16th Annual Meeting and Biennial Conference, 2011
Bangkok, Thailand, 6-8 September 2011
In September 2011, around 150 representatives from national human rights institutions, governments, civil society organisations and UN agencies from across the Asia Pacific region took part in the APF’s first Biennial Conference.
The conference (7-8 September 2011), which had previously been held on an annual basis, is one of the largest regular human rights gatherings in the region.
It followed the APF's 16th Annual Meeting (6 September 2011), which brings together all APF members and is our major decision-making forum.
The APF Annual Meeting and Biennial Conference was hosted by the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand.
Conference
The 2011 Biennial Conference focused on progress and challenges in implementing the right to development.
Participants shared examples of good practice involving national human rights institutions and their role to monitor implementation of the Declaration on the Right to Development in their respective countries.
A series of parallel discussions drew on the expertise of national and regional non-governmental organisations on a range of related topics, including:
- human rights defenders and the right to development
- the role of the media and development
- natural resources and development.
The ideas and feedback from these sessions helped to guide and inform the broader conference discussions.
As part of the two-day conference, participants also examined the situation facing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the Asia Pacific region, as well as steps being taken by national human rights institutions to advance their human rights.
In addition, a conference session explored the important and unique contribution that national human rights institutions can make to the work of the UN Human Rights Council.
Senior Executive Officers
The APF’s Senior Executive Officers Network met on the first day of the conference.
