Sent on behalf of the International Monitoring Operation for the 2013 Census in BiH
Information for media from the International Monitoring Operation for the Census 2013 in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Census and the International Monitoring Operation
What is a population and housing census and why is it important ?
The population and housing census produces the official counting of the population in the territory of a country together with a comprehensive description of the population and their living conditions with detailed information on demographic, social and economic conditions. The population census is unique as it gives information on small geographic areas, information that cannot be collected by surveys. The census is the starting point for planning on a wide range of areas in society. The data collected enables decision makers to make sound decisions, for instance, when building schools, hospitals and roads.
The International Monitoring Operation
The European Commission through Eurostat (the Statistical Office of the EU), its own Directorate-General for Enlargement, the Council of Europe, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, United Nations Statistics Division and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) are monitoring the preparations and the implementation of the census. These organisations oversee that the international standards are being followed and that the census results are credible. The Monitoring Operation is supervising different stages of the collection and processing of data to prevent possible mishandling of the census data. The presence of the International Organisations will promote a fair census with respect to all ethnic groups in the area and provide legitimacy to the data and help them being recognised by the international community. It also controls the privacy and confidentiality of the collected data.
Who performs the monitoring for the census ?
A group of six census experts is responsible for conducting the monitoring activities. These experts are specialised in demography, censuses, population statistics, cartography, data processing and communication. Their expertise since the start of the preparations and throughout all the steps of the operation will ensure that the recommendations and standards for the censuses, from design of questionnaires to the processing of data are respected.
For the data collection phase (1 to 15 October 2013) the experts have the assistance of 28 international observers from all over Europe whose role is to observe the enumeration. They will visit households together with the enumerators and observe the proceedings without interfering. Their presence in the field will last for the whole duration of the field operation up to the storage of questionnaires at the census commissions and therefore helping the International Monitoring Operation to assess the fairness and transparency of the data collection.
The International Monitoring Operation will send its assessment report of the fieldwork to the Council of Ministers about a fortnight after the end of the monitoring.
The IMO will also hold a press conference at the end of the census, this will be announced in due course.
