United Nations Expert Group Meeting on International Migration Statistics: Concepts, Definitions, Data and Indicators
Virtual Meeting,
- 4 - 5 and 8 - 9 JUNE 2020
Overview
This Expert Group Meeting is convened in the framework of the second revision of the UN Recommendations on Statistics of International Migration, as requested by the Statistical Commission at its fiftieth session in 2019 in its decision 50/117. It brings together the group of experts on migration statistics, established by the Statistical Commission at its forty-ninth session, with the main objective of agreeing on the conceptual framework, and accompanying definitions, data and indicators that will make the foundation of the revision of the current recommendations on statistics of international migration. The outcome of the meeting will be reported to the Statistical Commission for discussion.
Given that the meeting will be conducted online, each session is relatively short and action oriented. In this context, guiding questions have been formulated for each session to guide discussions with a view of obtaining concrete outputs. Participants are asked to frame their interventions with these features in mind, and speakers are requested to submit their presentations in advance.
Main documents
Day 1. Thursday, 4 June 2020
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Call-out and introduction of participants
Francesca Grum, Chief, Social and Gender Statistics Section, UNSD
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Introductory remarks
- Expert Group co-chairs (South Africa and IOM)
- - United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD)
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Logistical matters, including instructions on asking for the floor, mute mode, video use, etc.
María Isabel Cobos H., UNSD
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Introduction of the programme of work, the methods of work and the background document(s)
The session is a quick refresher on the need for revised recommendations, the emergence of new types of migratory movements, as well as lessons learned from implementation challenges of the current recommendations. The session also broadly mentions the plans of the expert group in terms or reporting to the 52nd session of the Statistical Commission
- Francesca Grum, UNSD
Task Force 1 will report in detail on countries responses in terms of policy formulation and monitoring, and corresponding data needs. The session will highlight priorities identified by countries.
- Cécile Thoreau, OECD and Karima Belhaj, Morocco
- - Discussion
This session puts forward the conceptual framework and its components, developed by Task Force 2, for consideration of the Group as a whole, as the foundation that will guide the revision of the 1998 United Nations Recommendations on Statistics of International Migration.
- Meryem Demirci, UNSD and James Raymer, Australian National University
- - What are the key elements the framework and its components where there’s agreement among members of the Group?
- - Where are the “sticky” points and how can common ground be found for the revised UN recommendations?
- Discussant: Diego Iturralde (South Africa)
- Discussion of the framework and its components (one by one)
Day 2. Friday, 5 June 2020
Summary of day 1 and plan for the day.
- Diego Iturralde, South Africa
- Meryem Demirci, UNSD and James Raymer, Australian National University
This session discusses the statistical definitions developed by Task Force 2 for the conceptual framework within scope, with a view of international comparability.
- Meryem Demirci, UNSD and James Raymer, Australian National University
- - Discussant: Valentina Istrati (Moldova)
- - Discussion of definitions for the key concepts (one by one)
- - For each definition, what are the key elements that need to be addressed, in order to achieve harmonization and comparability across countries?
Day 3. Monday, 8 June 2020
- Meryem Demirci, UNSD and James Raymer, Australian National University
This session presents policy relevant indicators and key variables for data disaggregation, proposed by TF1, on international migration and related phenomena.
- Cécile Thoreau, OECD and Karima Belhaj, Morocco
- - Which data, which indicators are needed to guide policy formulation and monitoring?
Day 4. Tuesday, 9 June 2020
Summary of day 3 and plan for the day.
- Diego Iturralde, South Africa
This session will discuss the operationalisation opportunities and challenges of the proposed framework, its components, and the accompanying statistical definitions.
- - Reality check: what are the data sources that need to be available for producing statistics in compliance with the proposed conceptual framework and definitions?
- - Are countries able to make use of these data sources?
- - What are the potential uses of big data for international migration and mobility statistics?
The session will present the main conclusions on concepts, definitions, data and indicators for statistics on international migration, as core elements of the revision of the 1998 United Nations Recommendations on Statistics of International Migration. The session will also propose key milestones to be achieved in preparation for the 52nd session of the Statistical Commission in March 2021 (and beyond).
- Francesca Grum, UNSD
Remarks by
- - Expert Group co-chairs (South Africa and IOM)
- - United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD)