Part I Defining the issues to be monitored In relation to the right to food, for example, availability means that the quantity and quality of the food is sufficient to satisfy the dietary needs of individuals. Accessibility means that the costs associated with acquiring food should not compromise the ability of individuals to pay for other basic needs. Acceptability involves taking into account the non-nutrient values attached to food. Quality means that measures are taken to prevent the contamination of foodstuffs. To take a gender lens, in relation to the right to (reproductive) healthcare, availability would mean that the quantity of clinics, healthcare professionals, medicines and contraception must be sufficient to meet women’s needs; accessibility that family planning, pregnancy, childbirth and post-natal care should be affordable or free of cost; acceptable that clinical obstetric/childbirth settings should take into account, respect and enable cultural norms related to childbirth that ethnic minorities or indigenous communities might have; and quality that birth attendants must be properly trained. Process principles The steps taken by states must also be designed and implemented in a way that is in line with procedural rights. These include the right to information, to participation, to accountability and to transparency. Access to effective remedies for victims of ESCR violations, including administrative and judicial remedies, is also essential. CASE STUDY: THE CANTERBURY EARTHQUAKE RECOVERY IN NEW ZEALAND In December 2013, the New Zealand Human Rights Commission (NZHRC) published Monitoring Human Rights in the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery. The report focuses on the right to adequate housing and its interrelated effects on health; the impact of the earthquake on particular groups; civic participation; and the role of State and non-State sectors in achieving the full realization of these rights. In framing its analysis, the NZHRC identified New Zealand’s national and international human rights commitments most relevant to the Canterbury context, including the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The report spells out what housing as a human right means in the context of a natural disaster. In particular, it draws on the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights’ General Comment No. 4 on the right to housing, as well as on guidelines on human rights in post-disaster situations. It also examines whether the standards articulated in these documents – namely affordability, habitability, accessibility and security of tenure – were adequately addressed in the recovery policies and plans. In addition, the report outlines and evaluates a range of key human rights principles, including the prioritization of vulnerable groups and non-discrimination; participation and empowerment; and transparency and accountability. Chapter 2: Economic, social and cultural rights standards | 27