On 22 April 2013, the Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW) held a half-day general discussion in Geneva on the importance of migration statistics for treaty reporting and migration policies.

The discussion took place during the eighteenth session of the Committee at the United Nations Office in Geneva (Palais Wilson).

After a general introduction, a panel discussion focused on best practices in obtaining reliable and quality migration statistics including information on:

1. States and local governments which have good data collection and analysis systems;
2. Collaboration with non-governmental actors for obtaining reliable information on statistics relating to the informal sector or on migrants workers in an irregular situation and members of their families and other “hidden” populations;
3. Inter-State cooperation; and
4. Data protection and privacy.

General documentation

1. Programme
2. Background note
3. Concept paper: English | Français | Español

Statements

• Welcoming Remarks by Mr. Abdelhamid El Jamri, Chair of the CMW Committee
• Opening Remarks by Mr. Craig Mokhiber, Chief, Development and Economic and Social Issues Branch, RRDD, OHCHR (Moderator)
• Closing Remarks by Mr. Azad Taghizade, Vice-Chair of the CMW Committee

Keynote speakers' presentations

• Ms. Miriam Chaves, Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Argentina to the United Nations Office in Geneva
• Mr. Nicolas Fasel, Human Rights Officer, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
• Ms. Khedidja Ladjel, Member of the Committee for the Protection of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
• Dr. Martin Ruhs, University Lecturer in Political Economy, Oxford University Department for Continuing Education, Senior Research Fellow, Kellogg College, University of Oxford
• Mr. Patrick Taran, President, Global Migration Policy Associates
• Ms. Yoshie Noguchi, Senior Legal Specialist, International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), International Labour Organization
• Dr. Frank Laczko, Head, Migration Research Division, International Organization for Migration
• Ms. Michele Levoy, Director, Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) and Submission by PICUM
• Mr. Jason Schachter, Statistician and Focal Point on Migration Statistics, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
• Mr. Sebastian Baumeister, Expert (Migrant Smuggling Analyst), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific

The views expressed in the submissions online are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Committee.