| Committee on Statistics,
tenth session |
| Bangkok, 25-29 November
1996 |
| Report |
| List
of documents and materials |
| |
|
Annotated Provisional Agenda
|
E/ESCAP/STAT.10/L.2
5 July 1996
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
(Incorporates E/ESCAP/STAT.10/L.2/Corr.1
of 19 August 1996 and E/ESCAP/STAT.10/L.2/Corr.2
of 4 October 1996)
|
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION
FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
Committee on Statistics
Tenth session
25-29 November 1996
Bangkok |
|
| 1. Opening of the session.
|
| Suitable arrangements will
be made in due course. The Bureau of the ninth
session of the Committee on Statistics will preside
in the same capacity. (Inauguration by the representative
of the Thai Government) |
| 2.
Adoption of the agenda. |
| The
provisional agenda will be adopted with whatever
changes are deemed necessary. |
| 3.
Report of the Bureau. |
| The
Bureau will give a summary report (E/ESCAP/STAT.10/1)
of its activities, including the meetings held
since the last session of the Committee. |
| 4. Report of the Working
Group of Statistical Experts. |
| The report of the Working group
of Statistical Experts on its ninth session, held
at Bangkok in January 1996 (E/ESCAP/STAT.10/2),
which contains a number of recommendations for
action, will be before the Committee for its consideration. |
| 5. Review of statistical
activities in the region |
| The Committee will review the
development activities of the secretariat and
the countries in the field of statistics, as well
as the work of international agencies having statistical
significant activities in the region. The secretariat
will prepare a comprehensive paper (E/ESCAP/STAT.10/3)
on its activities since the ninth session of the
Committee on Statistics, held at Bangkok in November/December
1994. It will highlight the major activities of
the secretariat in data collection, dissemination
as well as those relating to the ESCAP Statistical
Information System (ESIS). The statistical development
activities including technical meetings, group
training and advisory services as well as those
concerning the public sector computerization will
be discussed. The paper will also deal with significant
matters arising at the annual sessions of ESCAP. |
| The Committee will discuss major
innovations achieved in the field of statistics
in the region, and the problems and constraints
faced. All members and associate members of ESCAP
will be expected to submit "country papers,
of which at least 80 copies for distribution as
conference room papers should be provided in advance
by country delegations. The papers should include
a summary of 200 words to be used as a basis for
short (5-7 minutes) statements from country participants
to be made under the agenda item. The United Nations
specialized agencies and other international organizations
will also be invited to submit concise papers
and brief the Committee on their statistics related
activities. |
| A paper by the South Pacific
Commission (E/ESCAP/STAT.10/4)
will highlight the recommendations of the Tenth
Regional Conference of Statisticians and issues
relevant to statistical development in the Pacific
subregion. On the basis of the report of the Director
(E/ESCAP/STAT.10/5)
the Committee will review the activities of the
Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific
(SIAP). |
| 6. Functioning of the Committee
and its Bureau. |
| At its ninth session, the Committee
decided that it would consider reviewing its terms
of reference again at its tenth session on the
basis of a report by the secretariat, with a view
to making appropriate recommendations to the Commission.
The secretariat will prepare the requested paper
(E/ESCAP/STAT.10/6),
which will also cover institutional developments
concerning the conference structure of ESCAP which
may affect the Committee and its Bureau. |
| 7. Issues relating to the
development of statistics: |
| A secretariat paper (E/ESCAP/STAT.10/7)
will provide an overview of the progress and issues
relating to the development of statistics, including
those in support of the themes of the Commission
- namely: |
| (a) Gender statistics; |
| An invited paper (E/ESCAP/STAT.10/7/Add.1)
will concentrate on issues related to the collection,
compilation and dissemination of data needed for
assessment of social and economic progress from
a gender perspective. Discussions will also focus
on specific areas, such as generation of gender-disaggregated
data, measurement of the work of women and their
contribution to the economy, data collection on
violence against women, and methodological problems
in collecting data on decision-making in family
and public life. |
| (b) Poverty estimation;
|
| An invited paper (E/ESCAP/STAT.10/7/Add.2)
will discuss issues pertaining to the measurement
of poverty, and problems and prospects for developing
relevant statistics. The paper will focus not
only on the estimation of poverty at the national
level, but also on producing disaggregated data
and the information required for understanding
the causes and consequences of poverty. |
| (c) Critical problems in
economic statistics; |
| An invited paper (E/ESCAP/STAT.10/7/Add.3)
will focus on the concerns of confidence in national
programmes of economic statistics covering the
situations such as absence of statistics, distrust
of statistics by users, and mismatch between availability
of statistics and user demands. The paper would
cover the issues such as the challenges faced
by countries in coping with the changing environment,
including deregulation. Topics of regional statistics,
measurement of the informal sector, resource accounting
and short-term economic indicators will also be
discussed. |
| (d) Science and technology
indicators; |
| A secretariat paper (E/ESCAP/STAT.10/7/Add.4)
will describe issues relating to data requirements
for formulating and monitoring implementation
of industry ad technology development policies
and plans. Limitations of existing data will be
discussed, especially in applying international
recommendations and guidelines concerning science
and technological indicators and those on resources
devoted to research activities. |
| (e) Environment statistics.
|
| An invited paper (E/ESCAP/STAT.10/7/Add.5)
will focus on the experience in the compilation
of environment statistics in physical terms to
meet policies and planning needs taking into accounts
of environmental concerns. The paper would cover
conceptual, methodological and practical aspects
in data collection and compilation. It includes
valuation of environmental costs, of natural resources
and the compilation of integrated environmental
economic accounting to meet users needs. |
| 8. Statistical implications
of the outcome of the Cairo, Copenhagen and Beijing
global conferences. |
| Recognizing that the global
summit meetings in the social sphere held in 1994
and 1995 would entail significant statistical
activities in terms of monitoring achievement
of the various programmes and plans of action
adopted, the United Nations Statistical Commission
in 1995 set up an expert group to study the statistical
implications of the Cairo, Copenhagen and Beijing
conferences. The expert group's recommendations,
their subsequent discussion at the Statistical
Commission's Working Group in 1996, and the ramifications
for action at the regional level will be taken
up in secretariat paper E/ESCAP/STAT.10/8. |
| 9. Issues relating to SIAP
including the report of the Governing Board.
|
| The Committee will discuss issues
relating to statistical capability-building through
training of personnel and the future direction
of the Institute. Two secretariat papers will
be presented: the report of the first session
of the SIAP Governing Board (E/ESCAP/STAT.10/9),
and the report of the second session of the SIAP
Governing Board, to be held from 20 to 22 November
1996 (E/ESCAP/STAT/10/9/Add.1). |
| 10. Issues relating to information
technology applications and information resource
management, and review of public-sector computerization
activities in the region. |
| A secretariat paper (E/ESCAP/STAT.10/10)
on progress and issues in the area of public-sector
computerization will be presented. |
| 11. Programmes of work in
statistics, 1996-1997 and 1998-1999, including
the development of an integrated presentation
of work programmes, and review of the medium-term
plan, 1998-2001. |
| A secretariat paper (E/ESCAP/STAT.10/11)
will provide information on the programmes of
work in statistics, 1996-1997 and 1998-1999, and
present of the medium-term plan, 1998-2001 to
assist discussions on these topics. Another statistical
paper (E/ESCAP/STAT.10/11/Add.1)
will provide the Committee with an experimental
presentation of programmes in statistics in the
region, 1996-1997. At its ninth session, the Committee
welcomed the intention of some agencies to join
in this exercise, and invited other agencies to
consider doing likewise. The Bureau of the Committee,
at its meeting on 29 January 1996, noted that
the purpose of an integrated presentation was
to enhance coordination among international agencies
active in the field of statistics. |
| 12. Other matters. |
| The Committee will consider
other matters of interest not covered elsewhere
in this agenda, including the venue and agenda
of the eleventh session of the Committee (E/ESCAP/STAT.10/12).
It will also be invited to assess the need for
an additional meeting of the Working Group of
Statistical Experts and to assign topics to be
considered by it, if appropriate. |
| 13. Election of the Bureau.
|
| On the basis of consultations
carried out during the session, the Committee
will elect a Bureau which will serve until the
end of the eleventh session in 1998. A short secretariat
note (E/ESCAP/STAT.10/13)
will inter alia provide information on the composition
of past bureaux of the Committee. |
| 14. Adoption of the
report. |
|
