Foreword Poverty, inequality and deprivation are not an inevitable tragedy; they result from deliberate and conscious actions by decision makers that fail to respect, protect and fulfil economic, social and cultural rights. Sometimes the failure is glaring. More often, however, the failure is difficult to pin down. It is a failure to create the conditions in which people can enjoy their rights. Effective monitoring is essential for ensuring accountability in such cases. Monitoring can uncover the ways in which laws and policies create, perpetuate or exacerbate deprivations of economic, social and cultural rights. As independent bodies – officially established by legislation or constitution with a specific mandate to protect and promote human rights – national human rights institutions (NHRIs) have a number of unique institutional characteristics that can enable them to effectively undertake this kind of policy monitoring. Establishing that policy failures amount to a violation of the obligation to fulfil economic, social and cultural rights, however, can be a challenge. As enshrined in international law, these rights are subject to “progressive realization”, according to a State’s “maximum available resources”. The conditionality of this language, combined with the complexity of public policy, can make it difficult to trace patterns of preventable rights deprivations back to policy failures. Producing strong, compelling and methodologically-sound reports to establish whether there has been a failure to fulfil economic, social and cultural rights requires a broad range of competencies. These include legal analysis; collecting and analysing primary and secondary data; interpreting economic, including budgetary, statistics; community consultation; and communication. Defending Dignity: A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions on Monitoring Economic, Social and Cultural Rights aims to strengthen the capacity of NHRIs to hold the State and its institutions accountable for the fulfilment of economic, social and cultural rights. It also provides an eclectic mix of learning tools to help Commissioners and staff of NHRIs deepen their knowledge and develop the skills necessary to effectively monitor these rights. We trust this Manual will be a valuable resource for NHRIs and others working for human rights in the Asia Pacific region and other parts of the world. Kieren Fitzpatrick Ignacio Saiz Director Executive Director Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions Center for Economic and Social Rights iii