Now well established in its fourth year, the HRTCP has made solid progress towards all active end of program
outcomes and strategic priorities. The HRTCP continues to be a valuable opportunity to engage with the
Government of Laos on human rights related issues and share information about Australian practice and
experience. Activity participants have reported on numerous occasions how valuable they found it to hear
about international examples, and this will remain a key feature of the HRTCP for future years.
Over the four years of operation, the Commission has managed to adapt and evolve its program
management processes to respond to the Lao PDR’s unique circumstances. Despite the pandemic
disruptions this year, the positive outcomes to date have meant that a transparent and valuable relationship
has developed between the two partners.
Supporting Human Rights in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
The Commission engages with a range of key stakeholders in the Indo-Pacific region on a variety of issues,
highlighting the Commission’s reputation in the region for providing high quality human rights technical
input and capacity building and ability to foster strong relationships. In this reporting period:
•
The Commission continued to play a leadership role in the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human
Rights Institutions (APF), and the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) with
the President serving as the APF Chair and on the GANHRI Bureau (board).
•
The Australian Embassy in Cambodia approached the Commission in late January 2021 to seek its
advice and support around Cambodia’s disability law reform process. Since then, the Commission
has provided written feedback on the draft law, and Disability Discrimination Commissioner Dr Ben
Gauntlett engaged in a successful high-level roundtable with representatives from the Cambodian
Government and Australian Government.
•
Disability Discrimination Commissioner Dr Ben Gauntlett participated in a webinar on Advancing the
Protection of Disability Rights in ASEAN in the post-pandemic context on 19 April 2021.
•
A program of work has been developed with the Vietnamese Government on human rights,
technology, and cyber security.
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Australian Human Rights Commission
Annual Report 2020–2021