Decisions taken by local, national or other level of government can violate the human rights of a particular group of people, including Indigenous Peoples, racialized people, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, and communities discriminated on the basis of work and descent. Such decisions can violate human rights either through their impact on substantive human rights, such as the right to housing, health, livelihoods, education, cultural integrity, life, or other rights, or because the decision making process itself violated the state’s duty to inform, consult, or obtain the consent of the people affected. This guide focuses on the second category of rights violations, relating to the process of decision-making, and how the affected rights-holders were able to engage in it. It is intended for the use of researchers who wish to investigate the extent to which the human right to participate effectively in decision-making has been violated.
