On International Migrants Day, IOM and the State Statistics Service of Ukraine co-hosted a webinar to discuss the implementation of the International Recommendations on IDP Statistics (IRIS), endorsed by the UN Statistical Commission (UNSC) in March 2020. As a result of the webinar, a working group consisting of representatives from the government, the United Nations and NGOs will be established to develop a roadmap for implementing the recommendations and supporting durable solutions for displaced communities across Ukraine.

Over 1.4 million individuals are officially registered by the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine as internally displaced persons (IDPs). In conditions of protracted displacement, the issues of permanent housing, stable employment, and decent living conditions have remained acute for IDPs and their households for almost seven years. Reliable statistical information is needed to both advise solutions for leaving no one behind and to measure progress towards them.

The International Recommendations on IDP Statistics are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. In particular, recommendations highlight the importance of a national population and housing census as a mean to better understand displacement and to contribute to the development of evidence-based policy for IDPs and non-displaced citizens. The webinar participants discussed how the tools and mechanisms suggested by IRIS can facilitate a more comprehensive understanding of the experience of displacement and contribute to exercises such as the fulfilment of an all of Ukraine population census approved by the Cabinet of Ministers in December 2020.

The webinar was held within the IOM project aimed at humanitarian assistance and early recovery of the conflict-affected communities in Eastern Ukraine funded by the Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.

Globally, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has been contributing to an inter-agency and inter-governmental groups on displacement statistics over the past few years.[1] In Ukraine, IOM has been conducting quarterly surveys of the situation with IDPs since 2016. The International Recommendations on IDP Statistics were developed by the Expert Group on Refugee and IDP Statistics (EGRIS) in cooperation with 40 organizations.[2] The State Statistics Service of Ukraine is a member of the EGRIS Steering Committee since September 2020.