WOLAS Monitoring Unit carries out both situation-based and case-based human rights monitoring activities in order to understand whether the legislation and practices of any country comply with international standards or norms.
WOLAS Monitoring Unit monitors the situation (the drafting and passing of legislation, monitoring the implementation of laws and policies, monitoring the establishment and progress of human rights institutions) in order to analyse whether there is a conflict between the universally accepted standards and the standards regulated in the national legislation of a country. performs.
In the same vein, the Unit carries out case monitoring in order to reveal both the divergence between the practices required by international norms and principles and the current practices in a country, as well as the divergence between the national standards of a country and the way it is implemented and the situation encountered in real life (in the form of monitoring the legal process undergone by a case, monitoring relief and rehabilitation services to a client, monitoring other forms of intervention in a case).
The Monitoring Unit carries out its activities by regularly and continuously carrying out monitoring, investigation, verification and documentation activities. It uses all monitoring methods such as interviewing, observing, monitoring the courts, collecting relevant documents, using photographic and other recording tools, in accordance with international ethical principles such as voluntary participation, confidentiality, consent, non-harming, detailed information-evidence, fact-based analysis, solution-oriented, accuracy, reliability, objectivity and sensitivity to gender factors. The Unit follows both the violations approach and the progressive realisation approach and conducts its work by using both the events (or acts-based) methodology and the indicators-based methodology in monitoring depending on the situation.
The WOLAS Monitoring Unit presents its work in the form of reports, statistical documents, news and information notes. The work of the Monitoring Unit is mainly aimed at achieving the following objectives; to be able to pinpoint what is wrong with a situation or a case; to indicate what steps can be taken to remedy it; to see whether steps that have been taken to improve a situation are working; to assist governments in applying international standards; to be able to pressure governments into adopting and implementing international standards; to be able to undertake domestic legal actions like taking cases to court; to be able to undertake other actions like denunciations and publicity campaigns, with the goal of bearing pressure on the government and/or to enhance public awareness on a certain geography; to be able to help particular victims; to be able to provide early warning in potential conflict areas.