Developing a participatory indicators-based framework for monitoring disability rights

The development of indicators to monitor the human rights of disabled people became paramount with the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). There is, however, a lack of indicators grounded in the voices and experiences of disabled people. This chapter addresses this gap by introducing a participatory indicator-based framework of quantitative and qualitative indicators to assess the extent to which laws, policies, and practices are complying with the CRPD. We start by discussing conceptual approaches and criteria for the development of human rights indicators. Then, taking Portugal as a case study, we describe the participatory approach used to collect and analyze data, and to develop and pilot-test a framework of structural, process, and outcome indicators (OHCHR, 2012) to measure the right to work. It is argued that a participatory indicator-based framework is key to assess progress in the realization of the human rights of disabled people everywhere.