United Nations Statistical Commission

Introduction

The momentum to improve international migration statistics has never been stronger.

For many years, the General Assembly has called for accurate, timely and disaggregated statistics on international migration. Global initiatives such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (A/70/1), the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants (A/71/1) and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (A/73/195) all point to the need to strengthen national capacities to collect and use migration statistics and data to develop evidence-based migration policies and to integrate migration into national development planning.

Objective 1 of the Global Compact outlines key actions, for countries, regional organizations and the international community, to collect and utilize accurate and disaggregated data as a basis for evidence-based policies. Objective 1 calls on the United Nations Statistical Commission to (a) continue its work on developing and harmonizing methodologies for data collection, for strengthening analysis and dissemination of migration-related data and indicators, and (b) to review regularly a global programme to build and enhance national capacitates in data collection, analysis and dissemination. The global programme shall encourage collaboration between relevant stakeholders at all levels, provide training, financial support and technical assistance, and leverage new data sources.

Objectives

With a view to informing the discussion on international migration statistics during the 50th Session of the Statistical Commission, the High-Level Panel, organized in collaboration with the Population Division of UN DESA, offers an opportunity for representatives of countries, the donor community, statistical institutes, the United Nations system and civil society to:

• (a) Discuss the development and implementation of a global programme on international migration statistics as called for in Objective 1 of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, by identifying and prioritizing key elements of the global programme and outlining short- and medium-term strategies for their implementation and funding;


• (b) Share experience and present initiatives to improve the collection and use of migration data and indicators in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.

Provisional Agenda



1.  10:00 - 11:30 Panel I: Developing a global programme on international migration statistics
   Chair: Ms. Mariana Kotzeva, Director-General, Eurostat

This panel will discuss key elements that should be considered in developing a global programme on international migration statistics as called for in Objective 1 of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. It will also discuss the mobilization of resources necessary for implementing the global programme on international migration statistics. Following a brief presentation by the Secretariat, panelists will comment on the ideas presented and add their views. This will be followed by an interactive debate in which participants can contribute to the discussion.

• Introduction -  (10 min.)
  • Francesca Grum, Officer-in-Charge, Demographic and Social Statistics Branch, UN Statistics Division
    • Presentation
• Contributions by the panelists  (5 min. each)
  • Mr. Oussama Marseli, Directeur, Direction de la statistique, Morocco
  • Ms. Ellen Percy Kraly, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor, Colgate University
  • Mr. Stefaan Verhulst, Co-Founder and Chief Research and Development Officer of the Governance Laboratory@NYU (GovLab)
  • Mr. Stefan Andersson, Head of International Development Cooperation, Statistics Sweden
  • Mr. Frank Laczko, Director, Global Migration Data Analysis Centre, IOM
• Interactive debate  (45 min.)
• Concluding remarks by the moderator  (5 min.)
2.  11:30 - 11:45 Break
3.  11:45 - 13:00 Panel 2: Initiatives and good practices to improve the collection and use of migration data and indicators
   Chair: Mr. John Wilmoth, Director, United Nations Population Division

This panel will review good practices for improving the collection and use of migration data and indicators. It will discuss partnerships and collaborations which are needed to strengthen international migration data from both traditional and innovative sources.

• Presentation by the panelists  (5 min. each)
  • Mr. Suhariyanto, Chief Statistician, BPS-Indonesia
    • Presentation
  • Mr. Qasem Al-Zoubi, Director General, Department of Statistics, Jordan
    • Presentation
  • Mr. Vebjørn Aalandslid, Senior Advisor, Division for Development Cooperation, Statistics Norway
    • Presentation
  • Mr. Jason Schachter, Chief, Net International Migration Branch, US Census Bureau
    • Presentation
  • Mr. Benoit Kalasa, Director, Technical Division, UNFPA
    • Presentation
• Interactive debate  (25 min.)
• Closing remarks by the moderator  (5 min.)