GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS the intentional and systematic effort to assess the impact, quality or effectiveness of a particular intervention. It is through evaluation that the UN can determine whether its work has been successful. Alternatively, an evaluation can point to areas which require attention in the future. It is for these reasons that evaluation is built into project design. UN project documents generally call for two evaluations: a mid-term review and an end of project evaluation. On-going evaluation is carried out through a Project Coordinating Committee. An NHRI’s strategic plan can identify other appropriate points for internal evaluation efforts, and these too could go to the Coordinating Committee for review and information. Evaluation is a strategy not only for finding out how successful a project was, but also as a tool for organizational development, including how a mature organization should be investing in and developing its human resources with an eye to the particularities of NHRIs. Focal point: The term originates in the business realm and refers to the individual or organization that is tasked with coordinating the activities and assignments of a number of groups or networks. Forced disappearance (or enforced disappearance): Enforced disappearance is defined in Article 2 of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance as “the arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty by agents of the State or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorization, support or acquiescence of the State, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person, which place such a person outside the protection of the law.” The Convention states that no exceptional circumstances may be invoked as a justification for enforced disappearance. Art. 6 of the Convention and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court define the widespread or systematic use of enforced disappearances as a crime against humanity. Enforced disappearances violate fundamental human rights, including the right to liberty and the right to a fair trial. Formal evaluations: Assessments of the performance of individual employees based on criteria that are relevant to their role in the organisation (such as the criteria stated in their job description). Formal evaluations should contain the following features: they are conducted at least bi-annually, but ongoing feedback is also a standard procedure, employees are encouraged to evaluate themselves against objective performance criteria, and action steps are drafted after each evaluation and monitoring of the achievement of these actions is carried out by the supervisor during observation and feedback sessions. Fribourg Declaration: Adopted in Fribourg on 7 May 2007. It declares that cultural rights are part of human rights and affirms women’s active participation in the interpretation of culture. Gazetted bill: A proposed law or piece of legislation that has been announced or published in an official journal. Habeas corpus: (Latin: “that you have the body”) A writ, petition, or court order demanding that an individual who is detained be brought before a judge in order to decide whether the detention is lawful. It also refers to a prisoner’s contestation of the legality of his or her detention. Habeas corpus has traditionally been a criminal law remedy, but has been used in other situations, such as immigration proceedings. A key feature of martial law is the suspension of habeas corpus. Human rights: Human rights are the fundamental rights and freedoms which, it is generally agreed, everybody has from the moment of birth, simply because they are human beings. They are not privileges which need to be won and they apply equally to everybody, regardless of age, sex, race, ethnicity, wealth or social standing. Because they are rights, they cannot be taken away from anyone by the government (although they can be limited and sometimes suspended during states of emergency). These rights are based on a number of human rights principles. Human rights become enforceable as they become codified as conventions, covenants or treaties, or as they become recognized as customary international law. Human rights-based approach (HRBA): A rights-based approach to development is a conceptual framework for human development that “integrates the norms, standards and principles of the international human rights system into the plans, policies and processes of development” (according to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/ FAQen.pdf ). Human rights instruments: This term refers to any and all of the legal documents that together embody the ideals, principles and norms of human rights. xv