A glimpse into the issue’s content:

(https://content.iospress.com/journals/statistical-journal-of-the-iaos/40/2),

Editorial – The 55^th session of the UN Statistical Commission: promoting inclusivity and protecting statistical systems from political interference by Editor in Chief – Pietro Gennari

The editorial offers a summary of the key outcomes and some reflections on the 55th session of the UN Statistical Commission (UNSC), held this year from February 27 to March 1, at the UN Headquarters in New York. This year’s event, which saw the participation of over 600 experts from 129 countries, 45 regional and international agencies, and 8 international NGO, produced a series of pivotal decisions that are expected to have profound implications for the future of the global statistical system. These decisions cover a wide variety of topics, from the expansion of country’s membership, to methodological enhancements in various statistical domains, to the establishment of working groups for the discussion and development of statistical standards in new areas.

First and foremost, however, the fifty-fifth session of the Commission was the occasion to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the endorsement of the UN Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics (FPOS) by the Commission itself and the 10th anniversary of their approval at the highest political level, by the UN General Assembly. With the objective of strengthening their implementation at country level, the Commission discussed the proposals to establish an Independent Advisory Board on the FPOS (IAB) and to revise the FPOS Implementation Guidelines. After a lengthy debate, the Commission chose to put on hold the creation of the IAB, until revised terms of reference, membership and criteria for the selection of experts were decided ‘through a transparent and inclusive consultation process’.

The strong disagreement expressed during the session on the formulation of the ToR of the IAB on the FPOS and its proposed membership reflects the opposition of countries to the establishment of a perceived watchdog that would have interfered in their sovereignty and national prerogatives. While countries supported the IAB’s advocacy and guidance role, they were wary of its monitoring function. However, removing from the ToR of the Independent Advisory Board the whistleblower’s responsibility to address any episode of non-compliance with the FPOS, leaves a huge gap in its assurance framework as there would be no international mechanism that has the authority to call the attention of the global statistical community and their institutions to these infringements of the FPOS.

Political interference and, more generally, any form of political pressure in official statistics pose significant threats to the integrity, credibility, and utility of statistical data. The system currently implemented for monitoring and enforcement of the UN FPOS at global level, based on the survey carried out every ten years by UNSD, is inherently weak, episodic, and bound to provide a rosier perspective on their actual application. In fact, the survey is based on a self-assessment questionnaire, which relies completely on data provided by national statistical offices and political authorities. Self-assessment practices should be supplemented by external examination, verification, and follow-up monitoring conducted by an independent party to ensure a higher level of quality from a global perspective, given that official statistics are a global public good serving the needs of the entire global community, not only those of national policy-makers or national stakeholders. For these reasons, establishing an independent advisory body to the UN Statistical Commission has the potential to mitigate the risks of political interference and strengthen the integrity of official statistics. Certainly, careful consideration must be given to its mandate, membership, and operational mechanisms to ensure its effectiveness and legitimacy. Collaboration with member states will be essential in navigating the complexities and challenges of implementing such a body successfully.

Interview with Stefan Schweinfest

Now, turning our attention to the content of the Journal, the latest issue of the SJIAOS, starts with an insightful interview with Stefan Schweinfest, director of the UN Statistics Division, carried out by Pieter Everaers. In this interview, Stefan Schweinfest talks about his career and professional milestones, discussing the evolving responsibilities of the UN Statistics Division in response to the increased complexity of the data ecosystem landscape. He also elaborates on the contribution of the SDGs to the development of national statistical systems, the emergence of the Geographic Information System community, and the important role of the UN Fundamental Principles for Official Statistics for the global statistical system.

Special Section: The Future of Agricultural Statistics

The core of the June issue is dedicated to the Future of Agricultural Statistics. This section of the Journal, organized by Linda J. Young as Guest Editor, comprises twelve papers selected from those presented at the ninth International Conference on Agricultural Statistics (ICAS IX), which was held at the World Bank headquarters in Washington, DC, on May 17–19, 2023. The selected papers explore various themes and advancements shedding light on the latest innovations as well as on the changing needs and prospects that are going to shape the future of agricultural statistics. These twelve papers cover a wide array of topics: from discussions on modernization efforts within National Statistical Offices, to the incorporation of machine learning algorithms in agricultural surveys; from the analysis of household consumption data for food security, to the assessment of climate change impacts on water resources.

Surveys in Times of COVID-19 and in Difficult Settings

This section includes two papers: the first one examines the impact of the changes in the survey data collection methods adopted by Statistics Netherlands in response to the disruption of face-to-face interviews caused by the COVID pandemic; while the second paper is a simulation study aimed at addressing the challenges of sampling in difficult settings, particularly when little is known about the population being surveyed.

Time Series Analysis

This section comprises five papers that delve into various aspects of time series analysis and its applications in economic research and forecasting. The focus shifts to exploring innovative methodologies and data sources to enhance forecasting accuracy and gain fresh insights into economic dynamics.