Five strategic objectives promoting human rights during 2015 - 2020 finalized on the second day of APF Annual General Meeting (04.9.2014)

PRESS RELEASE

New Delhi, 4th September, 2014

The Asia Pacific Forum (APF), today, on the day 2 of its 19th Annual General Meeting of the representatives of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) of 21 countries, adopted the agenda of the strategic objectives for the next five years w.e.f. 2015 to 2020. According to this, human rights relating to gender equality, peace and security, business, priority groups, especially - children, women, people with disabilities, older persons, mass movement of people (asylum seekers, refugees, migrants, internally and externally displaced persons), will remain in focus as strategic objectives. These will remain as actionable points for the APF and its Member NHRIs in their functioning.

Some of the related strategic objectives which were also decided, included, Building Capacity of Member NHRIs through training and dialogue; Advising Member Governments and Civil Society in the region on the functioning of National Human Rights Institutions; Exchanging information and experiences by building cooperation and developing professional human rights networks to encourage peer to peer learning; Engaging regionally and internationally to promote Member NHRIs' participation and views to share their expertise with others at different Forums including UN Bodies, ASEAN, Arab League, Pacific Island Forum, ANNI, SAARC, etc.; and Promoting gender equality and mainstreaming gender across all the work of the APF.

During the discussions, it was also emphasized that every NHRI Member of APF should have proper communication strategies in place to build awareness about its activities and interventions within its respective country and internationally through the APF network. This was essential for the promotion and protection of human rights and sharing of varied experiences while handling issues related to them through digital stories and other such modern means of communication which are easy and cost-effective to circulate. The need for establishing a Focal Point for Communication was also emphasized in each NHRI.

Tomorrow, on the last day of the Annual General Meeting of the APF, 'APF Action Plan on Women and Girls' Human Rights' will be discussed to know how the NHRIs were promoting and protecting their rights and what was further needed to be done.

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