Monitoring is a crucial mechanism to secure and improve implementation of human rights. Field officers and other human rights defenders are key agents in monitoring, and thus contribute to securing human rights in practise. This manual is meant to provide information on basic monitoring techniques and to give a focused overview of current human rights law and practise in selected areas of importance for most practitioners working with human rights monitoring. It contains checklists for monitors, as well as references to key literature, handbooks and web resources for further information. It also includes annotated lists of instrument provisions relevant to each theme. The manual is intended for people of various backgrounds, including field officers and activists with no specific legal training.