MIGRATION DATA FOR HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE AND DEVELOPMENT SUMMARY DOCUMENT

Transcription

1 MIGRATION DATA FOR HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE AND DEVELOPMENT SUMMARY DOCUMENT On 5 April 2016, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) held a briefing on Migration Data for Humanitarian Response and Development as part of its New York Migration Series. The Series aims at disseminating knowledge on contemporary migration issues and exchanging experiences, lessons learned and policy solutions amongst Permanent Missions, representatives of United Nations (UN) agencies, civil society and other stakeholders at UN Headquarters. OPENING REMARKS Mr. Ashraf El Nour, Permanent Observer of the IOM to the UN, began by highlighting that in light of unprecedented levels of human mobility, a lack of data on unaccounted-for migrants poses a great challenge to the provision of effective assistance. Conversely, in an era of big data, analyzing data is far easier and there is greater interest in having good quality, comparable data as well as building capacities of the entities sharing data. Mr. El Nour further spoke of the SDGs framework and ensuring the availability of migration data for achieving the targets and goals of the 2030 Agenda, given migration s cross-cutting nature and landmark inclusion in the SDGs. Further, IOM s engagement in data collection with the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and Gallup was also referenced. Finally, Mr. El Nour spoke to IOM s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) facilitating the tracking of displacement and reporting on broader realities of human mobility and countryspecific migration trends. H.E. Mr. Vlad Lupan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Moldova to the United Nations, expressed migration issues need to be addressed with a concerted, holistic approach, summarising the difficulties encountered in separating migrants, refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) for migration data collection purposes a challenge further exacerbated by large-scale population movements. Properly managed migration, however, can bring economic growth to both sending and receiving countries, and the 2030 Agenda allows the international community to effectively address migration issues at a global level. The conclusions of the UN Statistics Committee in March 2016 underlined the crucial role of migration data in guiding and informing future UN policies. Ambassador Lupan noted the critical importance of making the human development factor more visible in this regard. Moldova has advocated for a four-layer approach to ensure targets relating to migration in the 2030 Agenda are met those four layers being national, bilateral, regional and global. At all levels, it is imperative to work in partnership with relevant stakeholders and focus on countries of origin, which are imperative to migration data. Ambassador Lupan additionally spoke of Moldovan initiatives, including realizing the potentials of remittance data, the signing of the European Union-Moldova Mobility Partnership and working with the UN on two national censuses. Ambassador Lupan also spoke of the need for a human rights-based approach to effectively address large-scale human mobility.

2 H.E. Mr. Jürg Lauber, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations, discussed the importance of accurate data and the discrepancies existing between various data sources. Ambassador Lauber provided three figures contributing to thinking on migration issues: (i). 17 years is, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the average displacement period, and thus calls for a planning horizon of one generation; (ii). 441 billion USD was sent to developing countries in 2015 as remittances; (iii) USD is the amount a Bangladeshi migrant worker in Kuwait will pay for recruitment-related fees. Ambassador Lauber spoke of Switzerland s work in tackling these issues. Further, approaches such as strengthening data collection capacities at national level in developing countries and standardizing definitions to ensure internationally comparable data must be mindful of the individual stories behind the mass data. SESSION I: MIGRATION DATA AS A CRITICAL TOOL IN IMPLEMENTATING THE SDGS AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMING The first panel focused on migration data and its role in development initiatives and implementing the 2030 Agenda. The panel was moderated by Ms. Susanne Melde, Research and Policy Officer at the Migration and Environment Migration Data Analysis Centre at IOM and included Mr. John Clifton, Managing Partner for Global Analytics at Gallup; Ms. Francesca Perucci, Chief of the Statistical Services Branch, Statistics Division at UN DESA; and Mr. Robert Powell, Regional Manager for Middle East and North Africa and Director of Risk Briefing Service at the Economist Intelligence Unit. Ms. Melde shared the objectives of IOM s Migration Data Analysis Centre, which include providing timely, evidence-based analysis of data and capacity building on data, noting the importance of migration s incorporation in the 2030 Agenda being its first recognition in this international development framework. Mr. Clifton spoke on the subject of the Gallup World Poll, its aim to quantify the quality of individual lives in each of the world s countries and the methodology used in order to represent fully the lives of the entire population. The poll was extended to migrants, asking them a question regarding any change to their quality of life once they moved countries. The results demonstrated that the lives of those who moved to the North 1 subjectively improved, while those who moved to the South showed no improvement. The results reflected the same pattern regarding confidence in national institutions. Regarding whether individuals would leave their countries permanently if given the choice, one in eight said they would, with the top choices for destination being the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. The biggest drivers of this are identified as money and family connections. Mr. Clifton noted, however, that in some countries further analysis reveals it is those with the highest education levels who wish to leave. 1 World Bank classification

3 Ms. Perucci s intervention focused on the close linkages between global and national data in the review of the follow up to the 2030 Agenda, referencing the importance of migration to the entire agenda. At the same time, Ms. Perucci noted the lack of available migration data. The 2030 indicators are divided into three tiers, further disaggregated by the elements covered by each target as an overarching principle for disaggregation: (i) Where there is agreement on collection of available data; (ii) Where there is agreement however the data is sparse; and (iii) Where the indicators are new. Ms. Perucci referred to two types of indicators relating to migration, the first as broader targets where migrants are covered by disaggregation, and second as those which specifically relate to migration (10.7). The focus of the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on SDGs Indicators (IAEG) meeting in June will be on improving coordination and building capacity within national statistical systems firstly to measure the number of migrants, and secondly to measure the aspects relating to migrant lives. Migration will form the central element of the expert subgroup meeting of the IAEG in June, as well as capacity building at the regional level, and a handbook on the collection and use of migration data will be produced. Mr. Powell discussed the Migration Governance Index and its aim of seeking to affect best practices in migration management by using a policy benchmarking tool which seeks to identify progress within migration policy domains, with the aim of ensuring safe, secure and legal migration. It looks at both sending and receiving countries. Its geographical scope extended initially to 15 countries, evaluating policies and identifying gaps. The framework, developed in cooperation with IOM and other experts and organizations, is broken down into domains institutional capacity (active institutions needed to implement good migration policy), migrant rights (importance of inclusivity in a society), migration management (circular migration focus), labour economics and investment (importance of incoming labour migration), and regional and international cooperation and other partnerships, (which are in turn, broken down into further sub-categories). The outcomes for each country are then broken down into nascent, emerging, developed and mature, thus allowing each country to benchmark itself against the five domains. The ensuing discussion focused on two questions: Firstly, regarding migration statistics being incorporated into national development policies, Mr. Powell noted the model has not yet been launched and, while migration statistics will be included, it is difficult to say to what extent. With regards migration s incorporation into the SDGs, Ms. Perucci noted that at the time of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) the discussion at the UN was neither mature nor ready to bring migration into the framework, and even currently there is no clear agreement on certain aspects of the indicator framework. While national statistical standards are far more regulated, it remains to be seen how these systems can incorporate new data sources into broader governance systems. SESSION II: ENGAGING MIGRATION AND DISPLACEMENT TRACKING DATA IN THE HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE

4 The second panel focused on the role of migration and displacement data in humanitarian response planning and operations. Moderated by Ms. Sarah Telford, Senior Programme Officer at the Information Services Branch and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the panel consisted of Mr. I-Sah Hsieh, Global Manager of International Development at the SAS Institute; Mr. Nuno Nunes, Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) Global Cluster Coordinator at IOM; and Mr. Nathanial A. Raymond, Director of the Signal Program on Human Security and Technology at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative. Mr. Nunes focused on methodologies for making the best use of a myriad of existing data, noting on three levels the changes in migration dynamics and, in particular, how addressing humanitarian needs must shift to reflect these dynamics; on an operational level how information be translated to make sense; and how data can be linked to discussions on accountability. On the first point, IOM s DTM reflects technological availability that has changed migration response by providing a baseline of data and regular updates. The examples of Nigeria and Libya demonstrated the improvements in data precision and its impact on responding to the needs of those affected by humanitarian crises. On the second point, Mr. Nunes discussed methodologies to make data collected in humanitarian situations more accessible using available technology. Finally, in terms of accountability and policy, Mr. Nunes elaborated on IOM s concentration on displacement, mobility, and to a certain extent, countertrafficking, and noted that data collected in some countries is more consistent and robust than in others. The issue is that, as humanitarian partners, it is imperative to explore the areas in which IOM has data access but does not know how to use it. A better understanding of mobility and needs entails changes from an operational perspective. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) should be developed in this regard. Mr. Hsieh spoke to the underutilisation of data to provide insight, foresight and hindsight. Using the examples of disaster response following Typhoon Haiyan and the Nepal earthquake, Mr. Hsieh demonstrated the critical importance of data for gaining an insight into the needs of affected populations. In the context of hindsight, using the example of gender-based violence in Africa, it is possible to engage in predictive analysis based on correlations and establish predictive indicators, particularly when analyzing in the context of a recurring event and correlating data. In this respect, it is today possible to synthesise data on a much higher level. Mr. Raymond analyzed the concept of Whatsapp migration, noting the world today is experiencing the most networked migration in history, with migrants creating situational awareness amongst themselves through use of technology, social messaging and social media. The fundamental nature of the emergencies faced today is altered by the use of information communication technology (ICT) by all stakeholders. For the humanitarian community, vulnerability is being affected by ICT to the point where it is incapable of being measured. Five questions must be answered before deploying strategies: (i) What is the need that data collection analysis will support; (ii) Is the capacity available to responsibly carry out the strategy with the data that will meet the need; (iii) Where is the vulnerability going following the intervention; (iv) Is it ethical; and (v) Is it legal? In terms of issues, the data being collected currently is demographically identifiable information that is temporal and spatial (DIITS) i.e.,

5 knowing where groups of people are at a certain time in contrast to personally identifiable information (PII). Another issue is the credibility of data sources for example, data collected from smugglers. In terms of solutions, Mr. Raymond proposed centralising liability and deployment decision making, as well as data preparedness at the Global Migration Data Analysis Centre. Access to information increasingly correlates to access to basic services however no international laws currently provide guidance as whether people have a protected right to information. The discussion following the second panel focused on the occasions where there has been a misuse of data. The panelists discussed insufficient trust frameworks, cross-corroborative mechanisms, and IOM s leading initiative to develop data protection guidelines. It was noted that the responsibility to not collect certain types of data in certain countries is that of the national staff. Ms. Telford, in closing, noted the World Humanitarian Summit and the exclusion of data in the discourse surrounding the Summit. April 2016