DATA SOURCES ON PERSONS IN NEED OF INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION Refugees, asylum-seekers, internallly displaced and stateless persons Khassoum DIALLO Snr Statistician UNHCR UNECE-UNFPA workshop on migration statistics, Istanbul 6-8 December 2010

OUTLINE CONTEXT: MIGRATION ASYLUM NEXUS REFUGEES: A COMPONENT OF INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION UNHCR MANDATE ON REPORTING REFUGEES, ASYLUM- SEEKERS AND STATELESS PERSONS SCOPE OF FORCED DISPLACEMENT DATA SOURCES FOR MEASURING FORCED DISPLACEMENT FOCUS ON ADMINSTRATIVE SOURCES CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

CONTEXT Migration-asylum nexus: UNHCR 10-point plan and the MEDSTAT MED-HIMS project Cluster approach: Need for better data Results-Based Management Performance monitoring and accountability: UNHCR, Governments and Donors. Advocacy for evidence based decision making.

UNHCR’s protection mandate: Basis for statistical reporting Refugees –1950 Statute of the Office of the UNHCR –1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees –1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees States parties shall provide UNHCR with statistical information on the number and conditions of refugees in their countries …. The UNHCR shall collect data on refugees and report. Stateless persons (refugees & non-refugees) –1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless persons –1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness –ExCom conclusions Collection and reporting of information on Statelessness. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) –Request from Security Council/Secretary-General –UN reform on IDP issues: Interagency Cluster approach Primary responsibility of collecting information on IDPs lies with Cluster leads. UNHCR is cluster lead for Protection, Camp Coordination and Management and Emergency Shelter.

ARE REFUGEES INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS? YES –They crossed international border –Citizen from another country / change of usual place of residence –Duration of stay can be decades in protracted situations – UN Recommendations What is specific to refugees vs other migrants –Legal perspective (1951 convention, non-refoulement, rights of refugees) international human rights etc. –Different treatment by asylum states –Data protection and confidentiality

SCOPE OF FORCED DISPLACEMENT GENERAL MIGRATION ~ 200 million in 2008 REFUGEE AND ASYLUM SEEKERS ~ 16 million Jan 2009 (8%) IDPs (26 million) : 980,000 in the region Total population of concern in the region: 1,3 million

Sources of forced migration data Administrative sources –Administrative data are routinely collected information as a by-product of the regular functions of an agency or institution but not necessarily for statistical purposes. In the process of its work an organization may record and register information related to its laws and procedures. –Examples: population registers, work permit records, border control data. Surveys –Household surveys (labour force surveys, LSMS, MICS) –Establishment surveys –Special migrant surveys - UK passenger survey Censuses (population stocks) –Migration stocks –Refugee stocks –Stateless persons

METHODS & DATA SOURCES

METHODS & DATA SOURCES IN CIS COUNTRIES

Major admin sources for migration and asylum data in the region Border statistics (data systems and migration cards) Population registers (e.g. Moldova) Foreigners‘ register (e.g. Russia) Permits statistics (work, residence, stateless) Registration of forced migration (Government or UNHCR registration records) e.g. KAZ, MDA, TKM Naturalization statistics

Admin sources: Pros Purpose of migration Flows Routinely collected by potential users Great potential for statistical analysis Great potential for data sharing Great support for evidence based policy development and decision making

Admin sources: Cons MaintenanceUpdatingCoverage

Evaluation criteria for the data Accuracy, reliability and validity Coverage – partial or comprehensive – officially recorded only. regular and irregular migration Timeliness and frequency Consistency: –whether definitions, coverage change over time. Relevance and usefulness Comparability – across countries & over time; international standards Access and transparency

Scope and Definitions –Asylum migration nexus, national vs international –Terminology: Who is a refugee, a stateless person, an IDP? –Time, location, distance, causes –Main purpose not for statistics Data sources and triangulation processes –Coverage: Key information are missing –Register updating/deregistration –Sources for triangulation –Data collection methodologies and tools –Lack of coordination between different national agencies collecting data Data quality –Timeliness in rapidly changing situations –Updating, processing and dissemination processes not adequate –Comparability, scope –Compliance with recommendations (UN, UNECE, UNHCR) Human resources –Skills and training: –Skills and training: Data are collected routinely but not processed –Translation of findings: –Translation of findings: Poor interaction between the users and producers of data –Data confidentiality – security related –Uses of data for informed decision making Key challenges

Impact of ignoring displaced persons in figures ? Displaced persons can be a significant share of the de facto population of some countries Are often one of most vulnerable group of people Millennium Development Goals need to include these groups to be achieved Refugee camps never appear as official locations in country maps and development plans (e.g. refugee complex Dadaab in Kenya = 4 th largest pop. center)

Uses of Statistics Advocacy and raising awareness Results based management Prioritization of interventions based on gap assessment and statistical trends Finding durable solutions for refugees Fundraising Meeting special needs of certain groups

Good practices: Country and regional networks European / Asian programme on forced displacement and migration –Country level network of data producers and users –Regional network –Data exchange platform (core indicators, website, focal point system etc.). THE MEDSTAT PROJECT

UNHCR AS A PARTNER COMPILATION/COLLECTION OF DATA ON PERSONS OF CONCERN (Over 130 countries) SUPPORT IN DATA COLLECTION REPORTING/DATA DISSEMINATION (Online database, Statistical Yearbook etc.) Website: Contact:

Thank you