1. UNECE activities in the framework of the Development Account Project on migration
Paolo Valente, UNECE
UNECE-Eurostat Work Session on Migration Statistics Geneva, April 2010

2. UN Development Account
Capacity development programme of the United Nations Secretariat, established in 1997
Objective: Enhancing capacities of developing countries in the priority areas of the United Nations Development Agenda
Funded from the Secretariat’s regular budget (biannual budget of $19 million for 28 projects)
Implemented by UN-DESA, 5 Regional Commissions, UNCTAD, UNEP, Habitat and UNODC
July 29, 2019

3. DA Project on migration (2008-2011)
Title: “Strengthening national capacities to deal with international migration: maximizing development benefits and minimizing negative impact”
General objective: “To strengthen national capacities to incorporate international migration issues into national development strategies, in order to maximize the development benefits of international migration and minimize its negative impacts”
Executing agencies: UN Regional Commissions (ECLAC leader) and UN/DESA Population Div.
July 29, 2019

4. DA Project on Migration in UNECE
Objective in UNECE: Strengthening the national capacity of countries in Central Asia (extended to CIS) to develop evidence-based policies on international migration, by:
1) improving availability and quality of statistics on international migration;
2) establishing networks for exchange of data and information;
3) improving capacity to utilize statistical data for purposes of analysis and policy making
Canada (Chair)
Albania, Australia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, United Kingdom, United States, UNECE, Eurostat
First half of 2006: Data exchange exercise involving 19 countries in 4 clusters (Report: ECE/CES/2009/11)
November 2006: Analytical reports and first draft of Guidelines discussed at ECE-Eurostat Work Session
2007: Preparation of revised draft
March 2008: Revised draft discussed at UNECE-Eurostat Work Session on Migration Statistics
October 2008: Draft to CES Bureau for information
December 2008: Elec. consultation with CES Bureau
February 2009: Presentation to CES Bureau
April-May 2009: Elec. consultation with CES members
July 29, 2019

5. DA Project on Migration in UNECE
Project activities in UNECE:
First workshop (Bishkek, Feb. 2010)
Preparation of Toolkit (in progress)
Inventory of information sources in the UNECE Region (in progress)
Data sharing (planned)
Second workshop (planned Nov. 2010), possibly involving also policy-makers
Annex A: Standardised tables for immigration data compilation and exchange
Annex B: Report on data exchange exercise
July 29, 2019

6. Bishkek workshop (Feb. 2010) Organised by UNECE, UN Pop. Div.
General objective: identify gaps in availability of data on international migrant stocks, flows, and characteristics in the region and identify ways and means to close this gap
identify key migration trends and policies at global and regional level
review internationally agreed standards and recommendations
assess gaps between international norms and data available
propose practical steps to implement the key elements of these recommendations
provide tools for follow-up activities
identify needs for capacity building
4. The guidelines were already used to guide data exchanges among members of UNECE (Canada and US) and within the group of 11 countries belonging to Commonwealth of Independent States CIS. The Canada-US exchange provided Canada with more comprehensive information and profile of outflows. The project involving CIS countries demonstrated that data exchange at the regional level can be very useful to obtain more precise picture of the regional migratory movement and provide a very important insight into differences between in methodologies of countries' migration data collection.
July 29, 2019

7. Inventory of information sources in the UNECE Region
Similar exercise conducted in all 5 UN Regional Commissions
In UNECE covers all 56 UNECE countries
Includes sources of different types of migration-related information:
Statistical information
Policies and programmes
Legislation …
July 29, 2019

8. Inventory of information sources in the UNECE Region (cont.)
Sources (mostly websites) include different types:
International organizations (incl. Regional, Country offices)
Governmental agencies and department (incl. NSIs)
Academic and research institutions
Networks
NGOs
July 29, 2019

9. Inventory of information sources in the UNECE Region (cont.)
For each source, information collected on:
Type of source (Intl. Org, Gov, Academic, NGO...)
Name
Location (country, city)
Coverage (country/ies)
Web page or other contact information
Additional information/description
Keyword [subject to availability of additional funding]
July 29, 2019

10. Inventory of information sources in the UNECE Region (cont.)
Work done so far (Feb-Apr 2010):
Research, evaluation, selection of sources (approximately 1500 considered, 1200 retained)
Preparation of first draft inventory in Excel
Dissemination planned in May 2010 (ECE, ECLAC)
Additional resources required to:
Review and improve first draft, also with support from national focal points (IOM or others)
Add keywords to sources to facilitate search
Develop version in more user-friendly format than Excel (database type with search functions)
July 29, 2019