OVERVIEW OF MONITORING, FACT-FINDING AND DOCUMENTATION

MONITORING, FACT-FINDING & DOCUMENTATION

MONITORING -- the close observation of a situation or individual case carried out so as to determine what further action needs to be taken.

FACT-FINDING -- identifying the violations in one event, and establishing the facts relevant to these violations. Fact-finding and investigation are terms that are used interchangeably.

DOCUMENTATION -- the systematic recording of the results of the investigation of an event

Monitoring usually involves the investigation and documentation of a large number of events.

MONITORING

is the close observation of a situation or individual case carried out so as to determine what further action needs to be taken.

ELEMENTS OF MONITORING

• carried out over an extended period of time

• involves collecting or receiving a large quantity of data or information

• done through constant or periodic investigation and documentation of developments

• standards or norms are used to assess the situation

• it results in a report

• the report provides a basis for further action

EXAMPLE OF A NORM

RIGHT: right to liberty

INTERNATIONAL STANDARD: "Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as are established by law.” (Article 9 paragraph 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights)

EXAMPLE OF A NORM

RIGHT: right to libertyNATIONAL STANDARD: “… penalties shall be penalties shall be imposed upon the public officer or employee who shall imposed upon the public officer or employee who shall detain any person for some legal ground and shall fail to detain any person for some legal ground and shall fail to deliver such person for the proper judicial authorities deliver such person for the proper judicial authorities within the period of: twelve (12) hours, for crimes or within the period of: twelve (12) hours, for crimes or offenses punishable by light penalties, or their equivalent; offenses punishable by light penalties, or their equivalent; eighteen (18) hours, for crimes or offenses punishable by eighteen (18) hours, for crimes or offenses punishable by correctional penalties, or their equivalent; and thirty-six correctional penalties, or their equivalent; and thirty-six hours (36) hours, for crimes or offenses punishable by hours (36) hours, for crimes or offenses punishable by afflictive or capital penalties, or their equivalent. afflictive or capital penalties, or their equivalent. (Article 125 of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines)

EXAMPLE OF A NORM

RIGHT: children’s right to liberty NATIONAL STANDARD: immediate release of a child 15 years of age or under accused of minor crimes (R.A. 9344)

DOMESTIC

STANDARDS DOMESTIC

APPLICATION

UNIVERSAL

STANDARDS

Monitoring is done to see whether there are gaps between universally-accepted standards and those set through domestic (national) legislation. . .

. . . or between domestic standards and how they are applied or met in reality.

WHY MONITOR

The most common general purpose of monitoring is to be able to pinpoint what is wrong with a situation or a case and to indicate what steps can be taken to remedy it. Monitoring is also undertaken to see whether steps that have been taken to improve a situation are working.

What are the purposes for which information is used?

• Immediate assistance• Relief and rehabilitation• Legal action (redress and prevention)• Education• Campaigns and other forms of advocacy• Policy advocacy and reform• Monitoring compliance with standards,

policies, laws, rules

TWO MAIN METHODOLOGIES IN MONITORING:

• THROUGH THE USE OF INDICATORS

• DOCUMENTATION OF ACTS OF VIOLATIONS

INDICATORS-BASED METHODOLOGY

INDICATOR shows where something is, what direction it is leading to and how far it is from the objective. It can be a result indicator or a process indicator.

Example of result indicator – enrolment rate

Example of process indicator – number of schools built

ACTS-BASED METHODOLOGYinvolves • investigating events• determining the acts within the events which are violations

themselves or which lead to violations

These acts may be:• acts of commission (for example, beating of a person,

payment of substandard wages)• acts of omission (for example, failure to compel companies to

pay appropriate wages)

INDICATORS-BASED METHODOLOGY

ACTS-BASED) METHODOLOGY

RIGHT TO EDUCATION

INDICATORS-BASED METHODOLOGY

ACTS-BASED) METHODOLOGY

RIGHT TO EDUCATION

ENROLMENT RATE

CASES OF NON-ADMISSION, EXPULSION, ETC.

INDICATORS-BASED METHODOLOGY

ACTS-BASED) METHODOLOGY

RIGHT TO EDUCATION

ENROLMENT RATE

CASES OF NON-ADMISSION, EXPULSION, ETC.

SURVEYS, CENSUS

INVESTIGATION AND DOCUMENTATION OF EVENTS

1. The monitoring body may not hear of all events

for example:

- lack of local contacts

- "private matter" thus unreported

2. It is unable to investigate and document all the events that it learns about

for example:

- unwillingness of actors to be interviewed

TWO MAIN PROBLEMS WITH THE EVENTS METHODOLOGY

These involve collecting information on:

- the acts committed (whether single or multiple), including updates on developments

- the victims (whether individual or group)

- the perpetrators (whether individual or group), including the respective levels of involvement

- also, organisations may opt to document the interventions carried out on behalf of victims

FACT-FINDING AND DOCUMENTATION

a) determining what information is needed and establishing a) determining what information is needed and establishing means for acquiring it; means for acquiring it;

b) recording the discovered information and storing such in b) recording the discovered information and storing such in appropriate containers (called documents) or collecting appropriate containers (called documents) or collecting already-existing documents containing the needed already-existing documents containing the needed information; information;

c) organising the documents to make them more accessible; c) organising the documents to make them more accessible; and and

d) actually providing the documents to users who need the d) actually providing the documents to users who need the information.information.

documentationdocumentation -- -- a process consisting of several activities, a process consisting of several activities, namely:namely:

There are different tools and techniques that can be used to carry out information work effectively:

- Interviewing techniques and other forms of data gatheringInterviewing techniques and other forms of data gathering

- Standard formsStandard forms

- Lists of standard termsLists of standard terms

- Storage devicesStorage devices

- ComputersComputers

- Filing systemsFiling systems

- Retrieval devicesRetrieval devices

- Record numbering systemsRecord numbering systems

ProcessingProcessing – action taken on data, usually with the use of a – action taken on data, usually with the use of a certain tool, so that the data become more informative and thus certain tool, so that the data become more informative and thus usefuluseful

Through processing, one body of information is Through processing, one body of information is transformed into another type. For instance:transformed into another type. For instance:

• separate accounts and pieces of evidence can be separate accounts and pieces of evidence can be weighed and consolidated to produce a case reportweighed and consolidated to produce a case report

• narrative information can be divided into pieces of narrative information can be divided into pieces of data and entered into a formdata and entered into a form

• statistics generated from a database can be analyzed statistics generated from a database can be analyzed and packaged into an annual comprehensive reportand packaged into an annual comprehensive report