Committee
on Statistics, tenth session Bangkok, 25-29 November
1996
The tenth session of the Committee on Statistics
was held at Bangkok from 25 to 29 November 1996.
The session was attended by representatives
of the following 30 members and associate members
of ESCAP: Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam,
China, Democratic People's Republic of Korea,
Fiji, French Polynesia, France, Guam, Hong Kong,
India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of),
Japan, Kiribati, Lao People's Democratic Republic,
Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New
Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of
Korea, Russian Federation, Singapore, Sri Lanka,
Thailand and Viet Nam. Two members of the United
Nations - Canada and Sweden - attended in a
consultative capacity.
It was also attended by representatives from
the United Nations Statistics Division, ECLAC,
UNICEF, UNIFEM, UNDP, UNEP, UNFPA, ILO, FAO,
UNESCO, WHO, the World Bank, ADB, the Commonwealth
of Independent States, Mekong River Commission,
OECD, SPC, International Council on Social Welfare
and SIAP. The Committee session was opened by
Mr Likit Therdsteerasukdi, Permanent Secretary,
Office of the Prime Minister of the Government
of Thailand.
The Executive Secretary of ESCAP, Mr Adrianus
Mooy welcomed the participants attending the
tenth session of the Committee on Statistics
and thanked Mr Likit Therdsteerasukdi for finding
time to address the inaugural session of the
Committee. He also welcomed Mr Hermann Habermann,
the Director of the United Nations Statistics
Division, New York. Mr Adrianus Mooy noted that
the Committee on Statistics was one of the six
committees within the current conference structure
of ESCAP and that the role of the Committee
in promoting statistical development in the
region dated back to 1951. He mentioned that
the meeting would have the opportunity to propose
to the Commission at its fifty-third session
the revised terms of reference of the Committee,
which emphasized its role as the focus of regional
statistical development. The Committee could
play a significant role in the exchange of useful
experience and the development of collective
approaches to help meet the challenges which
were continuously confronted by the official
statisticians.
In his opening statement, Mr Likit Therdsteerasukdi
welcomed the participants on behalf of his Government
and mentioned that the Committee on Statistics
and its predecessor bodies had long provided
a unique forum for discussing statistical development
in the region and that the work of the Committee
continued to be as important as ever. Noting
the growing interest in data shown by various
circles, including the local and foreign analysts
and media, he emphasized the need for the statisticians
to improve their abilities to deliver the statistical
results faster and to develop new indicators
for changing circumstances.
The Permanent Secretary remarked that the use
of information technology was becoming important
in enhancing the competitiveness and effectiveness
of services both in the public and private sector.
In the field of statistics, information technology
had made more data readily available in electronic
formats nationally and internationally. He mentioned
that the Thai Government had recently formulated
an information technology strategy which, among
other things, highlighted investment in people.
The Committee on Statistics recommended to
the Economic and Social Commission for Asia
and the Pacific the adoption of the following
terms of reference of the Committee:
Review and analyse
progress in the development of statistics
in the region.
Assist in the strengthening
of the statistical infrastructure in the countries
of the region, promote the improvement of
the quality of statistics, the international
comparability of data and the appropriate
application of new techniques, and arrange
for the exchange of information on and experiences
in statistical work and methods among the
countries.
Promote observance of
the fundamental principles of official statistics
adopted by the United Nations Statistical
Commission at its special session in 1994.
Participate actively
in the initiation, development, revision,
testing and implementation of international
statistical standards, promote and monitor
their application, and promote their adaptation,
as appropriate, to the conditions and needs
of the countries of the region.
Play the focal role
in promoting close coordination of all aspects
of the statistical activities of specialized
agencies, relevant United Nations bodies and
other international organizations in regard
to their work in the Asian and Pacific region,
inter alia so as to achieve greater
uniformity in concepts and definitions, reduce
to a minimum the response burden on national
statistical offices, and maximize the effectiveness
of technical cooperation activities.
Promote the generation
and analysis of statistical data and encourage,
with due regard to relevant international
work, efforts to develop a set of standardized
statistical indicators for the region relevant
to the themes of the Commission, namely regional
economic cooperation, environment and sustainable
development, and poverty alleviation through
economic growth and social development.
Recommend programmes
of technical assistance, training, education
and research in the various fields of statistics
and their application.
Review and analyse
progress in the development of information
technology applications and information resource
management in the region, especially in the
public sector, and make recommendations on
issues concerning policies and strategies,
as well as on programmes of technical assistance,
training and research in this field.
Review and evaluate
the activities of the secretariat in the areas
of statistics and computerized information
processing and provide guidance on the work
of the secretariat, paying due regard to the
recommendations of the United Nations Statistical
Commission and other relevant bodies.
Make recommendations
to the Governing Board of the Statistical
Institute for Asia and the Pacific on the
nature of and priorities in statistical training
for the countries of the region.
Inform the United Nations
Statistical Commission and, where appropriate,
the statistical authorities of the specialized
agencies and other relevant bodies, of its
work, so that due attention may be given to
the wider aspects of the issues considered
by the Committee.
Work closely with other
subsidiary organs of the Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and the Pacific, and coordinate
activities with them.
Carry out such other
activities as the Commission may direct from
time to time.
As part of its major decisions, the Committee
adopted the terms of reference for its Bureau
as follows:
To assist the Committee
in overseeing the activities of the secretariat
during the inter-sessional period in implementing
the objectives and decisions of the Committee.
To review presentations
from the secretariat of the decisions and
resolutions of the Economic and Social Commission
for Asia and the Pacific and of the Statistical
Commission, and to highlight issues of particular
importance to the ESCAP region for the consideration
of the Committee together with appropriate
recommendations.
To review the provisional
agenda for the meetings of the Committee as
prepared by the secretariat and provide guidance
to the secretariat regarding the scope of
the documentation for the meetings of the
Committee.
To guide the secretariat
as necessary in the coordination of statistical
activities in the region through such means
as the integrated presentation of programmes
of work to the Committee.
To represent the Committee,
through its Chairperson or such other Bureau
member as may be designated in the event of
the Chairperson's inability to attend, at
meetings for which invitations might be received
and which the Bureau considers of relevance
and importance to the Committee, in particular
the United Nations Statistical Commission
and its Working Group on International Statistical
Programmes and Coordination.
To take up any other matter
as may be assigned by the Committee.
The Committee decided that the Bureau should
comprise six members and set the term of office
at four years, with three members retiring every
two years. It took other decisions on necessary
transitional measures at the tenth session,
the nature and geographical distribution of
representation on the Bureau, and financial
arrangements for Bureau meetings. It also decided
that a Working Group of Statistical Experts
should be convened, preferably in November 1997,
and should discuss specific substantive topics,
with content of an administrative nature pruned
to the minimum. The Bureau would decide on and
inform members about the agenda 3-4 months prior
to the meeting.
The Committee asked the secretariat to improve
its reporting on emerging trends and topics
in international statistical standardization
and methodological work, and asked its Bureau
to examine how the Committee could increase
its involvement in the development of statistical
methods and standards. The Committee felt that
it should pay greater attention to providing
inputs for and views on future agendas for the
United Nations Statistical Commission.
The Committee instructed its Bureau and the
secretariat to continue to monitor developments
in the process of reform of the conference structure
of ESCAP. It recommended that the Committee
on Statistics be retained in any future revision
of the conference structure of ESCAP. Appreciating
the approach of inviting papers from national
statistical offices for its sessions, the Committee
recommended that that approach should be continued
for future sessions.
The Committee recommended that, based on the
outputs of the project on improving statistics
on gender issues, the secretariat should disseminate
information on gender issues and continue to
give priority to improving gender statistics
in the region. It should also compile a list
of bibliographic references on research and
analysis based on gender statistics.
The Committee noting that the Special Data
Dissemination Standard (SDDS) initiated by the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) had significant
resource implications for national statistical
offices, regretted that adequate consultations
with producers of the relevant statistics in
the ESCAP region had not been held, but welcomed
the fact that the IMF had devoted resources
to assist some countries to meet the standards.
The Committee agreed that it should focus on
how to proceed in developing national social
statistical infrastructure and the Minimum National
Social Data Set (MNSDS), and endorsed the idea
that some countries in the region should be
selected in which to conduct pilot studies.
The Committee welcomed the increase in contributions
to the Statistical Institute for Asia and the
Pacific (SIAP) from China, Hong Kong, Pakistan,
Republic of Korea, Singapore and Thailand as
well as the resumption of financial support
from Australia, and called for increased contributions
in cash and in kind from other members and associate
members as well as new contributions from those
countries which had not been contributing to
SIAP. The Committee also considered assistance
from the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) to be crucial. It noted that any expanded
programmes of SIAP should be additional and
complementary to and not in replacement of any
activities undertaken by ESCAP.
The Committee asked the secretariat to examine
modalities, other than the planned seminar on
information technology management for senior
level decision-makers in the public sector,
that could be used in sensitizing government
officials to the importance of adopting information
technology. It strongly urged the secretariat
to start disseminating its documents, data and
services through the World Wide Web of the Internet.
The Committee noted the importance of defining
a sharp focus to the secretariat's work in the
field of public sector computerization, and
asked the secretariat to concentrate on those
recommodations of the Expert Group Meeting to
Review Computerization Development in the Public
Sector where the available resources could have
a meaningful impact. The Committee considered
that greater attention should be paid to applications
in statistics rather than to the public sector
in general.
For the work programme of the secretariat for
1998-1999 the Committee identified a number
of high priority areas, including implementation
of the 1993 System of National Accounts, pilot
studies and other work on the statistical implications
of the global summit conferences held at Cairo,
Copenhagen and Beijing, and services statistics.
Other priority areas identified included the
informal sector, price statistics, and environment
statistics. It strongly urged ESCAP to pursue
means of providing advisory services in the
top priority area of national accounts, for
example, through redeployment of resources within
the secretariat.
The Committee stressed the fundamental importance
of information technology in the work of national
statistical offices, not least in the dissemination
aspects. The secretariat was encouraged to help
countries exchange information on the latest
techniques for data processing, presentation
and dissemination, including through the Internet.
The Committee reaffirmed its support for the
ESCAP Statistical Information System (ESIS)
and urged that the resources to operationalize
a system as soon as possible be found. It advised
the secretariat to, if necessary, reduce substantially
the planned data content, simplify and cut the
available features of the System to the necessary
minimum, and adopt the latest Internet technologies
to make its data content available to members
and associate members.
The Committee asked the secretariat to continue
to collect and collate information from the
agencies for the integrated presentation of
work programmes, subject to some modifications
in the format and content of the presentation.
To increase the participation of relevant agencies,
the Committee recommended that the secretariat
distribute the presentation among agencies working
in the region and seek their comments and cooperation.
More vigorous follow-up including reminder letters,
correspondence and, where possible, consultations,
was proposed to further improve participation.
The Committee decided that the provisional
agenda for its eleventh session should include
as item 3 "Implementation of recommendations
of the Committee at its ninth and tenth sessions"
and that the report of the Bureau and the report
of the Working Group of Statistical Experts
should become items 4 and 5, respectively. It
noted the proposals that gender statistics,
environment statistics and economic statistics
should also feature on the agenda, and considered
that the provisional agenda could be finalized
in due course, and encouraged countries to submit
comments to the Bureau of the Committee for
its deliberation.
Third
Regional Workshop for Core Members of National
Working Groups on Gender Statistics
The Third Regional Workshop for Core Members
of National Working Groups on Gender Statistics
was held at Bangkok from 10 to 12 December 1996.
It was attended by one core member each of the
national working groups from the six project
countries, namely, India, Pakistan, Philippines,
Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam. The project
on Statistics on gender issues is being implemented
by the Statistics Division of ESCAP with financial
assistance provided by the United Nations Development
Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the Swedish International
Development Agency (SIDA). The main objective
of the Workshop was to discuss experiences in
producing the statistical booklets on women
and men, and to review the reports prepared
under the project with the aim of identifying
constraints and making future recommendations.
The meeting was opened by Mr A. J. Flatt, Director,
Statistics Division of ESCAP. In his opening
remarks Mr Flatt welcomed the participants and
expressed his gratitude to their Governments
for the support and cooperation extended to
the project, and to UNIFEM and SIDA for their
financial support. He noted that the meeting
had provided an excellent opportunity for reviewing
the progress made in the area of gender statistics
and for discussing future national and regional
activities. He also mentioned about the discussions
at the tenth session of the Committee on Statistics,
held in Bangkok from 25 to 29 November, which
had underscored the significance of the work
in the area of gender statistics. Mr Flatt regarded
it important to share the experiences of the
project countries in producing the booklet,
among themselves as a group, with a view of
making future improvements, and with other countries
as well in order to facilitate their work in
the area of gender statistics.
Mr Flatt highlighted the need to reflect on
the merits and limitations of the overall approach
adopted under the project, as well as to discuss
the various stages of work, such as the process
of obtaining feedback from the various users
and producers of statistics, the role the national
workshops played, and the process of determining
the final shape of the booklet in terms of the
indicators included, tabulations, analysis and
graphs.
The exercise of producing the statistical booklets
on women and men under the project had also
helped in identifying weaknesses and deficiencies
in official statistics on gender issues. The
Report II, prepared by each country, dealt with
that topic; each country was invited to present
that report to share their findings, identify
common issues and problems and discuss strategies
for bridging the gaps. Another major component
of the project prepared by each country was
the National Plan of Action and its implementation
mechanism for improving statistics on gender
issues. Discussions on those National Plans
of Action assisted in identifying common strategies
and approaches. The final session of the meeting
was devoted, among others, to the discussion
and formulation of major recommendations to
be addressed to at least three parties: (a)
the countries participating in the project;
(b) to other countries in the region; and (c)
the secretariat.
One output of the project was the regional
publication on women and men, which had fallen
behind schedule due to resource constraints
of the secretariat. The advice as well as cooperation
of the participating countries was sought in
ensuring an early completion of that task by
the secretariat.
The Workshop adopted a number of recommendations
as follows:
The development and improvement of statistics
on gender issues should be institutionalized
in the NSO, either as a substantive unit or
with the designation of specified responsibility
to a group of staff in an appropriate section.
The Workshop noted that the ESCAP project had
made a significant contributions in the project
countries for institutionalizing the work on
gender statistics. It recommended that the ESCAP
secretariat, SIAP, UNDP, UNIFEM, UNFPA and other
international agencies should continue to provide
assistance to countries through training and
promotion of TCDC arrangements for furthering
the work on the improvement of statistics on
gender issues.
The Workshop recommended that after its publication
under the project, the national booklet on women
and men should be incorporated as a recurrent
publication in the national statistical office
(NSO). The booklet should be launched with widest
possible publicity and coverage in the press,
and be published both in the English and national
languages.
While affirming that brevity and simplicity
were important aspects of the booklet, the Workshop
recommended that, without compromising on those
attributes, some graphical presentation of subnational,
time series and other relevant data might be
considered. The use of bullets and highlights
capturing the main feature of the tables and
graphs would also enhance the value of the information
presented. The booklet should also include a
note providing information on the nature of
data not included in the booklet but available,
their sources and the contact point where users
might direct their requests for additional data.
The Workshop recommended that the computer
database developed for the booklet should be
maintained, updated and utilized for future
editions of the booklet. It noted that countries
needed assistance for acquiring computer hardware
and software, for establishing databases and
for improving electronic dissemination of data.
The Workshop recommended that concerted efforts
be made for improving statistics on such priority
areas as violence against women, the measurement
of the economic contribution of women, informal
sector and migration. In that regard the use
of pilot studies, time-use surveys and research
were encouraged. Some countries have made progress
in improving gender statistics, such as concerning
violence against women, whose experience could
be shared through study tours or missions by
their experts.
It also felt that the experiences of, and the
material produced by, the countries participating
in the project should be shared with other countries
in the ESCAP region. It recommended that the
proceedings of this Workshop, along with the
report II or similar material submitted, be
published by ESCAP and distributed to NSOs and
other audience in the region. The participating
countries would provide computer files of the
report II and the relevant portions of the NPA
for inclusion in the proceedings and to facilitate
its production. The deadline for such submissions
was set as 31 January 1997.
The Workshop commended the quality and wealth
of information that the country reports on weaknesses
and deficiencies in existing statistics on gender
issues contained. It recommended that the findings
of those reports be made available to a wider
audience within the country, utilizing modality
such as a national workshop. It noted that it
was important to produce the booklet, the report
II and the national plan of action (NPA) in
the national or common language of the country.
Despite the effort necessary, the preparation
of report II was considered an important exercise
and constituted an essential input to the NPA.
The Workshop recommended that SIAP and ESCAP
Statistics Division should conduct courses on
analysis and interpretation of social statistics
with a focus on gender issues.
SIAP
Governing Board, second session
The Governing Board of the Statistical Institute
for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP) held its second
session on 20 and 21 November 1996 in Bangkok.
The session was opened by the Executive Secretary
of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia
and the Pacific and attended by representatives
of all the members of the Governing Board: Australia,
Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Republic
of Korea, Singapore and Thailand, and the Chairperson
of the Committee on Statistics of ESCAP. Representatives
of China, Islamic Republic of Iran, Macau, Mongolia,
Philippines and Russian Federation, and representatives
of United Nations Development Programme, the
Food and Agriculture Organization, the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization, and the United Nations Population
Fund also attended the session as observers.
The Board deliberated on the strategies for
increasing cash contributions, as well as mechanisms
to increase the financial resources available
to the Institute.
In discussing the report of the meeting of
the task force established by the Governing
Board to chart the future direction of SIAP,
the Board had before it the results of a survey
of SIAP programmes and training needs and a
report of the UNDP on the evaluation mission
relating to the project on human development
indicators. The Board endorsed the recommendations
of the task force for an overall approach to
the next phase of SIAP, the implementation of
which would depend on the availability of financial
resources and an efficient system of staffing
arrangements.
The Board asked the Director of SIAP to look
for opportunities to incorporate priority subject
topics and emerging areas, such as gender statistics,
informal sector statistics and statistics on
international trade and investments in its activities.
The Board recognized that the changes and restructuring
of the Institute's programmes should be gradually
implemented over a period of two to three years.
Missions
during the fourth quarter 1996
Mr A.J. Flatt, Director, Statistics
Division, undertook missions to:
Tokyo (27
October - 2 November) : To represent ESCAP
at the sixteenth session of the Asia and Pacific
Commission on Agricultural Statistics and
participate in discussions on strengthening
statistical activities, Tokyo, Japan, 28 October
- 1 November 1996.
Pokhara (1-4 December): To represent ESCAP at the
ADB-organized subregional workshop on environment
statistics, Pokhara, Nepal, 2-4 December 1996.
Mr M. Khalid Siddiqui, Chief, Statistics
Development Section, undertook a mission to:
Jakarta (3-9 November): To represent ESCAP and present
a technical paper at the 17th Population Census
Conference organized by the East-West Center
at Jakarta, Indonesia from 4 to 8 November
1996.
Mr M.N. Ozsever, UNFPA/CST Adviser of
ESCAP on Population Data Processing and Data-base
Management, undertook advisory missions as follows:
Myanmar (29 September - 12 October): To assist (a)
Immigration and Population Department in developing,
finalizing and testing the Fertility and Reproductive
Health Survey questionnaire as well as in
designing/developing the data processing system;
and (b) Institute of Nursing in the production
of additional tables for knowledge, attitude,
perceptions and practices (KAPP) Survey.
Lao People's Democratic
Republic (15-18 October): To assist
the Institute of Maternal and Child Health,
Ministry of Public Health, in further processing
of management information system data for
MCH/birth spacing clinics under the project
LAO/93/PO3 "Strengthening maternal and
child health and birth spacing services in
selected areas of Lao PDR
Cambodia (21-26 October): To carry out the end of the
project evaluatin for the project CMB/94/P02 "Support to the national population census
phase I
Indonesia (17-21 November): To assist BKKBN in reviewing
the MIS software for reproductive health and
family planning information management system
and the content of the training workshop on
the usage of the MIS software for the BKKBN
officials of West Java Province.
Viet Nam (1-5 December): To serve as a resource person
and attend the workshop in preparation for
1999 population and housing census.
Mr L.H. Lewis, UNFPA/CST Adviser of
ESCAP on Population Statistics, undertook missions
to:
Bangkok (24-30 November): To attend the tenth session
of the Committee on Statistics, Bangkok, 25-29
November 1996.
Viet Nam (1-5 December): To serve as a resource person
and attend the workshop in preparation for
the 1999 population and housing census.
Ms Luisa T. Engracia, UNFPA/CST Adviser
of ESCAP on Population Statistics, undertook
missions as follows:
Democratic People's
Republic of Korea (10-30 October):
As a member of the evaluation mission fielded
by the Technical Evaluation Division of UNFPA
to evaluate UNFPA's country programme in the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea for
the period 1990-1996, especially the area
on population dynamics.
Bangkok (17-30 November): To attend a training course
on Internet POPIN on how to use HTML language
for designing home pages (18-22 November),
and the tenth session of the Committee on
Statistics, 25-29 November 1996.
Bangladesh (2-11 December): (a) to review the progress
and provide technical backstopping to the
UNFPA-funded project on health and demographic
survey; (b) to attend the tripartite project
review meeting for the said project; and (c)
to review the demographic data collection
system in the country to help to identify
possible areas of assistance in the next country
programme.
Visitors
to the Statistics Division
Mr Sharofiddin Nazarov,
Head of Macroeconomic Analysis Department,
State Committee on Forecasting and Statistics
of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Tashkent.
Mr Yadgar Fayzullaev,
Deputy Head of SNA Department, the State Committee
on Forecasting and Statistics of the Republic
of Uzbekistan, Tashkent.
Mr Arne Arvidsson,
Statistics Sweden, International Consulting
Office, Stockholm.
Mr Jan Carling,
Director-General, Statistics Sweden, International
Consulting Office, Stockholm.
Mr Uwe Deichmann,
Technical Support Services Adviser, Geographic
Information Systems, United Nations Statistics
Division (UNSD), Department for Economic and
Social Information and Policy Analysis (DESIPA),
United Nations Plaza, New York 10017.
Mr Sam Suharto,
Specialist in Population Census Methods, UNSD,
DESIPA, United Nations Plaza, New York 10017.
Mr Hamidul Haque Bhuiyan,
Director, Population and Housing Census Project
and PDS Wing, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics,
Dhaka.
Mr Abdul Hakim,
Director, National Institute of Population
Studies, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Mr Sunil Kumar Sinha,
Deputy Registrar General, Office of the Registrar
General and Census Commissioner, New Delhi.
Mr Bishnu Dass Singh
Dangol, Deputy Director, Central Bureau
of Statistics, Kathmandu.
Mr Ebrahim Hajizadeh,
Deputy for Statistical Projects, Statistical
Centre of Iran, Tehran.
Mr Eivind Hoffmann,
Senior Statistician, Bureau of Statistics,
International Labour Office, Geneva 22.
Mr Carlos Manuel Indacochea,
Consultant, UNFPA/TSS evaluation mission.
Mr Steven M. Mendelsohn,
Consultant, UNFPA/TSS evaluation mission.
Publications
released by the Statistics Division
Statistical Newsletter
No. 103.
Statistical Indicators
for Asia and the Pacific, Vol. XXVI, No. 3,
September 1996.
Socio-Economic Profile
of SAARC Countries: A Statistical Analysis,
Statistical Profiles No. 1.
Notice
We are maintaining a roster of statisticians
for short-term advisory and other expert services
in the ESCAP region. We would like to invite
interested and qualified statisticians to send
their c.v. and experiences in any specific area
of statistics for inclusion in our roster. One
copy of our roster questionnaire is being sent
with this issue of the Newsletter for
interested statisticians. Additional copies
are available on request. Completed forms should
be sent to the following address:
Mr Andrew J. Flatt
Director
Statistics Division
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and
the Pacific
United Nations Building
Rajadamnern Avenue
Bangkok 10200, Thailand
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