The 1990s have witnessed a series
of global conferences and summits which have resulted
in the formulation of policy goals agreed on by
the participating countries.(1)/
In many cases these goals were general in nature
but in others they took the form of quantified
targets. As a result, countries and international
organizations were called on to develop and improve
the statistics and indicators required to measure
the achievement of progress towards these targets.
2.
With the number of conferences
and summits multiplying as the decade wore on,
it became clear that, firstly, insufficient thought
had been given to the practical aspects of measuring
progress towards goals; and second, that because
the conferences appropriately took a comprehensive
approach to the topics they were dealing with,
there was a good deal of overlap in the fields
in which statistics and indicators were needed
and were being recommended. The United Nations
Statistical Commission, reacting initially to
the implications for statistics at the 1995 World
Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen, set
up an expert group which it asked to take into
account also the outcomes of the 1994 Cairo Conference
on Population and Development and the then-forthcoming
1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing.
The expert group produced a "Minimum National
Social Data Set" (MNSDS) of 15 basic indicators,
a variant of which the Statistical Commission
adopted in 1997.(2)/
3.
Meanwhile a number of other
initiatives relating to indicators were being
taken, many but not all related to the various
conferences, to such an extent that (disparaging)
references to an "indicator industry" started
to surface. Apart from the MNSDS, so-called cross-conference
core indicator sets have been produced by the
Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD-DAC)
in collaboration with the United Nations and the
World Bank, the United Nations Development Assistance
Framework (common country assessment indicators
-- UNDAF-CCA), and the Task Force on Basic Social
Services for All of the Administrative Committee
on Coordination (BSSA). Annex II juxtaposes the
indicators included in these core indicator sets
and shows the approximate number of countries
for which each indicator was recently available.
4.
The Economic and Social Council,
in its deliberations on the 'Integrated and coordinated
implementation and follow-up of major United Nations
conferences and summits' in July 1998, recognized
the importance of statistics and indicators in
this context and decided to dedicate an informal
meeting of the Council to this topic, with panels
of experts.(3)/
The Council commissioned a comprehensive and analytical
report on this topic, "with a view, as a first
step, to taking stock and identifying overlapping,
duplication and gaps".(4)/
Drafts of the report, prepared by the United Nations
Statistics Division (UNSD) in close cooperation
with many other involved agencies within and outside
the United Nations system, were discussed at the
1999 session of the Statistical Commission as
well as at a meeting of experts on indicators
that immediately followed the Commission session.
The informal meeting of the Economic and Social
Council was held in New York on 10-11 May 1999,
and both the UNSD's report (E/1999/11) and the
Council President's summary of the meeting (E/1999/77)
were forwarded to the Council's substantive session
in July 1999 for further consideration. Document
E/1999/77 provides a succinct account of the major
aspects of the discussion on development indicators
and is reproduced in Annex III.
5.
On 30 July 1999 the Economic
and Social Council adopted resolution 1999/55,
part II of which relates to basic indicators.
The resolution appears as Annex IV. Since the
Council meeting various bodies have been considering
the next steps in implementing the resolution.
The ACC Subcommittee on Statistical Activities,
for example, in its latest meeting in September
1999, agreed to participate in the completion
of a development indicator webpage project of
the United Nations Statistics Division (ESCAP
will be contributing information on any indicators
directly related to the follow-up of global conferences
and summits which are not collected by other organizations).
At the regional level, and along the lines of
paragraph 7 of resolution 1999/55, ESCAP recently
organized a high-level intergovernmental meeting
to review regional implementation of the Beijing
Platform for Action, attended by over 400 persons;
during the meeting, the Statistics Division convened
a policy dialogue on integrating paid and unpaid
work into national policies.
(1)/
A list of major conferences in the 1990s, as well
as of generally earlier conventions and declarations,
is given in Annex I. (2)/
The MNSDS was by no means the only product of
the Expert Group on the Statistical Implications
of Recent Major United Nations Conferences, but
a number of its other recommendations stalled
through a lack of funding. (3)/
Economic and Social Council decision 1998/298
of 31 July 1998. (4)/
Ibid, paragraph (e).
II.
Development indicators - some reflections
6.
Since a comprehensive summary is provided by
document E/1999/77, the secretariat has attempted
to present below only a few selected strands
of the discussion on development indicators.
The proliferation of indicators
has been causing a great deal of concern,
for several reasons. The sheer volume of development
indicators and a lack of information on how
similar indicators are related can cause difficulties
for analysts and decision-makers trying to
use them. Competing and until recently uncoordinated
demands for indicator information from international
secretariats have overburdened national statistical
systems, with ad hoc requests from some organizations
interfering with regular national statistical
programmes. Inconsistencies in definitions
and concepts of seemingly identical indicators,
and in some cases opaque sources and compilation
and estimation methodologies, compound the
problems.
The coordination of work
on indicators has emerged as of paramount
importance, mainly as a result of the factors
described above. Each international agency
charged with the follow-up to a conference
naturally has a mandate to monitor implementation
of the commitments made, and is generally
answerable to its own governing body. While
these governing bodies are often composed
of the same member States, this by no means
guarantees a coordinated approach. It is thus
only at the level of an apex body such as
the Economic and Social Council that coordination
can be pursued in an effective manner. As
far as the statistical aspects of follow-up
are concerned, the Council has appropriately
invited the United Nations Statistical Commission
to act as the focal point for work on harmonizing
and rationalizing basic indicators, and has
requested the United Nations Statistics Division
to promote networking among national and international
institutions in this field.
Specifically, the Statistical
Commission has been asked to identify a limited
number of common indicators "from among those
currently accepted and in use by UN member
States". The resolution implies a reduced
response burden on countries as the driving
force behind this request, but a further significant
benefit would seem to be a holistic approach
to the analysis of progress in the implementation
of conference goals.
A focus on quantitative
achievement of the goals of the conferences
spotlighted the fact that basic data were
sorely lacking in many countries, especially
in newer areas of policy concern that (not
entirely coincidentally) are now prominent
on the agenda of the Committee on Statistics
and its Working Group -- poverty statistics,
environment statistics and statistics on gender
issues are examples. In fact this had also
been evident from the Human Development Reports
published by the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) since 1990, but UNDP's focus
in subsequent years tended to be on modifications
and elaborations of the Human Development
Index, rather than on strengthening the frail
databases that underpinned them. Over the
last two years or so, however, the inescapability
of strengthening national statistical capacities
in data collection, analysis and dissemination
has come to the fore. The Council resolution
urges all parties to work together closely
to mobilize resources in support of statistical
capability building programmes.
In signing on to the declarations
and conventions adopted at the various conferences,
governments have made solemn commitments which
include, expressly or implicitly, agreement
to provide quantitative data to allow monitoring
of progress towards the achievement of the
goals and targets. It is doubtful if much
consideration was given by delegations, in
the heady elation of finally reaching consensus
at many of the conferences, to the statistical
implications thus being created or the resources
required to meet them. A lesson to be drawn,
therefore, may be for national statistical
services to be more assertive in the preparations
for follow-up conferences or summits which
might take place in future.
III.
Action by the Working Group
7.
As noted above, document E/1999/77, reproduced
as Annex III to this paper, presents in the
secretariat's view an excellent synopsis of
the current status of the debate on development
indicators. The Working Group is therefore invited
to review Annex III in its entirety. Particular
attention is drawn to three paragraphs where
a regional dimension is specifically mentioned:
paragraph 12: in the context
of strengthening national statistical capacity,
the report notes that regional or subregional
collaborative networks need to be encouraged
to share experiences and to develop common
methodologies and practices which suit specific
regional and subregional needs; donors could
be invited to support these subregional networks;
paragraph 16: full involvement
of the regional commissions and recipient
countries was stressed as being indispensable
in the creation of a high-level working group
on donor coordination in support of national
statistical development strategies;
paragraph 18: regions are
seen as having a role in adding individual
indicator sets that are relevant in their
development context to the envisaged core
set of common indicators.
8.
The Working Group is invited
to consider in what ways countries of the region
and the secretariat might be able to support implementation
of Economic and Social Council resolution 1999/55
and, more generally, advance the process of harmonizing
and rationalizing development indicators.
Annex
I
List of
selected global conferences, conventions and declarations
International conference
Year
Host city
World Conference on Education
for All: Meeting Basic Learning Needs
1990
Jomtien
World Summit for Children
1990
New York
United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development
1992
Rio de Janeiro
International Conference on
Nutrition
1992
Rome
World Conference on Human Rights
1993
Vienna
International Conference on
Population and Development
1994
Cairo
Global Conference on the Sustainable
Development of Small Island Developing States
1994
Bridgetown
World Summit for Social Development
1995
Copenhagen
Fourth World Conference on Women
1995
Beijing
Ninth United Nations Congress
on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of
Offenders
1995
Cairo
United Nations Conference on
Human Settlements (Habitat II)
1996
Istanbul
World Food Summit
1996
Rome
Ninth session of the United
Nations Conference on Trade and Development
1996
Midrand
First World Conference of Ministers
Responsible for Youth
1998
Lisbon
Special session of the General
Assembly devoted to the fight against the illicit
production, sale, demand, traffic and distribution
of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances
and related activities
1998
New York
International Convention
or Declaration
Year
Universal Declaration of Human
Rights
1948
Declaration of the Rights
of the Child
1959
International Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
1965
International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
1966
International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights
1966
Declaration on the Rights
of Disabled Persons
1975
Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
1979
Convention against Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment
1984
Declaration on the Right to
Development
1986
Convention on the Rights of
the Child
1989
Declaration on the Rights
of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic,
Religious and Linguistic Minorities
1992
Annex
II
Union of core indicator sets
(Minimum National Social Data Set (MNSDS), Organisation
for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
- United Nations-World Bank, United Nations Development
Assistance Framework - common country assessment
(UNDAF-CCA),a/
basic social services for all (BSSA)
Percentage of public expenditures
on social services
x
Note: Several of the
indicators in this presentation are specified
by sex in the different sets. However, classification
by sex should be applied to all indicators, where
feasible. a/
United Nations Development Group, "Guidelines:
Common Country Assessment", final draft, 31 March
1999, annex A, boxes A (Conference indicators)
and C (Contextual indicators). The framework also
contains some qualitative indicators on governance
and civil and political rights. b/
Number of countries on the basis of indicators
presented either in the UNDP Human Development
Report, 1998 (New York, Oxford University Press,
1998) or in the 1997 World Development Indicators
(World Bank). The source of the number of countries
for the Adult Literacy Rate is United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO). c/ MNSDS: where
appropriate and feasible, by ethnic group. d/ UNDAF: by
age, to identify target groups. e/ OECD: use
Adult rate if data not available; UNDAF: HIV prevalence
in pregnant women under age 25 who receive antenatal
care in capital cities/major urban areas. f/
UNDAF: children under age 5 who are underweight,
stunted and wasted. g/ MNSDS:
by urban/rural and, where possible, by income
class. h/
OECD: in addition, ratio of literate females to
males. i/
UNDAF: only secondary education. j/
MNSDS: where appropriate, by formal and informal
sector. k/
MNSDS: food needed for minimum nutritional requirement. l/
UNDAF: if data are not available, floor area per
person. m/
UNDAF: US dollars and purchasing power parities
(PPPs). n/
UNDAF: share of exports in GDP.
Annex
III
United Nations
E/1999/77
Economic
and Social Council
Distr.: General
11 June 1999
Original: English
Substantive session
of 1999
Geneva, 5-30 July 1999
Item 6 of the provisional agenda* Integrated and coordinated implementation of
and follow-up to major United Nations conferences
and summits
Informal
meeting of the Economic and Social Council on
basic indicators for the integrated and coordinated
implementation and follow-up of the major United
Nations conferences and summits (New York, 10-11
May 1999)
Summary
by the President of the Council
1.
The Economic and Social Council,
pursuant to decision 1998/290 of 31 July 1998,
taken at its substantive session of 1998, held
a two-day informal meeting on basic indicators
for the integrated and coordinated implementation
and follow-up of the major United Nations conferences.
In this decision, the Council also commissioned
a report of the Secretary-General which was to
consider in a comprehensive manner the work being
carried out by the United Nations system and other
relevant international and national institutions
on basic indicators to measure progress towards
the implementation of the integrated and coordinated
follow-up of all aspects of major United Nations
conferences and summits, including means of implementation,
in the economic, social and related fields at
all levels, with a view, as a first step, to taking
stock and identifying overlapping duplication
and gaps (Council decision 1998/290, para. (e)).
2.
In accordance with the above
decision, the meeting was organized in the format
of an interactive dialogue with panels of experts
so as to encourage dialogue among the participants
and delegations. For the panel discussions, 15
high-level experts in the area of basic indicators
were invited; they covered the broad spectrum
of users and producers of information from both
the national and the international level (see
paras. 6-25). The panel discussions were organized
around four themes: (a) reviewing progress in
conference implementation: difficulties and achievements;
(b) international collaboration: major initiatives
and gaps; (c) strengthening national statistical
capacity and collaboration; and (d) means of implementation
and looking forward.
3.
The presentation of the panellists
led to a rich and wide-ranging dialogue and a
productive exchange of views on basic indicators
for conference follow-up. This interactive dialogue
represented an encouraging further step in the
Economic and Social Council's efforts to ensure
coherence and cooperation in the multifaceted
conference implementation efforts.
4.
In the course of the dialogue,
the analytical report of the Secretary-General
on a critical review of the development of indicators
in the context of conference follow-up (E/1999/11),
prepared on the basis of a collaborative effort,
was welcomed. It was stressed by both panellists
and delegates that the report provided a solid
foundation for a comprehensive and fruitful discussion
of the issues involved. It was also stated repeatedly
that the proposals for the follow-up contained
in the report were a valid starting point for
further action of the Economic and Social Council.
It was suggested by many delegations that the
Council should continue addressing the subject
of basic indicators at its substantive session
of 1999 in Geneva in July. In particular, speakers
highlighted two key areas where Council guidance
and involvement were believed to be needed: (a)
strengthening of national statistical capacity
and (b) more effective coordination of international
organizations in their indicator initiatives within
the framework of follow-up to global conferences.
5.
The following summary presents
the main issues raised in the debate. They are
grouped into six categories: importance of indicators;
strengthening national statistical capacity; coordination
at international level; core set of common indicators;
means of implementation; and role of the Economic
and Social Council.
I. Importance
of indicators
6.
Indicators and statistics are
vital to assessing progress towards concrete policy
goals as formulated by recent global conferences
and national development policies. Indicators
also permit the evaluation of whether public resources
are being spent efficiently and transparently.
Indicators and statistics, if policy-relevant,
accurate and timely, are also a powerful tool
for raising awareness, thus facilitating effective
implementation of the development agenda. To effectively
advocate a development programme and to mobilize
the necessary resources, good data are indispensable.
However, it was also stressed that not all development
phenomena can be reflected by numbers.
II. Strengthening
national statistical capacity
7.
A key theme of the meeting was
the need to build national statistical capacity
in such a way as to ensure that progress achieved
would be irreversible: in brief, the objective
must be a sustained development of national statistical
systems. This must be done in relation to all
stages of the information process, from data collection
to analysis and dissemination. A collaborative
effort of the United Nations system, including
the World Bank and the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) as well as the Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD), is called
for in order to build capacity. Panellists stated
that, given the heightened awareness of the importance
of development information, the moment was opportune
for advocating the building of national statistical
capacity now.
8.
There is a need at the
national level to establish effective coordination
mechanisms among all information-producing units.
In this context, the central role of national
statistical offices in the coordination of national
departments involved in data collection and dissemination
and in the development of methodological and operational
standards was noted. The status and the independence
of statistical offices need to be strengthened
in line with the Fundamental Principles of Official
Statistics.1/
9.
The national dialogue between
producers and users of information has to be intensified.
Policy makers need to involve statisticians in
the identification of the information that they
require for policy decision-making, and statisticians
need to respond in a flexible manner to these
information demands.
10.
There is a need to establish
clear priorities so as to address the problem
of data gaps which continue to persist, even for
such traditional basic indicators as gross domestic
product/gross national product (GDP/GNP) and literacy,
but particularly for the newer areas identified
by world conferences. In this context, it was
underlined that traditional income indicators
were not sufficient to capture the multidimensionality
of sustainable human development. The challenge
is to construct an information system for the
social and environmental areas that is similar
to the existing information system for economics.
Therefore, closing the gaps in respect of data
availability of "newer indicators" in the areas
of environment, nutrition, housing, health care,
the informal sector, women's work and social integration
is an urgent necessity. Social integration was
cited as a good example of an area with a need
for adequately disaggregated data (by relevant
social groups and gender). There is also a need
for the development of subnational disaggregation
to address social issues at the local and regional
levels. On the other hand, with respect to globalization,
it also appeared increasingly important to compile
statistics and indicators addressing global, transnational
aspects, such as global warming, multinational
corporations and information flows.
11.
In addition to coverage, data
quality needs to be improved in terms of timeliness,
reliability and relevance. A number of programmes
exist in the area of capacity-building and should
be strengthened.
12.
Regional or subregional collaborative
networks need to be encouraged to share experiences
and to develop common methodologies and practices
which suit specific regional and subregional needs.
Donors could be invited to support these subregional
networks through appropriate training activities
so as to create a critical mass of expertise within
such subregions.
III. Coordination
at the international level
13.
There is the sense that overlap
among international organizations, both in the
creation of indicators and in the collection of
information, has become more acute. This may be
partly a result of the comprehensive approach,
which was encouraged by all international conferences.
Proliferation of indicators used by international
organizations in relation to conferences has led,
in some cases, to overburdening national statistical
offices. In others, the data needs of conferences
may be ignored. International agencies should
make efforts to better coordinate their data requests
to countries, avoid duplicative requests and share
the data collected. The Economic and Social Council
could provide stronger guidance in this endeavour.
14.
Coordination must start within
international agencies, where often more than
one unit is producing statistical information
and requesting data.
15.
Existing coordination mechanisms,
such as the Administrative Committee on Coordination
(ACC) Subcommittee on Statistical Activities,
need to be strengthened and active participation
of all members needs to be encouraged.
16.
The proposal to create a high-level
working group on donor coordination in support
of national statistical development strategies
required further clarification on participation
as well as on its value beyond that of existing
mechanisms. It was suggested that the working
group secure and maintain a strong link to policy
and funding, including bilateral funding. Full
involvement of the regional commissions and recipient
countries was stressed as being indispensable.
One panellist saw the Department of Economic and
Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat
as a possible convener. The working group could
review funding for statistical programmes in a
proactive rather than a reactive manner.
17.
The World Bank announced a plan
to constitute a special trust fund for statistical
capacity-building.
IV. Core set
of common indicators
18.
The development of a set of
common indicators by the multilateral system is
important to permit global analysis of progress
in implementing conference goals. It can also
lessen the burden on member States in providing
data. The list of universally accepted and relevant
indicators would necessarily have to be limited.
Countries and regions will have to add individual
indicator sets, in a flexible manner, that are
relevant in their development context. Perhaps
a hierarchical structure of sets, with national,
regional and/or sector extensions could be envisaged.
In any event, such a structure would not be a
short-term goal: it would need to be developed
as a continuously evolving and broadly based consultative
process.
19.
The Common Country Assessment
(CCA) indicator list was seen as a good starting
point for working towards a core set of indicators.
However, there was still need for more direct
involvement and ownership by countries, including
through their national statistical offices. It
was suggested that careful analysis at the country
level of the availability of data for the CCA
indicator list should lead to the formulation
of statistical programmes supported by the United
Nations funds and programmes. Specialized agencies,
including the World Bank and IMF, as well as OECD/
Development Assistance Committee (DAC), should
participate more fully with their specific sector
expertise in the process of further developing
and implementing the CCA indicator list.
20.
Indicators and data collected
internationally must be of value for domestic
policy-making. New indicators should be designed
through a dialogue process taking into account
the existing databases and statistical capacities
of countries. Statisticians could advise on the
feasibility and costs of certain indicators. The
Statistical Commission and the ACC Subcommittee
on Statistical Activities could review newly formulated
indicators.
V. Means of implementation
21.
Conferences have established
goals both for socio-economic development and
for resource commitments, which are applicable
for all countries. Basic indicators are needed
to evaluate progress towards conference goals
in creating an enabling environment for development.
Many stated that the Economic and Social Council
should discuss in a more comprehensive manner
indicators on the means of implementation of major
conferences. More work had to be done in this
area, including monitoring the volume and effectiveness
of official development assistance (ODA).
22.
A number of delegations also
underscored that further deliberations on the
issue of basic indicators should focus on conference
implementation, rather than on development per
se, in accordance with earlier decisions of the
Economic and Social Council. In this regard, the
emphasis should be on partnership relationships,
rather than on donor/recipient relationships.
23.
Data collection and statistical
capacity-building are expensive. Too often, statistical
activities are not adequately funded. It was stressed
that development programmes needed to allocate
sufficient resources to the generation of adequate
information bases which would allow evaluation
of the programme implementation. The shortage
of financial and human resources makes it even
more vital to ensure that maximum use is made
of already collected statistics and to eliminate
overlap in the creation of new indicators by international
organizations.
VI. Role of the
Economic and Social Council
24.
It was stated repeatedly by
delegations that the Economic and Social Council
is the appropriate forum in respect of taking
the lead in the indicator debate, particularly
because of its holistic perspective as well as
its overall coordination function, especially
for the follow-up and implementation of major
United Nations conferences. It is the forum where
all concerned parties can come together, including
the Bretton Woods institutions, the regional commissions
and other international institutions like OECD/DAC.
25.
In addition, it was stressed,
that regarding specific, more technical decisions
on indicators, the Economic and Social Council
is supported by those of its functional commissions
that are responsible for the follow-up of conferences
and the Statistical Commission.
* E/1999/100 and
Add.1. Notes
1/ See Official Records of the Economic
and Social Council, 1994, Supplement No. 9 (E/1994/29),
para. 59.
Annex
IV
1999/55
Integrated and coordinated implementation of and
follow-up to major
United Nations conferences and summits
The Economic
and Social Council,
Recallingit agreed conclusions 1995/1,159/
its resolutions 1996/36 of 26 July 1996,
1997/61 of 25 July 1997 and 1998/44 of 31 July
1998 and its decision 1998/290 of 31 July 1998,
Taking noteof the reports of the Secretary-General
on an integrated and coordinated implementation
of and follow-up to major United Nations conferences
and summits,160/on
a critical review of the development of indicators
in the context of conference follow-up161/and
on the possible modalities of a review by the
Economic and Social Council in 2000 of progress
made within the United Nations system in promoting
an integrated and coordinated implementation
of and follow-up to major United Nations conferences
and summits,162/
159/Official
Records of the General Assembly, Fiftieth Session,
Supplement No. 3 (A/50/3/rev.1), chap. III,
para.22. 160/ E/1999/65. 161/ E/1999/11. 162/ E/1999/63.
