The Asia Pacific is the largest and most diverse region in the world.

Stretching from the Pacific to the Middle East, and including three of the world’s most populous countries, the region is home to more than half of the world’s population.

The Asia Pacific is the cradle of several of the world’s major religions and has unparalleled cultural richness. It is also the world’s fast-growing economic region.

However, the region also faces a number of pressing human rights challenges, including discrimination against vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, armed conflict and violence, internal displacement of people, exploitation of children, people-trafficking and corruption.

Basic health services, education and proper housing are not accessible to millions of people.

Unlike all other regional groupings, the Asia-Pacific does not have a regional inter-governmental system in place – such as regional courts, commissions and related institutions – to monitor and protect human rights.

However, significant progress is being made to advance human rights in the Asia Pacific. An important recent development has been the establishment of independent national human rights institutions that operate in many countries throughout the region.

Established in 1996, the APF provides a framework for national human rights institutions to work together and cooperate on a regional basis, through training, networks and staff exchange programs.

The APF’s member institutions represent countries from Central Asia, South Asia, South East Asia, the Middle East, Oceania and the Pacific.

The APF has a strong record in developing programs that genuinely improve the human rights of individuals and vulnerable groups. For an overview of our work, visit the Issues section.

The APF also coordinates activities on a sub-regional basis – for instance, in the Pacific and the Middle East – to strengthen human rights protection systems.

Increasingly APF members are also developing their own sub-regional partnerships, sharing expertise and providing mutual assistance as they respond to human right issues in their part of the Asia Pacific.