eitan felner - using statistics for human rights accountrability - oecd_world_forum_-_korea_-_10-09

Synergy for AccountabilityCombining human rights and statistics for making governments accountable for human development

deprivations and disparities

The 3rd OECD World Forum

Busan, Korea, October 2009

Eitan FelnerIndependent [email protected]

Outline of presentation

• Usefulness of empirically-based human rights perspective to hold governments accountable for insufficient progress and disparities in achieving the MDGsdisparities in achieving the MDGs

• Overview of a proposed methodological framework

• Sample of illustrative tools

OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION 1. To show how a synergy between human rights and development can help in concrete situations to hold national governments accountable for overall insufficient progress and disparities in achieving MDG targets 2. To present a methodological framework that I’ve been developing in the last few years that shows when and how abysmal levels of inequality and deprivation in education, health or food security can be traced back to specific actions of commission omissions of state policy, which in turn can be traced back to structural causes related to lack of political will. I should say that this is a work in progress, which I began developing when I was the director of the Center for Economic and Social Rights and that now I continue develop further and apply it with various institutions at the national and int’l level as an independent consultant

Progress on MDGs…

Like a Tango Dance

Deprivations and Disparities in MDGs

The water divide

World Bank, Global Monitoring Report 2008 UNDP, Human Development Report 2006

unequal power relations – a key reason for persistent poverty and deprivation

“Inequity in education is linked to wider disparities in the distribution of power, wealth and opportunity. And it is perpetuated by policies that either tolerate or actively exacerbate an unfair distribution of life chances – policies that fuel the transmission of poverty across generations.”

““all too often poverty – and deprivation in the broad sense – stems from issues of power, expressed in various ways which give different groups of people (men and women, ethnic groups, girls and boys) have different sets of rights and privileges from birth.”

Swedish Ministry of Foreign AffairsPower and Privileges: Gender Discrimination and Poverty

generations.”UNESCO, Education For All Report 2009

• Poverty persists in large part because poor people are disempowered and unable to hold others to account.

• The information and mechanisms to claim their rights and seek redress are weak. • Formal map of accountability systems sometimes bears little resemblance to actual

accountability relationships.

Inequality of power Accountability deficit

accountability relationships. • Informal systems may be biased towards the interests of certain groups to the

exclusion of others, particularly the poorest.

• People's rights and obligations are mediated by ethnicity, kinship, gender relations, patronage systems - rather than just the ‘formal’ state-citizen compact.

DFID, ‘Accountability Briefing Note – A briefing pratice notice’

Inequality of power Accountability deficit

• Poor people disempowered to hold others to account

• Weak accountability mechanism to claim poor people’s • Weak accountability mechanism to claim poor people’s rights

• People’s rights mediated by ethnicity, gender and patronage systems – rather than just form state-citizen compact

Attribution: A basic challenge to make governments accountable for insufficient progress in MDGs

Deprivations and disparities in progress in MDGs are result of multiple reasons, only some of which can be attributed to government actions or inactions

“Health” […] is influenced by a range of factors – including health-related behaviour, prenatal factors, early childhood, social status, support, living conditions, education, health services, nutrition, and stress.”

WHO and UNFPA, National-level monitoring of the Achievement of universal access to reproductive health, 2008

What is needed…

Simple tools to assess to what extent deprivations, disparities and lack of progress in MDGs can be traced back to failures of

government policy

3-step Methodological framework

#1 Identifying

Effect Methodological steps

#1 Identifying deprivations and disparities in HD

#2 Identifying inadequacy of policy efforts to overcome barriers to MDGs

#3 (OPTIONAL) Structural causes behind inadequacy of policy efforts

Cause

Empirically-based human rights assessment tool

deprivations and disparities

Identifying inadequacy of policy efforts to address obstacles to MDGs

Structural causes behind inadequacy of policy efforts

Human Rights

Empirical Evidence andSocio-economicanalysis

Why human rights can help hold gov’t accountable?

Unique power of human rights Universal legal obligations

Moral language of our times

Unique power of human rights Universal legal obligations

Source of Political legitimacy

Focus of human rights approach: avoidable deprivations

nCalls attention to the fact that widespread deprivations and disparities are all too often not inevitable

nRather: frequently generated, perpetuated or exacerbated by lack of political will of governments

Discriminatory policies in public spending

Addressing basic needs of the poorInstead of

Inequalities in education and health among ethnic groups

Due to

•Corrupt governments that steal public resources

•Spending on ‘white elephant projects’ that squanders state resources

Due toOverall insufficient resources for social services

Capture of state by economic elite

A Pattern of massive deprivation

Step #1 - Identifying deprivations and disparities in Human Development

100

Niger (1998)

Chad (2004)

Bangladesh (2004)

0

20

40

60

80

Quintille 1(lowest)

Quintille 2 Quintille 3 Quintille 4 Quintille 5(highest)

WHO 2008, based on data from Gwatkin et al, 2007

A pattern of Marginalization

Step #1 - Identifying deprivations and disparities in Human Development (continued)

Nigaragua (2001)

100

WHO 2008, based on data from Gwatkin et al, 2007

(2001)

Colombia (2005)

Turkey (1998)

0

20

40

60

80

Quintille 1(lowest)

Quintille 2 Quintille 3 Quintille 4 Quintille 5(highest)

Step #2 -Identifying inadequacy of policy efforts to overcome barriers to MDGs(illustration)

High incidence of girls out of primary school

Parents refusal to send girls to school

SupplyDemandFactors outside sector

Parents can’t afford school fees

Cultural belief and practices

Teachers are often

absent

Government’s responsibility

School too far away

Gov’t forbids girls to attend

school

Poor quality of teaching

Illustration of frameworkThe Right to Education in Guatemala

Education for All Development Index (EDI) and GDP pc, LAC 2005

0.94

0.96

0.98

1

Education for All Development Index

Peru Panama

Uruguay

Venezuela

Mexico

Argentina

Chile

Determinants of MDGs-relateddeprivations and inequalities

Inadequacy of policy effortsto address determinants

Structural causes behindinadequacy of

government efforts

0.8

0.82

0.84

0.86

0.88

0.9

0.92

2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000

GDP per capita, PPP (constant 2005 international $)

Education for All Development Index

Source: WDI 2008 and UNESCO EFA Global Monitoring Report 2008

NicaraguaGuatemala

HondurasEl Salvador

Paraguay

Bolivia

Dominican Rep.

Colombia

Ecuador

Jamaica

Brazil

Venezuela

Secondary Net Enrollment Rate

2005

Primary Completion Rate 2005

Adult Literacy Rates*

100%LAC 98%

90 LAC 90%

80

70 Guatemala 74%

LAC 69% Guatemala 69%

Identifying deprivations and Disparities in HD



government efforts

LAC 69% Guatemala 69%

60 SS Africa 61%

SS Africa 59%

50

40Guatemala 35.4%

30SS Africa 25.3%

20

10

0%Source: UNESCO Source: WDI Source: WDI

*LAC and SS Africa: 2005. Guatemala: 2002

MethodComparing one country with different regionshelps flag underperformance

Method




government efforts

comparing needs with resource allocation

35

40

45

50

primary and primary students underweight

Guatemala

MethodCross-country comparison of resource allocation for specific aid programs

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Food programme US$ spent annually per student

% of pre-primary and primary students underweight

Honduras

Bolivia

Nicaragua

Colombia

Brazil

Panama

Argentina

Mexico

Costa Rica

Venezuela

Chile

Uruguay

Source: Barros 2005

Peru

Ecuador

2000

2500

3000

3500

Number of Deserters after 1st Gradeper Municipality, Girls 2006

Comparing needs with resource allocation




government efforts

MethodDistributional analysis of aid program to identify mismatch between needs and resource distribution

0

500

1000

1500 Number of Becas per Municipality

Source: Mineduc statistics 2005 and 2006. "Initial Enrollment, girls, rural, all sectors, per grade"

Poverty IncidenceTeachers’ Reading

Test ScoresConcentration of Indigenous People

Dept. Poverty Dept. Score Dept. % Pop. IndigenousQuiché 81 Sacatepéquez 72.6 Totonicapán 98%Alta Verapaz 78.8 Guatemala 66.5 Sololá 96%Sololá 74.6 Chimaltenango 66 Alta Verapaz 93%Totonicapán 71.9 El Progreso 61.4 Quiché 89%Huehuetenango 71.3 Retalhuleu 60.5 Chimaltenango 79%Baja Verapaz 70.4 Petén 60.5 Huehuetenango 65%San Marcos 65.5 San Marcos 60.2 Baja Verapaz 59%




government efforts

Assessing whether marginalized children are being taught by the least qualified teachers

Sources: ENCOVI 2006, Rubio and Salanic (2005) and UNDP Guatemala 2005

MethodComparing multiple data sets

San Marcos 65.5 San Marcos 60.2 Baja Verapaz 59%Jalapa 61.2 Zacapa 59.9 Quetzaltenango 54%Chimaltenango 60.5 Jalapa 59.8 Suchitepéquez 52%Chiquimula 59.5 Chiquimula 59.3 Sacatepéquez 42%Santa Rosa 57.9 Escuintla 58.8 San Marcos 31%Petén 57 Suchitepéquez 57.4 Petén 31%Suchitepéquez 54.7 Quetzaltenango 56.8 Retalhuleu 23%Zacapa 53.9 Baja Verapaz 56.2 Jalapa 19%Retalhuleu 50.4 Jutiapa 55.6 Chiquimula 17%Jutiapa 47.3 Totonicapán 54.2 Guatemala 14%Quetzaltenango 44 Huehuetenango 53.5 Escuintla 7%El Progreso 41.8 Santa Rosa 52.5 Jutiapa 3%Escuintla 41.4 Sololá 51.4 Santa Rosa 3%Sacatepéquez 36.5 Quiché 51.2 El Progreso 1%Guatemala 16.3 Alta Verapaz 50.9 Zacapa 1%

Countries Ratio El Salvador 87

Chile 77,2 Colombia 76.8

Panama 76,3 Honduras 75,6

Ratio of average female income Compared to averagemale income (2003)




government efforts

High Gender inequality -in education and in labour market

Honduras 75,6

Venezuela 75,6 Costa Rica 74,7

Uruguay 71,8 Paraguay 70,2 Nicaragua 69

Dom. Rep. 68,3 Peru 67,1

Ecuador 66,5 Bolivia 63

Brazil 63 Mexico 62,6

Argentina 60 Guatemala 57,8

CESR, based on World Bank, 2008

Education allocation ratio (gov’t Spending on Education as % of GDP, Latin America (Latest Available Data)




government efforts

Meager public spending on education

MethodCompare spending across countries

CESR, based on World Bank, 2008




government efforts

Measuring mechanisms of elite capture of the state – Financing of political parties

Direct State Funding per year and registered voter in 25 democracies

Casas-Zamora, 2008

MethodComparing patterns of financing political Parties across countries




government efforts

Measuring mechanisms of elite capture of the state – Financing of political parties

1. Meager Public Financing of Parties and Campaigns

2. Absence of Limits on Campaign Spending

3. Very Limited Regulation of Media Time during Elections

“Guatemala possesses one of the Western Hemisphere’s least regulated systems of political finance legislation and practice….. Not only is political finance almost wholly a private affair, parties may spend without limitation on campaign advertising. Rules for the disclosure of parties’ campaign contributions are moreover non-existent. In a country characterized by an extremely unequal distribution of income and wealth, this system maximizes the potential for those with money to determine the outcomes of election contests and shape policy to their own advantage, disregarding the will of the voters.”

The Carter Center – Financing Democracy in Guatemala

3. Very Limited Regulation of Media Time during Elections

4. Total Anonymity for Campaign Donations

5. Ineffective Control over the Use of State Resources for Election Propaganda

Conclusions – Strength of proposed framework

• Multidisciplinary - Combines normative human rights framework with the rigor of empirically based socio-economic analysis

user-friendly• Simple tools

lend themselves to visualize form (advocacy)

• Focused oriented without falling into a narrow sectorial perspective

• Multiple uses by diverse users National policymakers – as a policy tool

Civil society – as a monitoring and advocacy toolInternational agencies - as means to foster dialogue

Synergy for AccountabilityCombining human rights and statistics for making governments accountable for human development deprivations and disparities

Eitan FelnerIndependent [email protected] [email protected]

End of Presentation

“A new frontier in economic and social rights advocacy? Turning Quantitative Data into a tool for human rights accountability”

Sur – International Journal on Human Rights http://www.surjournal.org/imagens/ico_artigodown.gif

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eitan felner - using statistics for human rights accountrability - oecd_world_forum_-_korea_-_10-09

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