of the international human rights system to specific SDG targets makes it easy for states and other stakeholders to identify priority areas for SDG implementation, identify vulnerable groups that require special support, and develop concrete actions that serve the double purpose of realizing human rights obligations and sustainable development commitments.

National implementation

The SDG – Human Rights Data Explorer can be used to explore how human rights recommendations for individual countries are linked to specific SDG targets. The recommendations can then be used to:

  • identify the priority issues that need to be addressed in a given country;
  • guide the strategies and actions to achieve the relevant SDG targets and related human rights obligations; and
  • identify vulnerable groups such as migrant workers, indigenous peoples and persons with disabilities, who need special considerations in strategies and actions to achieve particular SDG targets and related human rights obligations, to ensure they are not left behind.

Follow-up and Review at the global and regional level:

The SDG – Human Rights Data Explorer can be used to explore the links between human rights recommendations and SDGs at the global and regional level too. In this context, the information can be used to:

  • provide an overview of regional and global salient human rights issues as they relate to the SDGs;
  • identify regional and global human rights issues pertaining to individual groups of rights-holders, who require particular attention and considerations in SDG implementation to ensure no one is left behind;
  • inform regional and global strategies and actions to achieve the SDGs and related human rights instruments, and;
  • identify global and regional trends and tendencies in human rights and sustainable development realization over time.

All data can be explored online as well as exported to spreadsheet format (.csv).

What are international human rights monitoring mechanisms?

International human rights bodies monitor states' compliance with their obligations to respect, protect and fulfil human rights. You can read more about international human rights bodies at the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The SDG – Human Rights Data Explorer contains recommendations from the following human rights monitoring mechanisms:

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The UPR is a peer review mechanism under the UN Human Rights Council. It seeks to improve the human rights situation in all UN Member States by periodically assessing their human rights records and addressing human rights violations wherever they occur. The UPR must be based on objective and reliable information and draws on various information sources, which include:

  • information provided by the State under review, i.e., submitted as a national report;
  • information contained in the reports of independent human rights experts and bodies, and other UN entities; and
  • information from other stakeholders, including national human rights institutions (NHRIs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

The UPR process provides an opportunity for each state to explain what actions it has taken to improve its human rights situation, as well as an interactive discussion where other UN Member States can raise questions, provide comments and make recommendations to the state under review.  The reviewed State can choose to either accept or note the recommendations received from other States. 

You can find more information about the UPR here.

The Human Rights Treaty Bodies. These are committees of independent experts that monitor implementation of the core international human rights treaties. The treaty bodies comprise the following Committees:

The Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. These are independent human rights experts with mandates to report and advise on human rights from a thematic or country-specific perspective. There are currently are 44 thematic and 12 country mandates.

More information about the Special Procedures is available here.

Acknowledgements

The SDG – Human Rights Data Explorer provides public access to the results of an experimental data mining project undertaken by DIHR, in collaboration with the social enterprise Specialisterne (“The Specialists”). Specialisterne seeks to harness the special talents of people with a diagnosis on the autistic spectrum to secure meaningful employment opportunities for them. On behalf of DIHR, Specialisterne has developed a text-mining algorithm to connect human rights recommendations with SDG targets.

Part of the information displayed in this database is provided by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) through its Universal Human Rights Index (UHRI), available at http://uhri.ohchr.org/en. The UHRI compiles recommendations from all United Nations human rights mechanisms, enabling a broad audience to get easy access to recommendations and observations on specific human rights issues addressed to states. The methodology and purpose of this database has been discussed and developed with guidance and input from OHCHR experts.

DIHR equally wishes to acknowledge that part of the information displayed in this database is provided by UPR Info through its Database of Recommendations, available at https://www.upr-info.org/database/. The UPR Info Database of Recommendations holds all UPR recommendations and provides analytic tools and statistics to enhance the monitoring of implementation. UPR Info works to promote the universal advancement of human rights for all segments of society through the UPR mechanism, by fostering participatory and inclusive dialogue between all national actors.

Disclaimer

While every effort has been made to ensure completeness of the dataset, the content of this database shall not be considered complete, exhaustive, or authoritative. The indicated links to the Goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda are solely to be considered as suggestions, and do not reflect a political interpretation by DIHR or any of its partners.

Contact For questions or inquiries, please contact

Helene Møller Winterskov

Project officer, Human Rights and Development
hewi@humanrights.dk