Defending Dignity A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions on Monitoring Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Acknowledgements Defending Dignity: A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions on Monitoring Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is a joint publication of the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (APF) and the Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR). The Manual was written by Allison Corkery, Director of Rights Claiming and Accountability at CESR. Thuy Doan-Smith and Kieren Fitzpatrick, from the APF, as well as Kate Donald, Nicholas Lusiani and Ignacio Saiz, from CESR, provided feedback and input on its development. The Manual was developed in consultation with a reference group comprising senior staff and Commissioners from national human rights institutions across the Asia Pacific region. Members of the reference group included: Shree Ram Adhikari, Ronza al-Madbouh, Bed Prasad Bhattarai, Darren Dick, Karen Gomez Dumpit, Rawan Farahat, James Groarke, Nurul Hasanah, Jaideep Singh Kochher, Dr Margaret MacDonald, Mona Niemeyer, U Win Mra, David Rutherford and Randa Siniora. The Manual was greatly enriched through the information, materials and comments they provided. In addition, the APF and CESR would like to thank James Iliffe, Abby Kendrick, Hannah Lawrence, Katarina Spasic and Lisa Thompson for their respective contributions to the development of the Manual. ii