Human Rights Defenders
The Human Rights Defenders training program helps key staff from APF member institutions to understand the role and functions of human rights defenders and the international standards and mechanisms that protect their rights.
The training workshops also look at practical steps that national human rights institutions can take to more effectively promote and protect human rights defenders, as well developing regional partnerships for the protection of human rights defenders in the Asia Pacific.
The interactive training program uses a wide range of learning activities, such as role-plays, debates, group discussions and case studies, to build a core set of knowledge, skills and attitudes.
The Human Rights Defenders training program has been developed in collaboration with the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR). The training program is delivered by experienced trainers from the ISHR with additional input from APF staff.
Workshop for West Asia NHRIs, June 2008
This sub-regional workshop hosted by the National Human Rights Committe of Qatar, included participants from the national human rights institutions of Afghanistan, Jordan, Qatar and Iran – along with government and civil society representatives from Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq and Qatar.
As part of the program, participants produced detailed action plans about how they would share the ideas and knowledge they had gained with colleagues in their national human rights institutions and re-affirmed the importance of building and maintaining strong relationships with their NGO partners.
Workshop for South East Asia NHRIs, February 2007
This sub-regional workshop, hosted by the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand, included 28 participants from the national human rights institutions of Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Timor Leste and Thailand.
International Training Seminar, August 2006
This program was run in parallel with the APF’s 11th Annual Meeting, held in Suva, Fiji, and involved 30 representatives from a number of NHRIs and non-government organisations in the Asia Pacific region.
