In early 2025, at the request of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL), the APF facilitated a comprehensive gender audit using the APF Gender Audit Toolkit for NHRIs. The audit provided HRCSL with an evidence-based understanding of its institutional strengths, including strong leadership support and credible external work on gender and SOGI rights, as well as several areas that required improvement. These gaps included uneven gender mainstreaming across divisions, limited accountability mechanisms, and the need for strengthened HR systems and staff capacity.

To ensure that the institution could meaningfully respond to the audit findings, HRCSL participated in the APF Blended Learning Programme on Developing an NHRI Gender Strategy. This programme took place from November 2025 to January 2026 and combined a structured online learning component with a practical in-person workshop held in Kuala Lumpur. The online course covered the foundations of strategy development and introduced participants to the draft APF Gender Strategy Toolkit. It achieved a 100 percent completion rate, which ensured that all participants arrived at the workshop with a shared baseline of knowledge. 

During the in-person workshop, HRCSL representatives were able to apply the toolkit in a practical, step-by-step manner. The workshop design focused on real institutional challenges and required participants to work through key stages of strategy development. HRCSL also presented its own gender audit experience during the peer-sharing session. This contributed to regional learning and reinforced the relevance of the audit findings in shaping institutional priorities. Participants identified these hands-on exercises and the opportunity for peer exchange as some of the most valuable elements of the learning programme. 

Strengthened by the audit findings and the practical support provided through the blended learning programme, HRCSL proceeded to develop its first Gender Strategy for the period 2025 to 2029. The strategy is directly grounded in the audit recommendations and sets out a clear and coordinated institutional approach to gender equality. It outlines actions to strengthen organisational culture, align HR systems with gender equality principles, build staff capacity to work confidently on gender issues, and establish monitoring and accountability mechanisms that allow for systematic tracking of progress. 

HRCSL’s progress demonstrates the value of combining evidence-based institutional assessment with structured capacity development. The audit created a clear baseline for institutional reform. The blended learning programme then equipped HRCSL with the practical tools, confidence, and peer insights required to translate those findings into a coherent institutional strategy. Together, these processes enabled HRCSL to move from identifying gaps to implementing a long-term plan for institutional improvement. Other NHRIs in the region can draw from this experience to strengthen their own gender equality efforts in a systematic and sustainable way.