Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions Figure 7: APF membership from 1996 to 2014 (“A” and “B status”) 21 18 “A status” “B status” 15 2 1 1 13 13 2 2 2 3 4 6 15 15 15 15 15 15 12 9 6 3 4 5 5 5 5 7 7 8 10 12 14 0 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Accreditation by the ICC is an ongoing process, which may entail either the upgrading or downgrading of the status of individual NHRIs. The accreditation process aims to be comprehensive, rigorous and transparent. It is conducted by the Sub-Committee on Accreditation of the ICC (SCA), which is comprised of one representative from each of the four ICC regions of Africa, the Americas, the Asia Pacific and Europe, who are supported by their regional NHRIs secretariats. The accreditation process considers the following: • information provided by the NHRI including, a statement of compliance with the Paris Principles; its founding/empowering legislation or instrument; an outline of its organisational structure, including staffing and budget; its most recent annual report and any other relevant documents • a summary of issues relevant to the application, which is prepared by the National Institutions and Regional Mechanisms Section of the OHCHR and provided to the NHRI for its review and response, and • reports from other organisations, such as national or regional civil society organisations, that are able to provide information on the work of the NHRI. Accreditation reviews of “A status” institutions occur every five years. The SCA meets twice a year, normally in March and November. An additional task of the SCA is to develop General Observations, which provide guidance to NHRIs on the interpretation and application of the Paris Principles. The APF provides support to its regional representative on the SCA. The APF secretariat attends accreditation meetings in an ex-officio capacity and is a member of the SCA’s drafting group, which is responsible for revising the existing general observations and preparing drafts of new general observations. It provides advisory and drafting support to the SCA, however, it does not have a recommendatory role. During 2013–14, there were two SCA meetings held from 18-22 November 2013 and 17-21 March 2014. An important aim of the 2015–2020 strategic planning process is to continue to ensure the APF’s capacity to respond to requests for assistance, both in preparation for an accreditation review, and in response to accreditation outcomes. This includes both the provision of advice and, in the case of legislative review, face-to-face discussions where this is necessary. 32