Global Indicators for Transitional Justice and Challenges in Measurement for Policy Actors

Abstract

Indicators have become an important tool for policy actors at the bilateral and multilateral level over the past twenty years; however, they have mainly been developed in relation to development and public health goals. This note identifies the practical and methodological challenges in developing global (i.e. cross-national) indicators for transitional justice, through reflection on a practical engagement with UN Women, for which the author developed two indicators on women’s participation in truth commissions and in reparations programs. Specific challenges to developing the indicators included: the lack of administrative data on transitional justice; difficulty in establishing agreed definitions on “what” is being measured, which is linked to the lack of common agreement on the objectives of transitional justice initiatives; lack of standardization of data collection practices across countries; lack of engagement between transitional justice institutions’ staff and statisticians; and the general challenges in measuring progress against human rights objectives. I introduce a “basket” approach as an imperfect solution to this data reality. The note concludes by identifying specific changes that would ease the process of developing meaningful cross-national indicators on transitional justice.