PREAMBLE

Population information is one of the cornerstones on which sustainable national development is built. The provision of accurate information at the right time in the correct format to policy makers, planners and programme managers requires a continuing national commitment to developing and maintaining effective population information services. Experience in the Asian and Pacific region demonstrates that those services can best be implemented through national and subregional population information centres and networks which acquire, manage and produce population information appropriate to their national development needs.

Article 1. Formation and name

1.0 In order to strengthen coordination and cooperation among existing national population information centres and networks in the region, each year, beginning in 1984, the ESCAP secretariat has organized activities for managers and technical staff of national POPIN centres. Beginning in 1996, ESCAP initiated stages aimed at decentralizing regional activities into subregional activities through the formation of subregional secretariats in East and South-East Asia, South Asia and the Pacific. The purpose of those activities has been to facilitate the development of infrastructure and population information sharing within and among countries of the region. The national POPIN centres, together with the ESCAP secretariat, form the core of Asia-Pacific POPIN.

1.1 Asia-Pacific POPIN is a cooperative, decentralized network for the exchange of population and development-related data and information, knowledge and experience, with the voluntary participation of national POPIN centres in the Asian and Pacific region. Asia-Pacific POPIN, which is the regional focal point for global POPIN, was established in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1979/33.*

Article 2. Purposes

2.0 The purposes of Asia-Pacific POPIN are to promote awareness of emerging issues of population and sustainable development with emphasis on priority areas identified at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), depending on available resources and the environment, and to promote and encourage the utilization of population data and information in the formulation and implementation of national population and development policies, plans and programmes through the dissemination of population data and information and sharing of knowledge and experience.

Article 3. Membership

3.0 Any population information centre designated by its Government as the national focal point, intergovernmental organization, non- governmental organizations (NGOs) and other related organization including those involved in providing information on reproductive health, in the Asian and Pacific region may become a member of Asia-Pacific POPIN by applying for membership to the relevant subregional secretariat and accepting the articles set forth in this constitution. Other centres wishing to become members of Asia- Pacific POPIN should apply for membership to the relevant national focal point. The national focal points will continue to expand membership at the national level by linking up with other institutional networks within the country concerned. When a national POPIN centre has established a national network, those national network members will have a reciprocal membership in Asia- Pacific POPIN. Membership in Asia-Pacific POPIN conveys membership in global POPIN as well.

Article 4. Asia-Pacific POPIN Secretariat

4.0 The Asia-Pacific POPIN secretariat will be composed of the ESCAP Population Division and the three subregional secretariats. The Asia-Pacific POPIN secretariat is located at the ESCAP secretariat in Bangkok, Thailand. The three subregional secretariats of Asia-Pacific POPIN will be located in the three subregions, namely, East and South-East Asia, South Asia including the Central Asian Republics and the Pacific, including the South Pacific and small island countries.

Article 5. Asia-Paicific Executive Committee

5.0 The Asia-Pacific POPIN Executive Committee will be composed of five members, i.e. one member from each of the three subregional secretariats and two additional members coming one each from the two subregional secretariats of East and South-East Asia and South Asia.

Article 6. Responsibilities of Asia-Pacific POPIN Secretariat

6.0 The ESCAP Population Division in its role as the Asia-Pacific POPIN secretariat will undertake the following functions:

6.1 coordinating activities with global POPIN and subregional POPINs in the Asia-Pacific region, and serve as the secretariat of the Asia-Pacific POPIN Executive Committee;

6.2 encouraging the introduction of more efficient means of information exchange and networking with other development-related networks, such as, inter alia, HELLIS (Health Literature, Library and Information Systems) and WINAP (Women's Information Network for Asia and the Pacific);

6.3 encouraging cooperation in population information related activities among United Nations agencies, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Labour Organization, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the World Health Organization, at the regional, subregional and national levels;

6.4 coordinating with subregional networks in seeking funds for subregional activities;

6.5 ESCAP Population Division as the secretariat of the Asia- Pacific will designate one staff member to liaise and coordinate POPIN activities with the subregional networks, and arrange TCDC programmes, and the distribution of special grants to subregional secretariats and national POPIN systems.

Article 7. Responsibilities of the POPIN Subregional Secretariats

7.0 The subregional secretariats will undertake the following functions:

7.1 convening consultative workshops regularly to review and plan activities at the subregional level;

7.2 providing guidelines and standards for cooperative activities;

7.3 convening Ad-Hoc steering committee meetings to address specific issues/projects/activities;

7.4 promoting the subregion-wide exchange of information on population information networking through publication of the Asia- Pacific POPIN Bulletin and other cooperative publications in collaboration with other subregional POPIN members;

7.5 supporting the efforts of national population information centres within the relevant subregion in order to strengthen population information networking and infrastructure development within the countries concerned through technical assistance, training, TCDC arrangements, grant programmes and workshops;

7.6 promoting the effective utilization of modern information- handling techniques, including telecommunications networking, where appropriate, to improve the exchange of information within and among countries of the relevant subregions;

7.7 promoting expansion of membership in Asia-Pacific POPIN in collaboration with national centres, national Governments, non- governmental organizations and UNFPA Country Directors as well as the UNFPA Country Support Teams (CSTs) within the relevant subregions;

7.8 providing information services at the subregional level.

Article 8. Responsibilities of POPIN member organizations

8.0 All member units of Asia-Pacific POPIN shall, within the resources available to them, accept the following responsibilities:

8.1 participate in activities of the Network including consultative workshops, steering committee meetings, collaborative research and the production of publications;

8.2 report to the Network on their information research and national networking activities through regular submission of articles and news items for publication in the Asia-Pacific POPIN Bulletin, which is the official publication of the Network, and, as appropriate, through presentation of papers at workshops and meetings;

8.3 seek financial support from their Governments and donor agencies, as necessary and appropriate, for their information centre and networking activities;

8.4 collaborate in, and promote, TCDC (technical cooperation among developing countries) activities;

8.5 send complimentary copies of their own English-language publications to other POPIN members and to the regional headquarters;

8.6 share experiences in the development of their national centre and network, or subregional network, through formal and informal channels of communication (e.g. newsletters and correspondence) utilizing current information technology (e.g., facsimile and electronic networking) to the extent possible, in order to improve communication among network members;

8.7 maximize the benefits of Asia-Pacific POPIN membership (i.e., enhanced exchange of information, knowledge and experience) in order to better serve the information needs of population and development policy makers, planners and programme managers in their respective countries and subregions.