ISI - International Statistical Institute
Newsletter Volume 26, No. 1 (76) 2002

Message from the President

Dear Colleagues, 

This has been a relatively quiet time in the life of the ISI, the lull after the vibrant Seoul Session. It is also prior to our next Executive Committee meeting in March. However, I have outlined a number of happenings which I thought might be of interest. 

First, the agenda for our next Executive Committee meeting in March contains a number of important items, such as, 

 The biennial Sessions are probably our most important activity. Preparations for the 54th Session in Berlin continue to proceed according to schedule. The invited papers programme, as published in the last edition of the ISI Newsletter, offers a lot for everyone. It should be a great occasion. Please plan to come and set aside 13-20 August 2003 in your diary. 

Plans are also advancing for the ISI Session to be held in Sydney in April 2005. I am Chair of the National Organising Committee (NOC) and will be keeping you informed of the latest developments. The Session will be held at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre on Darling Harbour, close to the CBD. The last NOC meeting was held there in collaboration with our selected Professional Conference Organiser (which is associated with the PCO being used for Berlin so there will be some continuity). We have decided what space will be used for each of the ISI Session activities. Reservations have been made at nearby hotels, covering a range of prices. It will be a great venue, which will enable participants to readily enjoy the cultural and other experiences of Sydney as well as the scientific programme. 

Stephan Morgenthaler of EPFL - DMA (Lausanne, Switzerland) has kindly agreed to be the Program Chair for the 2005 ISI Session. There are some continuity benefits from this appointment as Stephan is on the Programme Committee for the 2003 ISI Session. 

As I noted in my last column, one of my goals is to increase developing country participation in ISI activities, particularly as regards younger statisticians who are our future. As you will know this is one of the objectives of the ISI Development Fund. The Fund has the broad support of the ISI membership. However, in Seoul, both the ISI Executive and the General Assembly asked that the criteria for selecting successful candidates be reviewed. This has been done and the new criteria are printed elsewhere in this Newsletter and on the ISI web site. We may want to refine this further in the light of experience. We will consider this during the Berlin ISI Session.

The ISI Standing Committee on Professional Ethics, which was formed prior to the Seoul Session, has become active particularly through the efforts of its Chair, Prof. Dr. Eckart Elsner and Mr. Jean-Louis Bodin. They are planning a Conference in July in Berlin where the main focus will be to review the 1985 ISI Declaration on Professional Ethics. The Declaration had stood us very well but much has changed over the last 17 years and it is timely to examine whether it should be changed in any way. Details of the Conference are provided elsewhere in this Newsletter. 

Finally, I would like to mention a matter of great concern. We received information that the Palestinian Statistical Office had been raided by Israeli troops and that various pieces of equipment, PC's and statistical records (including Census records) had been taken.Whilst it is not the role of ISI to get involved in conflicts such as is happening between Israel and Palestine, the taking and possible misuse of individual statistical returns is of great concern. Actions such as these do not help countries with accurate Census taking.

 In light of the above, I have written to the Israeli Ambassador in my own country (Australia) and in the Netherlands (where the ISI Permanent Office is located). A copy of this letter is attached. I am also aware that several countries have expressed their concern through governmental channels. I have not received a reply to my letter as of yet. When we do, or when any other relevant information comes to light, we will advise ISI members through the Newsletter, and ISI Council members via the Council listserver. 

All the best for a prosperous and peaceful 2002.

 Dennis Trewin 

 

The Ambassador 
Embassy of Israel 
6 Turrana Street 
YARRALUMLA ACT 2600

 Dear Sir,

 I am writing to you on behalf of the international statistical community to protest strongly about the Israeli invasion of the Palestinian Statistical Office. I am President of the International Statistical Institute, the peak professional association of statisticians. 

The information we received suggests that Israeli armed forces occupied the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics for six hours, in Al Bireh outside Ramallah. Soldiers entered the building by force. They ruined and confiscated equipment, computers and data including documentation from the Population and Household Census 1997. Blank cheques, copies of financial accounts and personal belongings of the employees apparently were taken.

 According to the information we have received, employees present in the building were interrogated and tortured during the occupation. Before the soldiers left the building, they were seen carrying heavy boxes with a non-identified content inside. 

A special concern is that the records of individuals have been taken, particularly those from the Population and Household Census. As you may be aware, Census records from the Netherlands were taken by the Germans during the Second World War to identify the location of Jewish people. This abuse of statistical records has received continuing widespread condemnation, most recently at an international Conference on Statistics and Human Rights in Switzerland. The abuse has meant that it has not been possible for Netherlands to conduct a successful Census since the war. It has also made it difficult for many European countries to conduct Censuses. Any use of individual information confiscated from a statistical organisation will be a serious threat to the principles for protection of confidentiality established in most countries. To confiscate such data is a provocative action towards the fundamental principles for official statistical production, adopted by UN Statistical Commission.

 The news of the invasion of the Palestinian Statistical Office has spread widely throughout the international statistical community. It is of particular concern to those countries who have helped build the Palestinian Statistical Office. Several Jewish members of the Institute have also expressed their concern to me. The Director of the Palestine Statistical Office has been an active and respected contributor to international statistical discussions. For all these reasons, the invasion is reflecting very badly on Israel's image. I am also aware that a number of statisticians have protested to their Ministries for Foreign Affairs. 

The members of a Statistical Office should not be treated in this way even during a period of conflict. On behalf of the international statistical community, I want to protest strongly about these actions. If there is some explanation for these events, please let me know. I can communicate that to the 5000 members of the International Statistical Institute. Furthermore, we would ask all items and equipment that have been removed, especially any data from the Population and Housing Census, be returned as soon as possible. 

Yours faithfully 
Dennis Trewin 
President 
19 December 2001

 
The ISI letter to the Israeli government about the Israeli invasion of the Palestinian Statistical Office as published in the previous edition of the ISI newsletter contains incorrect information on the Population Census in the Netherlands.
  1. Contrary to the text, no Census records from the Netherlands were taken by the Germans during the Second World War to identify the location of Jewish people. A current population register was available - and heavily misused - at that time for that purpose. The 1940 Population Census was cancelled given the political circumstances. The tabulations of the previous - 1930 - Population Census were outdated in many respects. The alleged misuse of Census records did not take place.
  2. Furthermore, the text states that this abuse meant that it has not been possible for the Netherlands to conduct a successful census since the war. Unless one is willing to qualify the Dutch Population Census of 1947, 1960 and 1971 as unsuccessful, this text is obviously not true either. In recent years the Netherlands has proceeded with an administrative Population Census, due to a combination of efficiency and other considerations. The alleged confiscation and abuse of Population Census records by the Germans during the war has never been one of those reasons.
We apologise for this unintentional misinformation, in particular for any embarrassment it may have caused for Statistics Netherlands.

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