IOM 34th SCPF Item 14(b) Transformative data for action, insight and foresight EU Statement

IOM 34th SCPF - Item 14(b) Transformative data for action, insight and foresight - EU Statement

International Organization for Migration

34th Session of the Standing Committee on Programmes and Finance

12-13 June 2024

Item 14(b) - Transformative data for action, insight and foresight

Statement on behalf of the European Union and its Member States

Geneva, 13 June 2024

Chair, Director General, Excellences and Distinguished Delegates,

I am speaking on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The candidate countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Ukraine, Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina[*]and Georgia, the EFTA country Norway, member of the European Economic Area, as well as Armenia align themselves with this statement.

1. We welcome the update on the activities of IOM's Global Data Institute. We appreciate the focus by the Director General on improving data collection and analysis to underpin evidence-based policies and practices worldwide. This is in line with EU objectives and efforts.
2. We share the view that data collection and analysis on migration and forced displacement is often fragmented and that this situation calls for more coordination, consistency and compatibility across data sets in the UN system and globally. To this end we welcome the joint commitment of IOM and UNHCR to strengthened cooperation within the field of data.
3. In the EU, we have dedicated considerable efforts in the past years to improve data coordination. A notable example is our Migration Preparedness and Crisis Blueprint Network, the EU's operational framework established by the European Commission for monitoring and anticipating migration flows and situations, building resilience, as well as organising a coordinated response to migration crises.
4. The degree of complexity and interrelation of factors that characterise migration patterns, drivers and facilitating factors calls for continuous efforts to strengthen and bring together existing data collections, explore avenues to harness the potential of innovative data and methodologies, pool different expertise worldwide to increase the accuracy of analysis, and experiment on how technological progress can best serve the growing needs for foresight. We would also like to stress the importance of do-no-harm principle when it comes to data collection and management.
5. The EU and its Member States value and rely on data and analyses produced by IOM. IOM is a key contributor to the Migration Preparedness and Crisis Blueprint Network. IOM's contribution has proven fundamental to establishing a common situational awareness on migratory routes from countries of origin and transit and to detecting new migration trends more quickly.
6. We welcome the country-level repository developed by the Global Data Institute. We look forward for these data and related analytical outputs to be made available on the Global Migration Data Portal, together with the rolling out of continental data initiatives. We value the data of the "Missing migrants project" that reflects the risks of irregular migration. We also appreciate the importance of establishing an early warning system. We welcome efforts to further enhance the DTM methodology and standardise its field approach, the improvements to the disaggregation of data and data-driven strategic foresight, including climate impact modelling.
7. These efforts will further enhance our collective understanding of migration-related drivers, patterns and profiles along the entire route and across routes, including inter and intra-regional movements. They will also contribute to developing more effective and evidence-based policies and to improving preparedness, foresight and anticipatory actions. We therefore encourage IOM to continue supporting the capacity building of national authorities and promoting policy decisions informed by data. Finally, these endeavours will also better inform communication and narratives on migration and displacement based on facts and evidence.
8. We fully support IOM's efforts to explore and develop foresight and foster a forward-looking culture. We are confident IOM's efforts will be crucial to build, collectively, a better situational awareness and capacity for anticipation, preparedness and resilience. We encourage further cooperation and data sharing with other organisations to increase inter-operability and avoid duplication.
9. The EU and its Member States are striving to offer evidence-based migration solutions and we will collaborate with IOM and its Global Data Institute towards a more informed and effective approach to migration and displacement.

Thank you!

[*]North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.