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I.
MATTERS CALLING FOR ACTION BY THE ECONOMIC AND
SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC OR
BROUGHT TO ITS ATTENTION
A.
Recommendations to the Commission for its consideration
and adoption
1. Draft resolution
1. The Committee on Statistics recommends to
the Economic and Social Commission for Asia
and the Pacific the adoption of the following
draft resolution:DRAFT RESOLUTION 51/... Statute
of the Statistical Institute for Asia and the
Pacific
"The Economic and Social Commission
for Asia and the Pacific,
"Recalling that by its resolution 50/5
of 13 April 1994 the Commission recommended
that the Statistical Institute for Asia and
the Pacific be accorded the legal status of
a subsidiary body of ESCAP as of 1 April 1995,
subject to the approval of the Economic and
Social Council,"Recalling further that
the Executive Secretary was requested to take
the necessary actions in that regard,"Noting
with satisfaction the action taken by the
Executive Secretary towards the implementation
of that resolution of the Commission,"Expressing
its deep appreciation to the Government of Japan,
other participating Governments and the United
Nations Development Programme for their generous
financial assistance to the Institute since
its inception in May 1970,"Noting also
that the draft statute of the Institute was
reviewed at the ninth session of the Committee
on Statistics, held at Bangkok from 28 November
to 2 December 1994, "1. Adopts the Statute
of the Statistical Institute for Asia and the
Pacific, the text of which is annexed to the
present resolution; "2. Requests the
Executive Secretary to submit the Statute of
the Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific
to the Economic and Social Council for approval."
Annex:
STATUTE OF THE STATISTICAL INSTITUTE FOR ASIA
AND THE PACIFIC
Article I ESTABLISHMENT, STATUS AND
MEMBERSHIP 1. The Statistical Institute for
Asia and the Pacific (hereinafter referred to
as "the Institute") has the status of a subsidiary
body of the Economic and Social Commission for
Asia and the Pacific (hereinafter referred to
as "the Commission") and shall function under
the terms of this Statute. 2. Membership in
the Institute shall be open to all members and
associate members of the Commission.
Article II OBJECTIVES AND FUNCTIONS
The Institute shall strengthen, through practically
oriented training of official statisticians,
the capability of the developing countries and
disadvantaged economies in transition of the
region to collect, analyse and disseminate statistics
as well as to produce timely and high-quality
statistics that can be utilized for economic
and social development planning, and shall assist
those developing countries and disadvantaged
economies in transition in establishing or strengthening
their statistical training capability and other
related activities.
Article III SITE OF THE INSTITUTE The
Institute shall be located in the Tokyo Metropolitan
Area, Japan.
Article IV ORGANIZATION OF THE INSTITUTE
- The Institute shall
have a Governing Board (hereinafter referred
to as "the Board") and a Director. The Institute
shall have its own budget and staff.
- The Financial and Staff
Regulations of the United Nations shall apply
to the Institute except as may otherwise be
provided by the General Assembly. The Financial
and Staff Rules and the administrative instructions
of the United Nations shall apply to the Institute
except as may otherwise be decided by the
Secretary-General.
Article V GOVERNING BOARD
- The Board shall consist
of a representative nominated by the host
country of the Institute and eight representatives
nominated by other members and associate members
of ESCAP elected by the Commission. The Chairman
of the Committee on Statistics or in her/his
absence one of the Vice-Chairmen, and the
Executive Secretary or her/his representative(s)
shall attend meetings of the Board in non-voting
capacities. The Director of the Institute
shall serve as Secretary of the Board.
- Apart from the representative
nominated by the host country of the Institute,
the members of the Board shall be elected
for a period of five years, but shall be eligible
for re-election. The first election of members
and associate members to the Board will be
held at the Commission session in 1995.
- Governments other than
those specified in paragraph 1 hereinabove,
as well as United Nations organs, international
bodies and national organizations deemed appropriate
by the Board, may be invited to attend its
meetings as observers.
- Sessions of the Board
shall be convened by the Executive Secretary
of ESCAP. The inaugural session shall be convened
as soon as possible after the adoption of
the Statute.
- The Board shall meet
at least once a year and shall adopt its own
rules of procedure. The Board shall meet in
special session whenever a majority of its
members request the Executive Secretary of
ESCAP to convene a special session.
- A quorum for meetings
of the Board shall be a majority of its members.
- Each member of the Board
shall have one vote. Decisions of the Board
shall be made by consensus or, where this
is not possible, by a majority of the members
present and voting.
- The Board shall at each
regular session elect a Chairperson and a
Vice-Chairperson. They shall hold office until
the next regular session of the Board. The
Chairperson or, in her/his absence, the Vice-Chairperson
shall preside at meetings of the Board.
- The Board shall review
the operations of the Institute and shall
consider and adopt the annual and long-term
programmes of work of the Institute. The Board
shall submit an annual report on the implementation
of programmes to the Commission at each of
its sessions. The Board's reports shall also
be submitted to the ESCAP Committee on Statistics
at each of its sessions.
- The Board shall take
into account the recommendations of the Committee
on Statistics on the nature of and priorities
in statistical training for the countries
of the region.
Article VI DIRECTOR AND STAFF
- The Director shall
be appointed by the Secretary-General of the
United Nations, after consultation with the
Board, for a term of, in principle, five years.
The staff of the Institute shall also be appointed
by the Secretary-General. All appointments
shall be fixed-term appointments limited to
service with the Institute and charged against
its manning table.
- The Director shall
administer and manage the affairs of the Institute
within the guidelines laid down by the Board
and shall be responsible to the Executive
Secretary of ESCAP for the implementation
of the work of the Institute. The Director
shall be responsible for the safe custody,
installation and maintenance, insurance and
replacement, as required, of all equipment
provided to the Institute other than equipment
provided by the host Government.
- The Director shall
prepare and submit to the Board an annual
report on the administration and financial
status of the Institute and the implementation
of its programmes.
Article VII FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR
THE INSTITUTE
- The financial resources
of the Institute shall consist of voluntary
contributions in cash or in kind from:
- The Government
of Japan;
- Other Governments;
- United Nations
bodies and specialized agencies;
- Other sources.
- A trust fund shall
be established, under the Financial Regulations
and Rules of the United Nations, for the receipt
and administration of such financial resources.
- The Institute may also
receive contributions of a non-financial nature.
- The Commission, recognizing
that the financial viability of the Institute
is the responsibility of its members and associate
members, shall at each session review the
state of the resources of the Institute on
the basis of the report of the Board and make
such recommendations as it may deem appropriate,
to ensure that timely and adequate resources
are always available to the Institute and
its programmes.
- The Institute shall
be administered on a sound economic and financial
basis.
Article VIII RELATIONS WITH OTHER UNITED
NATIONS BODIES AND SPECIALIZED AGENCIES AND
OTHER INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
The Institute may establish and maintain such
relations as it may deem appropriate with other
United Nations bodies and specialized agencies
and other international institutions.
2. Other recommendations
2. The period 1995-1999 should be declared
the quinquennium for improving civil registration
and vital statistics in the region. 3. UNFPA
should be requested to create a post of sampling
and household surveys adviser for the Bangkok
and Kathmandu Country Support Teams to meet
the growing needs for technical assistance in
those fields. 4. Members and associate members
should be urged to increase their cash contributions
to the Institute.
B.
Major conclusions and decisions for the Commission
to take note of
5. The Committee stressed the importance of
ESIS, currently under development in the secretariat.
It expressed concern that in view of the rapid
pace with which information technology was changing,
the benefits from ESIS might be lost if development
was not fast enough. In that regard the Committee
noted that the resource base of the secretariat
urgently required strengthening, especially
in the further development and maintenance of
ESIS.
6. The Committee expressed concern at the problems
faced by the secretariat in the timely distribution
of its statistical publications generally, and
particularly at the lack of control over the
pricing and distribution of sales copies. The
Committee, therefore, suggested exploring the
use of commercial channels in the sale and distribution
of those publications.
7. The Committee reviewed its terms of reference
on the basis of document E/ESCAP/STAT.9/5. It
confirmed that its name was appropriate and
that it would continue to meet biennially. It
generally agreed with its terms of reference
as proposed by the Working Group of Statistical
Experts in paragraph 9 of document E/ESCAP/STAT.9/5
and decided that those terms of reference should
also include the promotion of the observation
of the fundamental principles of official statistics
adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission
at its special session in 1994. In the light
of the review of the conference structure of
ESCAP scheduled for the fifty-third session
of the Commission in 1997, as envisaged in Commission
resolution 48/2 of 23 April 1992, it decided
that it would consider reviewing its terms of
reference again at its tenth session in 1996
on the basis of a report by the secretariat
with a view to making appropriate recommendations
to the Commission.
8. The Committee recommended that the Working
Group of Statistical Experts should be actively
involved in assisting the Committee to cope
with the expansion of its work.
9. The Committee confirmed that the elected
office-bearers of the Committee on Statistics
would constitute the bureau. The term of office
of the current bureau would be extended to the
end of the tenth session of the Committee, with
a new bureau being elected at that stage following
consultations during that session. The Committee
decided that the officials elected to the bureau
would represent their respective national statistical
organizations, and would not serve in their
personal capacity. While subregional representation
in the bureau was favoured in principle, a flexible
approach was recommended, keeping in view the
effective functioning of the Committee. The
Committee agreed that the provisional terms
of reference of the bureau would be 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 take up any other
matter as may be assigned by the Committee.
10. The Committee stressed the importance of
implementing as promptly as possible the 1993
SNA.
11. The secretariat should provide the services
of an adviser on investment statistics and economic
growth modelling.
12. The secretariat should provide the member
countries with information on available statistical
software packages developed by fellow institutions,
and on the extent of use of information technology
in data collection and coding.
13. With respect to computerization in the
public sector, the Committee requested the secretariat
to undertake activities to create greater awareness
of the role of information technology among
middle and high-level management including senior-level
finance officials in the public sector.
14. The secretariat should draw up appropriate
guidelines to promote national information technology
development and facilitate the management of
technological development in the public sector.
15. The Committee called for greater use of
electronic channels in the acquisition and provision
of data and information both at the national
and international levels, but urged the secretariat
and training institutions not to ignore the
needs of the smaller developing countries for
appropriate tools and basic training in the
use of computers.
16. The Committee concurred with the format
of the experimental integrated presentation
of the work of ESCAP and SIAP. It suggested
that the objectives and priority of each category
of activities should also be presented. It also
felt that the presentation would facilitate
coordination efforts among agencies as well
as minimize duplication of activities, and invited
other organizations as appropriate to supply
relevant information.
17. The Committee endorsed the draft programme
of work proposed for 1996-1997, on the understanding
that the secretariat would take into account
the suggestions made during the present session,
including those related to information technology.
18. The Committee recommended that a meeting
of the Working Group of Statistical Experts
should be convened around November 1995.
II.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMITTEE
A.
Review of statistical and public sector computerization
activities in the region
19. The Committee had before it secretariat
documents: "Secretariat activities in statistics
and public sector computerization" (E/ESCAP/STAT.9/1);
"Evaluation of UNFPA TSS/CST arrangements in
population statistics" (E/ESCAP/STAT.9/1/Add.1);
"Readership survey of ESCAP statistical publications"
(E/ESCAP/STAT.9/1/Add.2); and "Matters arising
from the United Nations Statistical Commission
and other international statistical bodies"
(E/ESCAP/STAT.9/4). It also took note of documents:
"Report of the Working Group of Statistical
Experts on its eighth session" (E/ESCAP/STAT.9/2)
and "Matters arising from the South Pacific
Commission's Ninth Regional Conference of Statisticians"
(E/ESCAP/STAT.9/3).
20. The Committee stressed the importance
of ESIS currently under development in the secretariat.
It was pointed out that the System, which would
be linked to UNESIS, should not be a mere technological
application but a tool towards a better integration
of statistics at the international level.
21. Concern was expressed that in view of the
rapid pace with which information technology
was changing, the benefits from ESIS might be
lost if its development was not fast enough.
The Committee noted that the Statistics Division
was in effect devoting one of its eight posts
full time to the development of the core ESIS
which, with the assistance of consultants, should
be operational by June 1995.
22. The Committee noted several benefits of
electronic transfer of data: reduction of the
response burden of countries, the same set of
information being provided only once to different
organizations, and cheaper and faster data collection
and dissemination by the secretariat. Given
the different types of hardware and software
used by countries, an open system was deemed
most practical for users to access data from
ESIS.
23. Concern was expressed that inadequate training
of personnel in the use of modern technology
could hamper the introduction of those innovations
in data transfer. The Committee, therefore,
suggested that a special training programme
for statistical personnel in the use of modern
electronic hardware should be drawn up.
24. While observing that ESIS would provide
the means to disseminate data in a wide variety
of electronic formats, the Committee noted that
ESCAP would continue to disseminate statistical
data in hard copy also, since the readership
survey indicated that there was still very substantial
demand for data in that form. The Committee
expressed concern at the problems faced by the
secretariat in the timely distribution of its
statistical publications generally, and particularly
at the lack of control over the pricing and
distribution of sales copies. That was a difficulty
shared by UNSTAT and felt more acutely because
statistical publications were the highest revenue
earners among United Nations publications. The
Committee, therefore, suggested exploring the
use of commercial channels in the sale and distribution
of those publications. It noted with appreciation
the World Bank's offer to provide assistance
to ESCAP in data dissemination.
25. As regards the utilization of advisory
services under the UNFPA TSS/CST system, some
countries felt that they were not in a position
to comment on the new arrangements since they
had not had the chance to avail themselves of
the services of the Country Support Teams. The
view was expressed that the new arrangements
tended to compartmentalize statistical activities
and it was, therefore, urged that UNFPA should
instead move towards the support of common facilities
for capacity-building, such as SIAP.
26. The Committee heard with interest country
and agency statements on the salient features
of their statistical activities in the region
over the last two years, focusing on innovations
introduced and problems encountered. Many of
the statements were based on reports circulated
to the Committee (see annex I).
B.
The terms of reference and functioning of the
Committee on Statistics
27. The Committee had before it for consideration
document E/ESCAP/STAT.9/5.
1.
Term of reference of the Committee
28. The Committee expressed its satisfaction
with the review of its own terms of reference
which was conducted by the Working Group of
Statistical Experts in November 1993. During
a wide-ranging general discussion of the terms
of reference, the Committee noted that the revised
text recommended by the Working Group of Statistical
Experts, as it appeared in paragraph 9 of document
E/ESCAP/STAT.9/5, responded to the recommendations
of the Statistical Commission relating to the
strengthening of the regional dimension in international
statistics and particularly the role of the
regional conferences of statisticians. Many
representatives stated that since the terms
of reference had already been reviewed in detail
by the Working Group of Statistical Experts,
further revisions would only require certain
amendments to reflect recent developments and
to make the text simple, general and permanent
in nature. The suggested amendments were related
to clauses 5, 6 and 8 of the revised text, while
a new clause concerning the fundamental principles
of official statistics was introduced between
clauses 2 and 3. One representative was of the
opinion that specific mention could also have
been made in the terms of reference of such
elements as promoting awareness of modern technology,
marketing of statistics and enhancing user orientation.
The Committee decided to take the action noted
in chapter I, part B, paragraph 7 of the present
report, and to annex to the present report the
terms of reference it had agreed to recommend
(see annex II).
2.
Functioning of the Committee on Statistics
29. The Committee noted that the Working Group
of Statistical Experts, at its eighth session
in 1993, had also examined the functioning of
the Committee on Statistics, touching upon various
issues, including the name of the committee,
its periodicity, and the size, composition and
duration of the term of office of its existing
bureau-type arrangement. The Committee was informed
that the important role that the regional commissions
had to play in strengthening international statistical
cooperation was reaffirmed by the United Nations
Statistical Commission at its special session
in April 1994. In line with that, the Committee
noted that its mandate should be specified in
operational terms to enable it to fulfil that
role.
30. The Committee confirmed that its name was
appropriate and that it would continue to meet
biennially. It did not agree with a suggestion
that its sessions be extended beyond five days
to cope with its increased responsibilities
under the revised terms of reference, as that
proposal had financial implications for both
the secretariat and the participating Governments
and would require further referral to the Commission.
The Committee recommended that the Working Group
of Statistical Experts should be actively involved
in assisting the Committee to cope with the
expansion of its work. Inter-agency coordination
arrangements were discussed but no conclusions
were reached; in particular it was felt that
it would not necessarily be appropriate to transplant
the arrangements in place in Africa and other
regions to the ESCAP context.
31. The Committee recognized that there was
a need for continuity of leadership and guidance
between the sessions of the Committee. The Committee
further recognized the desirability of promoting
a greater sense of involvement by the Committee
and its ownership of the programme of activities
being pursued by the secretariat. There was
a wide-ranging discussion of the idea that,
in order to ensure such continuity and involvement,
the office-bearers of the Committee could form
a bureau whose term of office would extend to
the end of the next session of the Committee.
Many delegations favoured a stronger bureau
and agreed that its term of office should be
extended to the end of the next session of the
Committee. One representative expressed doubt
about the soundness of the bureau approach and
felt it more appropriate that it be raised for
consideration by the Commission. Others considered
that the approach could be adopted on an experimental
basis. The Committee was informed that as a
subsidiary body of the Commission, it was empowered
to establish its own rules of procedure, and
it noted that in several international forums,
including the Statistical Commission, the Conference
of European Statisticians and the Regional Conference
of Statisticians of SPC, the approach of using
the bureau to ensure continuity had worked very
well, while ECLAC was also planning to use the
same approach. The Committee decided that the
term of office of the current bureau would be
extended to the end of the tenth session of
the Committee, with a new bureau being elected
at that stage following consultations during
that session. The Committee agreed that the
provisional terms of reference of the bureau
would be 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 take up any other
matter as may be assigned by the Committee.
32. The Committee decided that the officials
elected to the bureau would represent their
respective national statistical organizations,
and would not serve in their personal capacity.
While subregional representation in the bureau
was favoured in principle, a flexible approach
was recommended keeping in view the effective
functioning of the Committee.
33. It was noted that while greater country
participation in the Committee should be encouraged,
other measures could also be used to obtain
inputs from countries, such as through the submission
of papers and inputs from meetings of subregional
groupings.
34. The Committee noted that the resources
available to the statistics subprogramme of
ESCAP were not sufficient to discharge additional
responsibilities arising from the Statistical
Commission's recommendations as well as the
legislative action at the regional level. The
need to allocate existing resources adequately
and seek a greater share of resources available
within ESCAP or within the international statistical
community was emphasized, and the Committee
also recognized the desirability of supplementing
the secretariat's resources from bilateral sources.
C.
Issues relating to the development of statistics,
including those in support of the themes of
the Commission
35. For consideration of the agenda item, six
papers were presented to the Committee. Those
were secretariat notes: "Issues relating to
the development of statistics, including those
in support of the themes of the Commission"
(E/ESCAP/STAT.9/6) and "Implementation of the
1993 System of National Accounts in the developing
economies of ESCAP" (E/ESCAP/STAT.9/6/Add.1);
three papers were contributed by countries at
the invitation of the secretariat: "Foreign
direct investment statistics in Malaysia" (E/ESCAP/STAT.9/7);
"Monitoring social and human development goals
in Sri Lanka" (E/ESCAP/STAT.9/8); and "Environmental
statistics and natural resources accounting"
(Indonesia) (E/ESCAP/STAT.9/9); and the World
Bank presented a paper entitled "International
Comparison Programme (ICP): the reduced information
initiative" (E/ESCAP/STAT.9/20).
36. In its discussions on the 1993 SNA the
Committee stressed the importance of implementing
it as promptly as possible even as it recognized
the difficulty that some countries might face
in preparing for its implementation. It noted
that questionnaires would be sent to countries
sometime in 1997 to gather data relating to
the years 1995 and 1996, with 1995 as the link
year to the old System.
37. To assist countries in implementing the
new System promptly, the Committee emphasized
the need to give priority to the training of
statisticians in national accounts. It noted
with appreciation the offer of the Government
of Japan to provide assistance to SIAP for that
purpose. The Committee proposed other measures
to support implementation. The secretariat was
advised to ensure that it was able to provide
technical support to countries in the revised
System. A number of agencies reported their
work on developing handbooks and papers on various
topics related to the 1993 SNA. The Committee
stressed that special attention would need to
be given to the disadvantaged economies in transition.
The role of the OECD and the CIS in assisting
SNA implementation in the Central Asian republics
was noted with appreciation.
38. In its consideration of a least-cost option
for extending ICP-type coverage to countries
of the region, the Committee supported the World
Bank initiative in adopting a reduced information
approach as described in E/ESCAP/STAT.9/20.
It recommended that the reduced list of items
proposed should be disseminated to developing
countries to encourage and hasten adoption of
that approach. Despite the assurance by the
World Bank representative that the ICP results
would not be used to the detriment of country
standings in lending and donor agencies, the
Committee felt that, to encourage wider participation,
the benefits of ICP to participating countries
needed to be elaborated. It noted with interest
that China, while recognizing the need for more
methodological research, was considering enlarging
the scope of its participation in ICP. The Committee
also noted with approval the efforts of OECD
to bring the Central Asian republics into ICP.
39. The Committee, in noting the progress in
developing foreign direct investment data in
Malaysia, felt none the less that in general
such statistics were weak in the region. Some
countries were able only to publish data on
approved rather than actual investments. Agencies
sometimes required investment data by sector,
which were even more difficult to obtain. The
Committee recommended that ESCAP provide the
services of an adviser on investment statistics
and economic growth modelling to assist developing
countries.
40. The Committee was informed that the Expert
Group Meeting on Regional Databases: Trade in
Goods, had been convened in Bangkok on 28 and
29 November 1994. The Meeting had discussed
the demand, availability and gaps in trade data
and identified problems regarding access to
them. Noting the usefulness of trade statistics
for policy formulation in trade promotion, the
Committee asked countries to respond to the
extent possible to the request of the experts
for the supply of national trade statistics
in machine-readable format to ESCAP, as described
in document E/ESCAP/STAT.9/6.
41. In its deliberations on the measurement
of poverty, the Committee stressed the need
to develop standard concepts and definitions
and to conduct more micro-level studies on the
correlates of poverty. It recognized that income/expenditure
data were useful in measuring poverty. However,
it felt that more research was required before
it was able to endorse the recommendation by
the Expert Group Meeting on National Poverty
Concepts and Measurement in the ESCAP Region
that the focus be shifted from a nutritional
norm to overall purchasing parity. Recognizing
the importance of monitoring progress in poverty
alleviation, the Committee cautioned that monitoring
of poverty levels for small geographic areas
could prove costly and result in poor quality
data.
42. The Committee took note of the recommendations
of the East and South Asian Workshop on Strategies
for Accelerating the Improvement of Civil Registration
and Vital Statistics Systems, which was held
in Beijing in 1993. In particular it endorsed
the recommendation that the period 1995-1999
be declared the quinquennium for improving civil
registration and vital statistics.
43. The Committee was also informed of the
activities of INSTRAW, including its work on
time-use allocation, and noted that the Institute
was in a position to collaborate with both the
secretariat and individual countries in substantive
areas of work. It also noted the concern of
INSTRAW for valuation of unpaid work and the
Jakarta Declaration for the Advancement of Women
in Asia and the Pacific calling on all statistical
offices to compile statistics for a more accurate
valuation of the contribution of women to economic
development.
44. To meet the growing need for technical
assistance in the design of demographic and
related surveys, the Committee recommended that
UNFPA consider the creation of an additional
post on sampling and household surveys for the
Country Support Teams located in Bangkok and
Kathmandu.
45. The Committee likewise recognized that
technical assistance was needed in the area
of environment statistics. It noted with interest
that the Government of Japan was hosting an
international symposium on environmental accounting
in March 1996. The Committee also noted that
the secretariat was in the process of preparing
an operational handbook on environment statistics
and had taken steps to implement a project on
environmental and natural resource accounting
in a few selected countries in the region.
D.
Development of national statistical services
and capabilities
46. The Committee had before it the document:
"Development of national statistical services
and capabilities" (E/ESCAP/STAT.9/10 and Corr.1),
and two papers contributed by countries at the
invitation of the secretariat on "Human resources
capability build-up in a statistical coordination
agency" (Philippines) (E/ESCAP/STAT.9/11), and
"Statistics from administrative records" (Fiji)
(E/ESCAP/STAT.9/12).
47. The Committee noted the fundamental importance
of developing national statistical capabilities,
and recognized the role of SIAP in that regard.
It also noted the desirability of building up
a permanent institutional capability in data
processing. It was recognized that while enhancements
in the use of information technology were important,
further work should equally emphasize the importance
of developing improved statistical methodologies
for data production and analysis. The Committee
further noted that improvement in the provision
of statistics also required the training of
statisticians in other related subjects.
48. In considering the use of information technology
in statistical operations, the Committee noted
that it was more cost-effective to utilize where
possible existing statistical software packages
developed by statistical institutions rather
than develop tailor-made programs or use commercial
software packages for statistical applications,
which had various drawbacks. The Committee requested
the secretariat to provide information on the
availability of such software packages developed
by statistical institutions and on the extent
of the use of information technology in the
various stages of statistical operations, particularly
in data collection and computer-aided coding.
49. It was noted that the quality of statistics
from administrative reporting systems, for example,
health statistics, was determined to a great
extent by the capability of the data collectors
in the field who in many instances had not had
appropriate and sufficient training in statistics.
It was thus recommended that basic statistical
training should be provided to those data collectors.
50. It was noted that improvements in national
capabilities could be hastened by sharing information
on statistical developments among the member
countries through journals and other printed
materials. The secretariat was requested to
encourage the practice among the member countries.
E.
Issues relating to the Statistical Institute
for Asia and the Pacific, including progress
towards a more durable institutional framework
51. The Committee had before it two documents:
"Report of the Project Manager/Director of the
Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific"
(E/ESCAP/STAT.9/13) and the secretariat note
"Draft statute of the Statistical Institute
for Asia and the Pacific" (E/ESCAP/STAT.9/14).
52. The Committee noted with appreciation the
efforts made by SIAP to meet the increased demand
for training in the region by increasing the
number of courses conducted by the Institute
in Tokyo as well as through an extensive outreach
programme, and urged the Institute to maintain
that momentum. It noted the call of the SIAP
Director for countries to be selective in their
choice of nominees to training courses to maximize
the benefits therefrom.
53. The Committee noted that the recent adoption
by the United Nations of the revised SNA brought
with it a requirement to orient and train statisticians
for the implementation of the new System. It
also noted the need to provide training related
to the production of statistics needed to support
policy initiatives in such fields as poverty
alleviation and gender-based planning.
54. The importance of providing training materials
in the form of manuals and videotapes was recognized
by the Committee. It was also suggested that
the Institute should attempt to provide its
training materials in the CD-ROM and computer
diskette formats, and that SIAP should exchange
training materials with other organizations
providing statistical training, such as OECD
and CIS.
55. The Committee noted the success with which
SIAP had provided services for 25 years to official
statisticians of countries in the region, and
expressed the need to strengthen support to
SIAP, as statistical capability had to be continuously
improved through training. It expressed appreciation
to the Government of Japan for hosting and supporting
the Institute and also expressed gratitude to
UNDP for the valuable assistance provided to
the Institute since its establishment in 1970.
It warmly welcomed the announcement by UNDP
to provide, on an exceptional basis, funding
of US$ 300,000 to SIAP for programme activities
related to human development indicators, covering
the year April 1995 to March 1996.
56. Given the increasing demand for training
and the resulting envisaged increase in expenditure,
the Committee urged members and associate members
to increase their cash contributions to the
Institute. In particular, non-contributing member
countries which were receiving assistance from
the Institute were strongly urged to make an
annual cash payment to SIAP.
57. The Committee noted with satisfaction the
adoption of Commission resolution 50/5 of 13
April 1994 on the status of the Statistical
Institute for Asia and the Pacific, in which
the Commission recommended that SIAP acquire
the status of a subsidiary body of ESCAP as
of 1 April 1995.
58. As requested by the Commission, a draft
statute of SIAP was placed before the Committee
for review. After discussion, and subject to
later clarification by the Government of Japan
on its position on certain articles in the draft,
the Committee agreed on the text of a draft
resolution for consideration and adoption by
the Commission at its fifty-first session in
April/May 1995. The text appears in chapter
I of the present report.
F.
Computerization in the public sector
59. The Committee had before it secretariat
document: "Issues in computerization in the
public sector" (E/ESCAP/STAT.9/15), and two
papers contributed by countries at the invitation
of the secretariat: "Informatics for development"
(India) (E/ESCAP/STAT.9/16), and "Computerization
in the Singapore Civil Service" (E/ESCAP/STAT.9/17).
The Committee was reminded that computerization
in the public sector was an important area of
concern assigned to the Committee.
60. Several countries related their experiences
in developing national information systems,
highlighting the progress in electronic networking
at organization and country levels. Some countries
with strong centralized agencies responsible
for the coordination of public sector computerization,
information technology and related human resources
development, had many benefits to report, especially
when the agencies were established as integral
components of national information technology
policy. The Committee felt that appropriate
guidelines should be devised by the secretariat
to promote national information technology development
and facilitate the management of technological
development in the public sector. It also suggested
that the secretariat look into the information
technology questions in different countries
and provide feedback to members and associate
members.
61. The Committee emphasized that public sector
computerization initiatives should take into
account the different stages of economic and
infrastructure development in the region. The
Committee requested the secretariat to pay greater
attention to the training of middle-level and
senior-level management in the public sector
in computerization and information technology
in general, and to creating awareness of the
role of information technology among statisticians
and administrators, including senior-level finance
officials. It was pointed out that the lack
of up-to-date technological knowledge sometimes
prevented management from making strong arguments
in support of information technology acquisitions,
resulting in failure to obtain sufficient financial
support. Some countries reported a need for
financial and technical assistance from international
and bilateral donors to develop their national
information infrastructure.
62. The Committee supported the proposed regional
study on information technology developments
and policy initiatives outlined in document
E/ESCAP/STAT.9/15. The Committee noted that
the expert group meeting to review computerization
development in the public sector, to be held
in 1995, would review the objectives of that
study and would also give guidance for the secretariat's
future programme in public sector computerization.
63. The Committee called for greater use of
electronic channels in national and international
acquisition and provision of data and information.
It noted that information technology was permeating
all fields of statistics and was substantially
improving statistical information systems in
many countries. However, the Committee urged
the secretariat and training institutions not
to ignore the needs of the smaller developing
countries for appropriate tools and basic training
in the use of computers. It also stressed that
similar attention be given to the statistical
field personnel in formulating computer networking
programmes for a more efficient transfer of
information from the field to the data-processing
centre.
G.
Programmes of work, 1994-1995 and 1996-1997,
in statistics, including an integrated presentation
of ESCAP and SIAP work
64. The Committee had before it the following
documents: "Implementation of the programme
of work 1994-1995 and draft programme of work
1996-1997" (E/ESCAP/STAT.9/18); and "Experimental
presentation of work programmes of ESCAP and
SIAP, 1994-1995" (E/ESCAP/STAT.9/19).
65. In considering the draft programme of work
for 1996-1997, the Committee noted that the
secretariat would take into account the various
suggestions made during the present session,
including those related to information technology.
On that understanding, the Committee endorsed
the draft programme of work for 1996-1997.
66. The Committee welcomed the experimental
presentation of the work programmes of ESCAP
and SIAP, 1994-1995, which it felt would facilitate
coordination efforts among agencies as well
as minimize duplication of activities. It concurred
with the format of presentation in general but
considered it useful to include the objectives
of the work in each category presented as well
as an indication of priority, as was the practice
in the integrated presentation of work programmes
for the Conference of European Statisticians.
That information would facilitate an evaluation
of the effectiveness of the activities concerned.
The Committee noted, however, that considerable
work would be needed to formulate objectives
for each of the categories in the classification
utilized in the presentation. The Committee
welcomed the offer by the representatives of
OECD and SPC to provide their relevant work
programme activities for inclusion in the presentation,
and invited other agencies to consider following
suit.
67. The Committee was informed that though
the presentation on the activities scheduled
for 1994 and 1995 gave the impression that there
would be a reduction of activities in 1995,
that was not necessarily the case. Some activities
initiated in 1994 would be carried over to 1995,
and a large number of activities dependent on
extrabudgetary funds were being programmed only
now, and hence did not appear in document E/ESCAP/STAT.9/19.
H.
Other matters
68. The Committee agreed that a Working Group
of Statistical Experts should be convened around
November 1995. A number of topics, including
the use of information technology in statistics,
and a review of the implementation arrangements
for the 1993 SNA, were suggested for that meeting.
The Committee invited member countries to suggest
other possible topics to the secretariat before
the end of 1994.
69. The Committee considered the tentative
provisional agenda for its tenth session. Several
issues and proposals were discussed including
the possibility of including specific statistical
themes, and the appropriate balance between
substantive and procedural items. The Committee
requested the secretariat to take note of the
proposals, and others that might be added by
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