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APF members endorse human rights priorities to 2020

Graphic: APF 19 was hosted by the National Human Rights Commission of India

APF members have endorsed a five-year strategic plan to support their work in tackling some of the region’s most pressing human rights issues.


APF members have endorsed a five-year strategic plan that will support them in their work to tackle some of the region's most pressing human rights issues.

In response to social, political, economic and demographic changes, APF members agreed to take practical steps to promote and protect the rights of especially vulnerable groups, including children, women, indigenous peoples, people with disabilities and older persons.

There will also be a strong focus on: promoting gender equality between women and men; working with business on human rights; and responding to the human rights dimensions of the mass movement of people in the Asia Pacific, including asylum seekers, refugees, migrants, internally and externally displaced persons.

The discussions at the APF's 19th Annual Meeting, held from 3-5 September 2014 in New Delhi, also considered the APF secretariat's role in supporting members by providing advisory services, capacity building programs and training courses for staff and Commissioners.

The Forum Council Working Group on Strategic Planning, comprised of the Chairpersons of the national human rights institutions of Australia, India, Korea, Palestine and the Philippines, will meet in the coming months to further develop APF 2015-2020 Strategic Plan for final approval by Forum Councillors in March 2015.

The three-day Annual Meeting also included:

In addition, the program featured a lively discussion on the work of APF members to promote gender equality and implement the APF Action Plan on Women and Girls' Human Rights, with presentations from the national human rights institutions of India, Jordan and Mongolia.

During the business meeting, APF Forum Councillors elected the following 'A status' APF members to represent the Asia Pacific region on the:

  • ICC Bureau (Australia, who will join Qatar, Korea, Mongolia in March 2015)
  • ICC Sub-Committee on Accreditation (Palestine; to join in October 2014
  • ICC Finance Committee (India; to join in March 2015)
  • ICC Business and Human Rights Working Group (Malaysia; to join in March 2015).

Date: 17 September 2014


Image credits

  1. APF 19 was hosted by the National Human Rights Commission of India - Luke Holland, Center for Economic and Social Rights