Fostering collaboration between NHRIs and Inter-governmental Mechanisms
19 Jan 2022This brochure introduces the APF's project to promote collaboration between NHRIs and inter-governmental mechanisms in the ASEAN and Pacific regions.
Graphic: Two people harvesting a large field in Thailand
Many of the pressing human rights issues in our region today cross national borders. They include the impacts of climate change and environmental damage, public health emergencies, the rights of migrant workers, human trafficking and the human rights impacts of business operations.
Unlike Africa, the Americas and Europe, the Asia Pacific does not have a region-wide inter-governmental system — such as treaties, courts, a commission or other institutions — to protect and promote human rights.
This makes it even more important to encourage strong and strategic engagement between all institutions with a responsibility to develop policies or take action on human rights issues.
The APF is bringing together two powerful agents for change in the Asia Pacific: national human rights institutions (NHRIs) and regional inter-governmental mechanisms.
By establishing regular platforms for dialogue, NHRIs and inter-governmental mechanisms will have opportunities to share their expertise and develop strategies that improve people’s lives and build strong, resilient communities.
Across the Asia Pacific region, NHRIs are building partnerships that help communities address the human rights impacts of climate change and deliver on their right to a healthy environment.
Graphic: The sun rises over a street in Dili, Timor Leste
Inter-governmental mechanisms seek to promote peace, prosperity and partnerships among their member States. In pursuing this vision, many of the issues they address involve common human rights challenges facing communities across their sub-region.
State representatives to inter-governmental mechanisms rely on rigorous advice and analysis to shape region-wide policies that respond to these challenges and strengthen national and regional institutions.
The unique mandate of NHRIs means they can add significant value to these discussions, including to support the integration of rights-based approaches into policies and actions. NHRIs can also play a vital role to promote implementation of these policies and actions at the national level.
The APF will assist NHRIs in South-East Asia and the Pacific to engage with the State representatives of their respective inter-governmental mechanisms: the Association of South-East Asian Nations and its human rights institutions, and the Pacific Islands Forum.
In bringing together representatives from NHRIs and inter-governmental mechanisms for a series of facilitated roundtable discussions, we aim to:
One of the most urgent issues facing communities in South-East Asia and the Pacific is to promote environmental rights and respond to the human rights impacts of climate change.
Our project will establish a foundation for engagement and collaboration on environmental rights and climate change, with the ultimate goal of empowering communities to respond to the human rights challenges they face.
Through a series of strategic national activities, selected NHRIs will conduct research and engage with communities and other key stakeholders. They will share their analysis with their inter-governmental mechanism and discuss policy and planning measures that best respond to the issues they identify. This will form the basis for a joint outcomes paper.
Activities for our multi-year project will commence in February 2022.
In collaboration with participating NHRIs and inter-governmental mechanisms, we will:
Our goal is to lay the foundation for an ongoing, formalised relationship between NHRIs and inter-governmental mechanisms to address human rights issues in the Asia Pacific.
The project is funded by the European Union and supports the APF’s efforts to build stronger NHRIs and work collaboratively to address human rights challenges at the national, regional and international levels.