General Assembly Resolution #720 “Statistical Data Practice” (Category: Political Stability; Strength: Mild) shall be struck out and rendered null and void.
The World Assembly,
Acknowledging that, while rigor and accountability are both essential for high-quality statistical methodologies, GA#720 “Statistical Data Practice” not only falls short of both of these benchmarks in a number of ways, but massively overextends the long arm of international law in doing so,
Certain that GA#720 “Statistical Data Practice” does not meet international scientific standards due to it:
- Requiring ‘transparent’ decision making at all times, which could pose a particular danger to minority groups; for instance, a member state with only a small transgender population could publish all of the data they collect in their surveys about gender identity, thereby potentially endangering the safety of every single trans person in their territory by indirectly identifying them,
- Demanding that all parameters be set prior to a survey’s start, precluding the possibility of developing dynamic algorithms in the process of survey collection, e.g., via transfer learning, or even of correcting minor grammatical errors in a released survey without starting over entirely,
- Inhibiting the government-based development of novel scientific techniques in statistical practices by requiring they are ‘scientifically valid’, noting that science often requires developments that must be tested before being declared valid,
Angered that GA#720 establishes the PDAA and tasks it with publishing “best practice guidelines in statistical practice” and “up-to-date guidance… on statistics software,” which - combined with the requirement that it also audit member states’ “implementation of statistical practice” - could result in member states being subtly coerced into adopting those methodologies which are preferred by the PDAA’s guidance over those which they believe are most scientifically rigorous and impactful in their national context,
Perturbed that the PDAA establishes accreditation and training programs without any specific requirements for said programs,
Firmly believing that member states will continue to produce accurate, high-quality, and in-demand statistics on a wide range of issues of relevance to their citizens, even in the absence of a World Assembly resolution on this matter,
Hereby repeals GA#720 “Statistical Data Practice”.