National Human Rights Commission of Korea Annual Report 2020 Reinforcing cooperation with civil society groups Human rights and civil society groups are the very foundation of the Commission. As such, cooperation with these groups is vital for the Commission to carry out its mission with a good sense of issues on the ground, effectively and independently. In the first and second half of the year, the Commission met with human rights and civil society groups to hear from them prior to establishing its budget and operational plan. In 2020, the meetings were held both online and offline in compliance with the COVID-19 prevention guidelines. Cooperating with international human rights institutions and strengthening enforcement of international human rights standards The Commission participated in the annual meeting of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI, December) and the annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (APF, September) and made a presentation on its activities and led discussions on key human rights agenda, particularly the rights of older persons. At the GANHRI annual meeting held virtually due to challenges posed by the spread of COVID-19, the Commission was voted to serve as a member of the GANHRI Bureau. Also, as the chair of the GANHRI Working Group on Ageing, the Commission took part as a panel in the virtual GANHRI conference ‘to safeguard and promote the rights of older persons under COVID-19’ in June, contributing to the establishment of the National Guidelines for Human Rights to protect the rights of older persons. In September, it submitted a statement on the United Nations independent expert’s report on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons. At the GANHRI annual meeting in December, it documented its activities to protect the rights of older persons. It also held the virtual GANHRI conference to safeguard and promote the rights of older persons, where it discussed about lifelong education and competence-building, and normative elements related to the social security and social safety of older persons, as well as the topics of the 11th United Nations Working Group on Ageing (the right to work, access to the labor market, and access to justice). At the 25th APF Annual Meeting held in September, the chairperson of the Commission was elected as Deputy Chair of the APF and Deputy Chair of the APF Governance Committee. Furthermore, the Commission and the APF co-hosted a conference to address hate and 16