indicators used in this step tend to be categorical in nature. Rather than being a numerical value, as with many outcome indicators, the questions asked at this step, such as whether a state has ratified a treaty or made any reservations, require a yes or no answer. Information to answer questions on regional and international treaty ratification can be found in the United Nations Treaty Series Online Collection. The Toronto Initiative for Economic and Social Rights’ TIER Dataset on the constitutional status of ESC rights in developing countries can also serve as a source of information. To evaluate the extent to which a state has domesticated its international commitments, it is necessary to study the nature and content of legal and political commitments and compare them to international human rights standards, which is necessarily a qualitative exercise. b) Examining policy content and implementation While a state may commit formally to their obligation to fulfill ESC rights, this may not translate to improvements on the ground at all in practice. So the next question to consider in this step is how such commitments move from paper to reality. This question can be answered by identifying the public policies in the sector(s) relevant to the right(s) under review and assessing whether they are designed to give effect to the state’s human rights commitments. These policies can be identified by referring to the general comments of the treaty monitoring bodies, which broadly define the characteristics of goods and services needed to fulfill the particular right, but should be guided by expertise and best practice from the relevant sector with regard to the most effective policy interventions. In relation to the right to food for example, the Committee has held that food should be available either directly from productive land or through ‘well-functioning distribution, processing and market systems’. Literature from the agricultural field can provide guidance on the key interventions needed to ensure such systems are effective. In identifying relevant policies, it is important to look across multiple sectors, given that various factors influence the enjoyment of a particular right. For example, poor roads may limit access to hospitals or school nutrition programs may enhance education. The goods and services facilitated through such policies are in turn analyzed according to the human rights criteria of availability, accessibility, acceptability, adaptability and quality (AAAAQ). To measure compliance with the AAAAQ criteria, quantitative indicators are important, in order to illustrate what kinds of goods and services are available, where they are available, and who is accessing them. Qualitative information complements this analysis by highlighting the perceptions of these services by the individuals and groups they are designed to reach. These questions on the delivery of goods and services broadly reflect the ‘process indicators’ in the OHCHR framework. As in step one, the specific indicators identified for the right(s) under review need to be judged against benchmarks or reference points that reflect the human rights principles of minimum core obligations, non-discrimination and progressive realization. In relation to availability, for example, internationally accepted recommendations or guidelines can provide guidance to judge the reasonableness of available goods and services. For example, joint UN agency guidelines on the availability of emergency obstetric care, a critical intervention for the prevention of maternal mortality and morbidity, provide that for every 500,000 members of the population, a minimum of five emergency obstetric facilities should be available, at least one of which should provide comprehensive care. Carefully chosen country comparisons or any existing national policy commitments can also offer quantitative benchmarks or reference points for measuring efforts to make services available, accessible, acceptable, affordable and of adequate quality. Assessing compliance with the obligation to fulfill economic, social and cultural rights 19