Strengthening the inclusion of refugees, IDPs, and stateless persons on national statistics for higherquality and more comparable data
Expert Group on Refugee, IDP and Statelessness Statistics (EGRISS)
Our commitment aims to strengthen the capacity of national statistical systems to collect data on refugee, IDP and statelessness statistics by raising awareness, enhancing accessibility, and accelerating the global implementation of the IRRS, IRIS and IROSS. This will lead to improved data quality, comparability, and utilization for the benefit of forcibly displaced and stateless populations, as well as the host communities, through better informed national and international policy development and implementation. Concretely, building on the existing baseline of 38 countries identified through the Global Annual Inclusion (GAIN) Survey, we seek to increase the number of countries making use of the international recommendations to enhance national statistics up to a target of 50 countries.
Existing gaps and the absence of standardized practice to produce statistics on forcibly displaced and stateless populations through national systems can hinder the development and implementation of effective policies that foster their inclusion in national development efforts. Inconsistencies in definitions, methodologies, and reporting practices limit effective policymaking, resource allocation and response, negatively impacting the lives of those directly affected as well as the countries and communities that host them. The International Recommendations on Refugee, IDP, and Statelessness Statistics (IRRS, IRIS, and IROSS), developed by EGRISS, provide critical guidance for countries, and regional and international organizations, on how to improve statistics on these populations. Continued advocacy, collaborative efforts and capacity development are essential to ensure their widespread implementation. Achieving this objective will be critical to fulfilling the central tenet of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: "leaving no one behind.
EGRISS expects to globally enhance the capacity of national statistical systems to produce high-quality, comparable data on forcibly displaced and stateless persons by encouraging more countries to use IRRS, IRIS, and IROSS to facilitate their integration into national development plans and the SDGs, fostering evidence-based decision-making.
The cornerstone of the EGRISS’ working methodology is its participatory approach, hence we will work with our members and partners to deliver the following:
• Increased accessibility and greater awareness of the Recommendations and their added value, delivered through global, regional and national level events, translation of key resources, and the development and dissemination of good practice case studies.
• Stronger capacity of national statistical systems to implement the Recommendations, delivered through our E-learning alongside regional workshops and thematic training
• Advanced methodologies and improved guidance to support implementation of the Recommendations, delivered through an updated Compilers’ Manual and a selection of methodological research projects addressing common challenges faced by countries and partners.
• Deeper partnerships and engagement with established working groups/platforms that address related topics, such as data disaggregation of the SDGs (IAEG-SDGs), household surveys (ISWGHS), census recommendations, migration statistics (EGMS), administrative data (CAD), citizen data (Collaborative on Citizen Data), statelessness (Global Alliance to end statelessness), refugee inclusion (GRF) and IDP solutions (UN Action Agenda).
Ultimately, EGRISS envisions a future where standardized, reliable, and accessible data on forcibly displaced and stateless populations that are produced through national statistical systems, in line with the Recommendations, are widely available and utilized to inform policies and programs that improve the lives of those affected by displacement and statelessness.
Progress will be monitored through indicators that aim to measure the use of the IRRS, IRIS and IROSS by countries and other stakeholders, the uptake of EGRISS’ guidance and tools, and the increased use of data on forced displacement and statelessness in policymaking/implementation. Practically, we monitor the implementation of global progress concerning statistical inclusion of refugees, IDPs and stateless persons and use of the three sets of statistical recommendations, with a focus on capturing lessons learnt through the EGRISS Global Annual Inclusion (GAIN) Survey, which every four years will be globally disseminated with support of the UN Statistics Division. Results are shared through an online interactive dashboard and integrated into various reporting processes. EGRISS will continue to develop case studies collaboratively with its members to showcase examples of the IRRS, IRIS and/or IROSS being used in practice, with the aim of documenting and sharing good practice, lessons learnt and impact of data on policy/planning/operational response. Case studies will be regularly developed and shared through the EGRISS website, annual reports, and quarterly newsletter.