The National Human Rights Commission, India hosted the 19th Annual General Meeting of the Asia Pacific Forum (APF) of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) along with the meeting of the APF Forum Councillors in New Delhi from the 3rd-5th September, 2014. The Commission hosted this largest human rights event in the Asia Pacific Region twice before this in 1997 and 2002. During the Meeting, the representatives of Full Time Member NHRIs of 15 countries and Associate Member NHRIs of six countries from the Asia Pacific Region discussed their collective agenda for 2015 - 2020.
Addressing the inaugural session, Justice Shri K.G. Balakrishnan, Chairperson, NHRC, India expressed the hope that the APF would lead the way in incorporating human rights as a way of life across the region in the days ahead and bring about a fundamental change in eradicating the scourge of poverty, ignorance, prejudices and discrimination based on sex, caste, religion, disability and other forms.
Dr. Ali bin Smaikh Al-Marri, Chairperson, APF expressed the hope that the three-day discussion will be fruitful in chalking out a strategy for the implementation of the Action Plan for 2015 - 2020.
Justice Shri D. Murugesan, Member, NHRC, India in his welcome speech stated that multifaceted challenges continued to remain in the region and the world at large in the way of effective realization of human rights. The NHRIs can make an invaluable contribution by protecting the rights of people through an effective monitoring of human rights situation in their respective countries.
The Meeting adopted five strategic objectives for 2015-2020 action plan. 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 per-sons) will remain in focus in the functioning of the APF and its member NHRIs. The other objectives endorsed by the Member Institutions included capacity assessment and enhancement, training, advocacy, building of communication systems and increasing human rights awareness.
Among other decisions, Kazakhstan was included into APF as a New Member NHRI with 'B' status. Elections were held for different positions in the four important bodies of the ICC from among the APF Member NHRIs. Shri Rajesh Kishore, Secretary General, National Human Rights Commission, India was elected to the International Coordinating Committee (ICC) Finance Committee.
The representatives of the NHRIs also held a dialogue with the Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI) and discussed the practical and constructive ways in which they could engage and cooperate on the APF Strategic Plan.
There were also discussions on APF Action Plan on Women and Girls' Human Rights and the work done by the NHRIs in this regard. Most common concerns raised on the issue by the various APF Member NHRIs, included, problems related to patriarchal system, lack of political will and even lack of appro-priate laws in some of the countries.
In his presentation on the subject, Justice Shri D. Murugesan, Member, NHRC, India said that ending gender-based inequities, discrimination and violence formed an over-riding priority in the on-going 12th Five Year Plan of the Government of India. In order to create awareness among girls and women about their rights and the enabling laws, the NHRC, India was making all efforts, which needed to be supplemented by the National State and District Legal Services Authorities. The Commission had also been taking cognizance of various issues of rights violation of girls and women. It took up 29,935 cases on women related issues during January, 2011 - 31st August, 2014.
NHRC, India Chairperson, Justice Shri K.G. Balakrishnan, intervening in the discussion, said that since the 16th December, 2012 Delhi gang rape case, the laws were made very strict but it was a point of concern that despite this, violation of women and girls' rights, including sexual assault, continued unabated.