They were assigned an expert mentor to provide support and advice,
they received training on project management and communication
and they developed additional skills on the technical dimensions of
torture prevention during project meetings in Sydney (November 2014)
and Ulaanbaatar (August 2015). Importantly, the Torture Prevention
Ambassadors received a small amount of seed funding to implement their
projects.
At the conclusion of their individual projects, each could point to tangible
outcomes that would ultimately benefit persons deprived of their liberty.
These results were recorded in the Torture Prevention Ambassadors
Good Practice Report, launched in Geneva in June 2016. The group also
delivered an oral statement to the 32nd Session of the UN Human Rights
Council, highlighting the vital contribution of NHRIs in preventing torture
and ill-treatment.
Based on the success of the Torture Prevention Ambassadors project,
we believe a similar methodology can be used to address other pressing
human rights issues in the Asia Pacific region.
In the Philippines, Torture Prevention
Ambassador Jacqueline De Guia worked with
members of the Philippine National Police to
identify the challenges they faced in day-today policing and develop a series of practical
recommendations to drive genuine, grassroots
reform.
Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions
Annual Report 2015–16 > 13