Working Together for Improved Statistics for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons EXPERT GROUP on REFUGEE and INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS STATISTICS (EGRIS)
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Working together for improved statistics for refugees and internally displaced persons EXPERT GROUP ON REFUGEE AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS STATISTICS (EGRIS) COMPACT GUIDES “In the midst of migrants in search of a better life there are people in need of protection: refugees and asylum-seekers, women and children victims of trafficking…Many move simply to avoid dying of hunger. When leaving is not an option but a necessity, this is more than poverty.” António Guterres, United Nations Secretary General. The United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC), at its 47th session in 2016, decided to establish an international Expert Group on Refugee and Internally Displaced Persons Statistics (EGRIS). The group consists of participants from national authorities, international statistical organizations and other technical experts. This decision was based on a joint proposal by Statistics Norway, Eurostat, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Why are statistics on refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced persons (IDP) important? There is a rapidly growing numbers of displaced persons worldwide. It is therefore an urgent need to build better and more efficient statistical systems on these populations. Statistics in this area: • provides the foundation for sound and better policies, programs and decisions; • leads to more effective measurement and evaluation for decisions makers and • gives increased accountability, support policy debate and stronger advocacy based on evidence. Challenges related to refugee and IDP statistics: • limited connection between national statistics on refugees and national figures on migration and population; • lack of comparability between national and international refugee figures; • limited availability of official or agreed upon quality statistics on IDPs and • multiple conceptual, operational and ethical challenges impacting data collection and production of statistics. “In the midst of migrants in search of a better life there are Participation in the work of the EGRIS group people in need of protection: refugees and asylum-seekers, women and children victims of trafficking…Many move Arctic Ocean Arctic simply to avoid dying of hunger. When leaving is not an Ocean Arctic option but a necessity, this is more than poverty.” Ocean António Guterres, United Nations Secretary General. SVALBARD Kara Sea GREENLAND Greenland Laptev Sea Sea Barents Sea East Siberian Sea Beaufort Baffin Sea Bay Chukchi Sea Norvegian th Sea White The United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC), at its 47 session Sea UNITED STATES in 2016, decided to establish an international Expert Group on Davis RUSSIA Strait ICELAND Hudson SWEDEN Strait FINLAND Gulf of Refugee and Internally Displaced Persons Statistics (EGRIS). NORWAY Bothnia Hudson Bay ESTONIA Labrador North Bering Sea The group consists of participants from national authorities, Berina Sea LATVIA Sea Gulf of Sea DENMARK Baltic Alaska CANADA Sea LITHUANIA Sea of IRELAND UNITED international statistical organizations and other technical experts. KINGDOM BELARUS Okhotsk GERMANY CZECH UKRAINE REPUBLIC KAZAKHSTAN This decision was based on a joint proposal by Statistics Norway, AUSTRIA FRANCE HUNGARY MONGOLIA ROMANIA Black UNITED BULGARIA Sea Eurostat, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT) and the Office of ITALY GEORGIA UZBEKISTAN KYRGIZISTAN STATES SPAIN NORTH KOREA TURKEY TURKMENISTAN TAJIKISTAN GREECE CHINA SOUTH JAPAN the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). SYRIA KOREA Mediterranean TUNISIA Sea IRAN AFGHANISTAN MOROCCO East NEPAL ALGERIA PAKISTAN China MEXICO Atlantic Sea Gulf of LIBYA Mexico Ocean EGYPT SAUDI BANGLADESH ARABIA INDIA MYANMAR (BURMA) Red Philippine Why are statistics on refugees, asylum OMAN LAOS Sea MAURITANIA Sea MALI NIGER CHAD SUDAN YEMEN Caribbean Arabian Bay of THAILAND Sea SENEGAL VIETNAM Pacific BURKINA Sea Bengal Ocean GUINEA FASO seekers and internally displaced persons NIGERIA Andaman GHANA SOUTH Sea VENEZUELA CÔTE CENTRAL ETHIOPIA AFRICAN SUDAN GUYANA D’IVOIRE REPUBLIC MALAYSIA COLOMBIA CAMEROON SOMALIA UGANDA (IDP) important? CONGO KENYA GABON Banda DR CONGO Sea Java Sea PAPUA NEW Pacific TANZANIA INDONESIA GUINEA SOLOMON PERU Solomon ISLANDS Ocean Arafura Sea BRAZIL Sea There is a rapidly growing numbers of displaced persons worldwide. ANGOLA ZAMBIA MOZAMBIQUE BOLIVIA ZIMBABWE Coral It is therefore an urgent need to build better and more efficient NAMIBIA MADAGASCAR Sea PARAGUAY BOTSWANA statistical systems on these populations. Statistics in this area: AUSTRALIA SOUTH Indian AFRICA Ocean URUGUAY Atlantic • provides the foundation for sound and better policies, programs ARGENTINA Ocean CHILE Tasman Sea and decisions; NEW ZEALAND • leads to more effective measurement and evaluation for decisions EGRIS participation Scotia makers and Sea Esri, HERE, DeLorme, MapmyIndia, @ OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS user community • gives increased accountability, support policy debate and stronger advocacy based on evidence. To address these challenges the EGRIS group is Work of the group shall: Challenges related to refugee and IDP mandated to develop: • include Internally Displaced Persons in its scope of work; statistics: • International Recommendations on Refugee Statistics (IRRS) — • take user perspectives into account; the publication will be a reference guide for national and international • limited connection between national statistics on refugees and • refine statistical concepts related to refugees; work concerning statistics on refugees and asylum seekers (submit to national figures on migration and population; UNSC in March 2018 49th session); • build on existing technical work and country experience. • lack of comparability between national and international refugee • Refugee Statistics Compilers Manual, with operational instructions on figures; Composition of the group: how to collect statistics on refugees and asylum seekers (submit in • limited availability of official or agreed upon quality statistics on March 2019 50th UNSC session); • around 40 national statistical authorities (see map); IDPs and • Technical Report outlining a way forward for development of • steering Committee: UNHCR, Statistics Norway, Eurostat • multiple conceptual, operational and ethical challenges impacting comparable international standards for statistics on internally • 15 international organizations; data collection and production of statistics. displaced persons (submit in March 2018 49th UNSC session). • other countries/organisations interested to join the group or contribute to its work. What will the recommendations Refugee Statistics focus on Chapters on: • legal framework & refugee definitions; • defining refugees and asylum seekers for the purposes of statistical measurement; • measuring the number of refugees; • measuring the characteristics and integration of refugees; • coordination and systems at the international, regional and national level; • constraints and future developments. What will the IDP technical report include Overview of: • existing legal and policy frameworks/IDP definition; • defining IDPs for the purpose of statistical measurement; • sources of IDP data; • measuring numbers and characteristics of IDPs in official statistics; • coordination systems at national and international levels; • conclusion and next steps. What are the key achievements so far? KS-01-17-208-EN-D Print: KS-01-17-208-EN-N PDF: • the first meeting of the EGRIS hosted by UNHCR took place in Copenhagen on 7-8th November 2016; • work on recommendations and IDP technical report undertaken by core group; • consultation on draft by EGRIS; • the second meeting of the EGRIS will be hosted by Statistics Norway in Oslo on 25-27th April 2017. What are the next steps? • September 2017 — review and final contributions. • Autumn 2017 — tentatively a 3rd EGRIS meeting. • finalisation of the draft and submission to UNSC; • global consultation — let your voice be heard! • start of work on Compilers Manual. • March 2018 — presentation of IRRS and IDP Technical Report to 49th UNSC. How to engage • Visit this website: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/expert-group-on-refugee- statistics/home • If your organization would like to get involved in the work of the group please contact Aina Saetre ([email protected]), Vebjørn Aalandslid ([email protected]) or Piotr Juchno ([email protected]) • Follow progress of EGRIS on twitter: #EGRIS • Useful links: • http://sens.unhcr.org • http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/asylum-and-managed-migration/ overview • http://www.ssb.no/en/befolkning/statistikker/flyktninger • http://www.jips.org & http://jet.jips.org/ or twitter @JIPS_profiling • http://www.internal-displacement.org/ • http://microdata.worldbank.org & http://data.worldbank.org • http://www.ihsn.org/ • https://data.cdc.gov/ This publication was prepared by Eurostat jointly with colleagues from UNHCR, JIPS and Statistics Norway. © European Union Cover picture: © Shutterstock/Janossy Gergely Picture: © Shutterstock/Nicolas Economou Printed by the Publications Office in Luxembourg PDF: ISBN 978-92-79-66856-2 doi:10.2785/3432 Print: ISBN 978-92-79-66855-5 doi:10.2785/406392 COMPACT GUIDES.