Factsheet Suggest That Cambodia’S Effortsto Address D Since Since the End of Internal Armed Conflict in the 1990S, Cambodia Has Made

Visualizing

Cambodia Rights it focuses on the rights n health, Cambodia has Cambodia health, in fact sheet no. 7 sheet no. fact nalysis of rising levels of inequality inequality of levels rising of nalysis nternational Covenant on Economic, Economic, on Covenant nternational a i CE SR P. These P. raise questions about whether the ecember 2009 and the UN Committee on Economic, Economic, on Committee UN the and 2009 ecember ay may 2009, this fact sheet looks at the realization of d n education, progress has been made in enrolling more more enrolling in made been has progress education, in nternational comparisons are made with the latest made avail- with the latest are comparisons international bank 2008), while the share has poorest 20 declined percent’s to ts aim is to graphically illustrate background information to help assess i

ata analyzed in this factsheet suggest that Cambodia’s effortsto address d Since Since the end of internal armed conflict in the 1990s, Cambodia has made

The data and graphs in this factsheet point to possible failures by the state to put to state the by failures possible to point factsheet this in graphs and data The n light of Cambodia’s appearance before both the Universal Periodic Review of the of Review Periodic Universal the both before appearance Cambodia’s of light n ber of children enrolled in school. Serious concerns remain, however, given that the that given however, remain, concerns Serious school. in enrolled children of ber in place policies needed to reduce disparities in the enjoyment of economic, social economic, of enjoyment the in disparities reduce to needed policies place in income (World income (World to to maximum available resources. They are based on government statistical data the right to an adequate standard of living in Cambodia. to health, food, education, housing and water and possible policy failures in these in failures policy possible and water and housing education, food, health, to the highest private health expenditure as a percentage of GdP of all low income these patterns of deprivation and inequality have been inadequate. Cambodia’s under seven percent. under seven from Cambodia’s 2000 and 2005 household surveys and the 2003/2004 Cambodia Cambodia 2003/2004 the and surveys household 2005 and 2000 Cambodia’s from primary students, but expenditure per pupil has declined. has pupil per expenditure but students, primary revenues, revenues, as a proportion of its Gd now now available for addressing economic and social government rights. However, majority majority of Cambodians still live in grinding poverty and the gaps both between rich and poor and between urban and rural areas are wide. of percent Eighty-five UN Human Rights Council in Council Rights Human UN government is dedicating the maximum available resources to realizing economic, economic, realizing to resources available maximum the dedicating is government i shows that the richest 20 percent of the population now controls half the country’s country’s the half controls now population the of percent 20 richest the that shows steady social progress, including reducing child mortality and increasing the num- the increasing and mortality child reducing including progress, social steady social and cultural rights. cultural and social and cultural rights and to ensure these rights are realized progressively according according progressively realized are rights these ensure to and rights cultural and areas. areas. indicators. development bank World the World data from able comparable expenditure expenditure on health and education is comparatively very low, as are direct tax erty Profile 2006), but the vast majority of rural dwellers do not own the land they they land the own not do dwellers rural of majority vast the but 2006), Profile erty cultivate and are vulnerable to food insecurity. insecurity. food to vulnerable are and cultivate compliance of the state of Cambodia with the with Cambodia of state the of compliance countries (World bank 2008). (World countries Socio-economic Survey. Survey. Socio-economic P per capita continues to rise steadily which suggests that more resources are are resources more that suggests which steadily rise to continues capita per GdP Cambodia’s Cambodia’s population lives in rural areas and is dependent on agriculture (Pov- Social and Cultural Rights and other international standards it has ratified. standards Rights and other international Social and Cultural Social and Cultural Rights in Center for Economic and Social Rights and Social Economic for Center Cambodia fact sheet no. 7 CE SR

The RighT TO healTh “Concern is expressed that the State party’s infant mortality and under-five mortality rates remain among the highest Skilled Birth Attendance and Infant Mortality Rates in the region.” (CRC Concluding Observa- Figure 1 Cambodian Provinces 2005 tions 2000)

120

100 Infant mortality is much higher in provinces 80 with less access to maternal health care 60 There are vast regional disparities in availability of 40 reproductive health services in Cambodia. Women 20 giving birth in the capital Phnom Penh are over six

0 times as likely to be assisted by a skilled birth attendant than women in the regions of mondol Takeo Kratie Pursat Kandal Prey Veng Siem Reap Kiri and Rattanak Kiri. This graph suggests that Svay Rieng Krong Pailin Phnom Penh Mondol Kiri/ Rattanak Kiri Steung Treng Battambang/ Preah Vihear/ Kampong Speu Kampong Cham Kampong Thom

nouk/Kaoh Kong where there is more skilled birth attendance in a Otdar Mean Chey Kampong Chnang Krong Preah Siha- Kampot/Krong Kep Banteay Mean Chey province, fewer infants die, raising questions about Skilled birth attendance Infant mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) Source: World Bank 2008 the government’s efforts to ensure the equal enjoyment of the right to health for Cambodian women and children. Figure 2 One-year-olds with Vaccination Card, by Province, 2005 Child vaccination is much lower in more economically-marginalized provinces Oddâr Méanchey one of the most important measures to combat Preah Vihéar Banteay Stung Treng Râtana Kiri child mortality is ensuring immunization against Mean Cheay Siem Reap the most prevalent diseases. Children from rural Pursat, however, are almost half as likely to be vac- Battambang Pailin Kompong Thom Mondol Kiri cinated as children from the more industrialized Kratié 40–49% province of Kandal. While just 47 percent of chil- Pursat Kampong 50–59% Chnang Kampong Cham dren in Pursat have vaccination cards, 83 percent 60–69% of children in Kandal do. The wide disparities in Koh Kong Kampong 70% + Speu vaccination coverage across Cambodia suggest Kandal Phnom Penh Prey Veaeng Svaay that there is an inequitable distribution of avail- Takeo Rieng 0 50 100 150 200 km able resources. Krong Preah Kampot Sihanouk Krang Kep Source: DHS 2005 The average Cambodian spends more private income on health care than in other low-income countries Private Health Expenditure as % of GDP, Low-income Cambodians are more likely to pay out-of-pocket Figure 3 Countries, 2006 for health care than people in other low-income asian countries. Private expenditure accounts for Cambodia 5.8 almost six percent of GdP. despite a significant Vietnam 4.5 increase in GdP per capita, public health expendi- Nepal 4.2 Afghanistan 4.2 ture has declined in recent years, from 2.5 percent PDR Lao 2.9 of GdP in 2003 to less than two percent the follow- Bangladesh 2.0 ing year (World bank 2008). This indicates a lack Myanmar 1.9 of government commitment to providing needed Pakistan 1.7 DR Korea 0.5 health care resources and to invest in progressive

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 realization of the right to health. Source: World Bank 2008

2 Center for Economic and Social Rights

“The Committee . . . urges the State party The RighT TO eDuCaTiOn to immediately take all appropriate measures . . . to eliminate the disparity Gross School Enrollment by Level and Gender in school enrolment rates and to achieve Figure 4 Cambodia, 2006 universal primary education for girls in accordance with article 10 of the 126.5 120 117.7 Convention [on the elimination of all 100 Forms of Discrimination against Women].” 80 (CeDaW Concluding Observations 2006) 60 42.6 40 33.6 Gross Enrollment % Enrollment Gross 20 Female 3.0 6.0 Gender disparities in the realization 0 Male of the right to education at primary, School enrollment, School enrollment, School enrollment, primary (% gross) secondary (% gross) tertiary (% gross) secondary and tertiary levels only 34 percent of female students enroll in sec- Source: World Bank 2008 ondary school, compared with 43 percent of males. The female to male enrollment ratio in primary school is 93 percent, but declines to 78 percent in Percentage Distribution of Male and Females with No secondary school, and to 50 percent at the tertiary Figure 5 Education by Cambodian Province 2005 level. This raises questions as to why male students are more likely to continue their education 60 than female students, and why disparities increase 50 at each subsequent education level. 40 30 20 Women are more likely than men to have no 10 education, and lack of access to education 0 Takeo

is highest in Mondo Kiri and Rattanak Kiri Kratie Pursat Kandal Prey Veng Siem Reap Svay Rieng

Nearly 60 percent of women and 40 percent of /Kaoh Kong Phnom Penh Mondol Kiri/ Rattanak Kiri Steung Treng Preah Vihear/ Kampong Speu Kampong Cham Kampong Thom

men in mondol Kiri and Rattanak Kiri have no Otdar Mean Chey Kampong Chhnang Kampot/Krong Kep Banteay Mean Chey

education, compared to less than 15 percent of Krong Preah Sihanouk Battambanf/Krong Pailin women and five percent of men in Phnom Penh.i n Female Male Source: DHS 2005 the province of Svay Rieng, girls are almost three times less likely to attend school than boys. This reflects wide gender and rural-urban disparities in access to education. Expenditure per Student and Primary Gross Enrollment Figure 6 Rates, 2000–2004 Since 2001, more children are enrolled in primary education but expenditure 130 7.0

per student has declined 125 6.8 6.6 While Cambodia has made progress with the 120 steady increase in primary enrolment rates since 6.4 125 2000, it is troubling that Cambodia’s expenditure 6.2 110 6.0 has not risen to match the increase in the number 5.8 of students. Since 2001, Cambodia’s expenditure 105 5.6 per student has fallen from almost seven percent 100 School enrollment, primary (% gross) 5.4 of GdP per capita to 5.6 percent in 2004 (latest 95 5.2 available data). This decrease in expenditure per per capita) Expenditure per student, primary (% of GDP 90 5.0 student raises concerns about the quality of edu- 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

cation in Cambodia. School enrollment, primary (% gross) Expenditure per student, primary (% of GDP per capita) Source: World Bank 2008

3 Cambodia fact sheet no. 7 CE SR

The RighT TO WaTeR “The Committee recommends that the State party address the issue of childhood morbidity and mortality by taking a multi- Percentage of Population with Access to Potable Drinking sectoral approach recognizing the critical Figure 7 Water by Cambodian Province, 2004. role of . . . lack of clean water supplies . . . in the current pattern of childhood ill- nesses.” (CRC Concluding Observations Oddâr Méanchey 2000) Preah Vihéar Banteay Stung Treng Râtana Kiri Mean Cheay Siem Reap The right to water is not enjoyed equally Battambang Pailin Kompong Thom by all Cambodians, and access to potable Mondol Kiri Kratié 10–20% water is much lower in rural areas Pursat 20–30% Kampong Less than 12 percent of residents in Pursat province Chnang Kampong Cham 30–35% 35–40% have access to potable drinking water, compared 40–45% Koh Kong Kampong Speu 45–51% to more than 90 percent of Phnom Penh and Prey Kandal Phnom Penh Prey 80–95% Veng residents. These disparities among prov- Veaeng Svaay Takeo Rieng 0 50 100 150 200 km inces raise concerns about Cambodia’s efforts to Krong Preah Kampot Sihanouk ensure equal enjoyment of the basic human right Krang Kep Source: UNDP HDR 2007 to water.

Proportion of urban people with access to safe water is declining, despite GDP per capita Growth and Urban Access to Improved Figure 8 significant economic growth Water Source, 2000–2005 Cambodia’s income (as measured by GdP per capita) is increasing, but the proportion of urban resi- 61 1500 dents with access to safe water has been steadily 1450 60 declining. This may reflect a lack of investment 1400 in water infrastructure in urban areas to keep up 1350 59 with the rising number of Cambodians migrating 1300 to urban areas. almost 80 percent of Cambodia’s

58 1250 urban residents live in urban slums (UN Habitat

1200 2008/2009), where access to safe water is much 57 lower than in other urban areas. This suggests a 1150 failure to invest adequate levels of resources in the 1100 56 realization of the right to water. 1050

55 1000 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

GDP per capita PPP (constant 2005 international $) Urban population with access to improved water source (%) Source: DHS 2000 and 2005

4 Center for Economic and Social Rights

“Failure to enforce the land law... has The RighT TO hOuSing undermined the realization of adequate housing for thousands of families in urban and rural areas, as has the absence of Figure 9 Percentage of Urban Population Living in Slums, 2005 national housing policies and legislation that take into proper account the rights and livelihoods of the rural and urban poor who do not have access to adequate housing or the means to secure it.” (Spe- Non-slum, 21.1 cial Rapporteur on adequate housing, Cambodia country visit, March 2006) Slum, 78.9

Almost four in five urban Cambodians live in urban slums Source: UN Habitat 2008/2009 without access to adequate housing a high proportion of Cambodia’s urban population lives in squalid conditions in urban slums. Documentation of Land Sales, Selected Urban and Rural Slums do not meet the requirements of the right Figure 10 to adequate housing, characterized in part by legal Cambodian Provinces 2000–2005

security of tenure; availability of facilities and infra- 100% structure (including water and sanitation); afford- 90% ability; habitability (CESCR General Comment 4). 80% 70% The lack of legal security of tenure heightens vul- 60% nerability to forced or arbitrary eviction (amnesty 50% international 2008; CoHRE et al 2008). 40% 30% 20% Inadequate documentation of land 10% and housing sales contributes to 0% % Urban % Urban % Rural (Kompong Cham, % Rural insecure tenure and forced evictions (Phnom Penh ) (Siem Reap) Kompong Thom, (Kompong The vast majority of land and housing sales are Sihanoukville, Takeo) Chnang) not formally documented at the provincial level. Documented by contract between buyer and seller only most sales are documented informally, or at vil- Documented at province level Documented at village, district or communal level (below province level) Source: Ballard 2008 lage or communal levels. Without documentation at the provincial level, land ownership can be easily disputed by provincial and national officials, leav- GDP per Capita and Rural Access to Improved ing Cambodians vulnerable to land-grabbing and Figure 11 forced eviction. Failure to promote official proce- Sanitation, Low-income Countries 2006 dures suggests the government is not doing enough 60 to ensure security of tenure (ballard 2008). Vietnam 50 Rural Cambodians have much lower 40 Papua New Guinea rates of access to sanitation than Laos Bangladesh those living in comparable countries 30 around 85 percent of Cambodia’s population lives 20 Cambodia in rural areas, but only 19 percent of rural dwellers

Improved sanitation facilities, rural (% of rural population with access) 10 have access to improved sanitation facilities. Such a low rate is below the average for low-income 0 200 700 1200 1700 2200 countries, raising questions about Cambodia’s commitment to use maximum available resources GDP per capita PPP (constant 2005 international $) Source: World Bank 2008 to improve access to adequate sanitation.

5 Cambodia fact sheet no. 7 CE SR

The RighT TO FOOD “The majority of Cambodia’s population lives in rural areas and depends heavily on land and natural resources as a source Cambodians Living under the Food of livelihood. Thus the question of how Figure 12 Poverty Line, Urban-Rural 2004 Cambodia manages and distributes its land and natural resources, and for whose benefit, is one of the most pressing issues

Phnom 1.0 facing the country today. it is also critical Penh Other to the ability of all Cambodians to benefit urban 11.4 areas from equitable and sustainable develop-

Rural ment that respects and promotes their areas 22.2 human rights.” (Report of the Special Rep- resentative for the Secretary general for 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 human Rights in Cambodia, Jan 2007) % of population under the food poverty line

Source: Poverty Proﬁle 2006 Realization of the right to food is a serious problem in rural areas over 20 percent of Cambodia’s population lives below the national food poverty line, unable to Figure 13 Child Malnutrition, 2005, by Province afford the minimum essential calorie requirement of 2,100 calories/day, and the vast majority (95

65 percent) live in rural areas. The majority of Cam- 55 bodia’s poor and food insecure depend on agri- 45 35 culture, but only 16 percent of the poorest Cam- 25 bodians own land, reflecting Cambodia’s highly 15 5 unequal land ownership (Poverty Profile 2006). 0 Takeo Kratie Pursat Kandal Child malnutrition levels vary Prey Veng Siem Reap Svay Rieng /Kaoh Kong Phnom Penh Mondol Kiri/

Rattanak Kiri widely across the provinces Steung Treng Preah Vihear/ Kampong Speu Kampong Cham Kampong Thom

Otdar Mean Chey almost two out of three children in the Pursat prov- Kampong Chhnang Kampot/Krong Kep Banteay Mean Chey Krong Preah Sihanouk ince are chronically malnourished, compared with Battambang/Krong Pailin in five in Phnom Penh (measured by being under Under height for age Under weight for age Under weight for height Source: DHS 2005 height for their age). While the Kandal province has a relatively low chronic malnutrition rate, over 11 percent of its children are acutely malnourished (measured by being underweight for height). Mortality Gaps for Children Under-5 between Urban Figure 14 and Rural Populations, Cambodia and Selected Child mortality is higher in rural Neighbors, Latest Available Data areas; rural-urban gap is higher in Cambodia than its neighbors 115 111 High levels of child mortality in rural areas are 105 95 linked to high levels of food insecurity. Rural chil- 85 dren are one and one half times more likely to die 75 75.7 before they reach the age of five than their urban 65 64.7 55 counterparts. This gap in Cambodia is wider than Number of under-5 45 42.3 in its neighbors (for which data are available), sug- deaths per 1,000 live births 35 35.6 Rural gesting a lower priority is given to rural investment 25 Urban 15 16.2 in food and nutrition security, access to health care Vietnam 2002 Indonesia 2003 Cambodia 2005 Source: WHO 2008 and other resources necessary for survival.

6 Center for Economic and Social Rights

“While the Committee is aware that most POveRTy & inequaliTy of the State party’s infrastructure and social services were destroyed as a result of decades of war, it expresses its concern GINI Index, Poverty Headcount and GDP per capita, Figure 15 Cambodia 1994–2004 at the insufficient attention paid to the pro-

visions of article 4 of the Convention con- 48 1250 cerning budgetary allocations to the ‘max- 46 imum extent of . . . available resources.’” 1150 44 (CRC Concluding Observations 2000) 1050 42 40

950 and GINI Index Poverty Headcount Headcount Poverty GDP per capita PPP GDP per capita The rate of progress in poverty reduction 2005 intl $) (constant 38 is slowing as inequality rises 850 36 after elections in 1993, Cambodia experienced a 750 34 rapid decline in poverty. This rate slowed since the 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

1998 elections, despite a steady increase in GdP GDP per capita, PPP (constant 2005 int’l 2005) GINI Index per capita, suggesting that economic growth has Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty line (% of population) Source: World Bank 2008 not helped poverty reduction. indeed, economic growth has been accompanied by rising inequal- Government Expenditure as % of GDP ity (GiNi index). This suggests that the benefits of Figure 16 growth and development are increasingly concen- Low-income Countries, 2006 trated in the hands of the rich. Burundi 29.3 Burkina Faso 22.0 Kyrgyz Republic 18.9 Are maximum available resources Guinea-Bissau 17.7 Kenya 16.3 being devoted to ensuring economic, Uzbekistan 15.3 Uganda 14.7 Ghana 13.4 social and cultural rights? Sierra Leone 13.1 Papua New Guinea 12.1 The Cambodian government’s public expendi- Malawi 11.8 Mozambique 11.1 ture is 3.5 percent of GdP, the smallest of all low- Pakistan 10.9 Cen. Afr. Republic 10.6 income countries. The government may thus be Tajikistan 10.4 Zambia 10.0 hindered in providing basic resources and services Mali 9.9 Senegal 9.6 necessary for realizing ESC rights. Low expendi- Lao PDR 9.3 Haiti 9.0 ture reflects diversion of government resources Madagascar 8.8 Nepal 8.8 through corruption, and low revenue generation Cote d'Ivoire 8.4 Congo, DR 7.3 resulting from a low or evasive tax base (Global Vietnam 5.9 Chad 5.9 Witness 2009). Bangladesh 5.5 CAMBODIA 3.5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 Regressive tax policies put the burden General government ﬁnal consumption expenditure (% of GDP) Source: World Bank 2008 disproportionately on the poor Cambodia’s tax base is less than nine percent (of Taxes on Income, Profits and Capital Gains (% of Total GdP), and less than 14 percent of all tax revenues Figure 17 come from direct income taxes, the lowest rate of Taxes) Low-income Countries, 2006

any low-income country (for which data is avail- Zambia 42.4 57.6 able). With taxes on exports declining from almost Pakistan 30.0 70.0 Uganda 27.1 72.9 12 percent of tax revenue in 2003 to below five per- Burkina Faso 23.7 76.3 Benin 21.8 78.2 cent in 2006 (World bank 2009), revenue genera- Madagascar 18.6 81.4 Mali 18.1 81.9 tion has become dependent on indirect taxes such Afghanistan 18.0 82.0 as VaT, putting greater burden on the poor. Cote d'Ivoire 17.7 82.3 Nepal 16.0 84.0 Kyrgyz Republic 14.1 85.9 CAMBODIA 13.6 86.4 Taxes on income, proﬁts and capital gains (% of total taxes) Other taxes (including sales tax)

Source: World Bank 2008

7 Cambodia fact sheet no. 7 CE SR

ReFeRenCeS amnesty international. “Rights Razed — Forced Evictions in Cambodia.” February 2008. Ballard, Brett M. 2008. “From informal to Formal Land markets: Navigating Land Tenure in Cambodia,” in CdRi annual development Review 2007-2008: Phnom Penh. http://www.cdri.org.kh/webdata/download/adr/adr03e0708.pdf COhRe et al. Land and Housing issues: additional information and Supplementary CE SR Questions. Nov. 2008. Committee on economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CeSCR). General Comment Number 4. “The Right to adequate Housing” [art.11 (1)]: 13/12/91. http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/ Board Members doc.nsf/(Symbol)/469f4d91a9378221c12563ed0053547e Committee on the elimination of Discrimination against Women (CeDaW). Concluding Victor Abramovich, Inter-American Comments: Cambodia. January 2006. Commission on Human Rights Philip Alston (Chairperson), Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Concluding observations: Cambodia. New York University School of Law June 2000. Linda Cassano (Treasurer), DhS 2000. Cambodia: Standard demographic and Health Survey. National institute of Commonwealth Bank of Australia Public Health and National institute of Statistics. http://www.measuredhs.com Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, DhS 2005. Cambodia: Standard demographic and Health Survey. National institute of The New School, New York Public Health and National institute of Statistics. Richard Goldstone, global Witness. Country for Sale. www.globalwitness.org. 2009. Harvard Law School Poverty Profile. “a Poverty Profile of Cambodia 2004.” Royal Government of Cambodia, Chris Jochnick, Oxfam America ministry of Planning. http://www.mop.gov.kh/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=5UwPSU9lq Alicia Ely Yamin, Harvard Law School ZY%3d&tabid=191&mid=611. 2006. Acting Executive Director: Ignacio Saiz Special Rapporteur on adequate housing. Report addendum on the mission to Cambodia. http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNdoC/GEN/G06/119/37/PdF/G0611937.pdf. About CESR march 2006. Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-general for human Rights in The Center for Economic and Social Cambodia. Yash Ghai. http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNdoC/GEN/G07/105/37/ Rights (CESR) was established in 1993 PdF/G0710537.pdf. January 2007. with the mission to work for the recog- unDP hDR. Cambodia Human development Report 2007. http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports nition and enforcement of economic, un habitat. “State of the World’s Cities 2008/2009: Harmonious Cities.” www.unhabitat.org social and cultural rights as a power- World health Organization (WhO). WHo Statistical informational System (WHoSiS) ful tool for promoting social justice and 2008. www.who.int/whosis human dignity. CESR exposes violations of economic, social and cultural rights World Bank. World development indicators. www.worldbank.org. 2008 through an interdisciplinary combination of legal and socio-economic analysis. CESR advocates for changes to economic about This Fact Sheet Series and social policy at the international, This series is intended to contribute to the ongoing monitoring work of UN and other international and local levels so as to ensure governmental human rights mechanisms to monitor governments’ compliance with their eco- these comply with international human rights standards. nomic, social and cultural rights obligations. it is also intended to contribute to strengthening the monitoring and advocacy capabilities of national and international NGos. drawing on the Fuencarral, 158-1ºA 28010 Madrid, Spain latest available socioeconomic data, the country fact sheets display, analyze and interpret Tel: +34 91 448 3971 selected human development indicators in the light of three key dimensions of governments’ Fax: +34 91 448 3980 economic and social rights obligations. 162 Montague Street, 3rd Floor Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA Firstly, indicators such as maternal mortality or primary completion rates are used to Tel: +1 718 237-9145 assess the extent to which the population is deprived of minimum essential levels of the Fax: +1 718 237-9147 right to health, education, food and other economic and social rights. Secondly, data tracking We invite your comments and progress over time can help to assess whether a state is complying with its obligation to real- feedback: [email protected] ize rights progressively according to maximum available resources. Comparisons within the same region provide a useful benchmark of what has been achieved in countries with similar www.cesr.org resources. Finally, data disaggregated by gender, ethnicity, geographical location and socio- This work was carried out with the aid of a grant from the International Development economic status is used to identify disparities and assess progress in eliminating discrimina- Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada. tion and unequal enjoyment of these rights. The fact sheets are not meant to give a comprehensive picture, nor provide conclusive evidence, of a country’s compliance with these obligations. Rather, they flag some possible concerns which arise when development statistics are analyzed and visualized graphically in light of international human rights standards.