Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions 3.3.2. The capacity assessment team Once agreement has been reached that the CA will proceed, the members of the CA team are appointed by and drawn from the sponsoring organisations. In the Asia Pacific region, all CAs of NHRIs to date have been led by APF and almost all have included UNDP and OHCHR. This has proved to be very effective. Each organisation that supports a specific CA appoints a member to that CA team. In addition a senior officer of an NHRI that has already undertaken a CA joins the team, providing valuable experience from both the perspective of an NHRI staff member and as a subject of a past CA. Team selection should take into account gender balance and inclusion of persons with gender expertise. Each team member’s costs are met by the organisation that appoints her or him and the APF usually meets the costs of the NHRI officer on the team or arranges for those costs to be met. Being part of CA team in Delhi (NHRC of India) was a good experience for me. It was an invaluable process not only in the assessment of the NHRC but also an opportunity to learn from another NHRI from the region. I was part of the team within SUHAKAM that did a quick assessment of one of our regional offices. My Indian CA experience was very useful for this. There is already a plan to address the problem in our regional office. SIMON KARUNAGARAM Deputy Secretary, Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) Team member for the Indian National Human Rights Commission CA, 2018 A CA team of four or five members is usually adequate for most CAs. A team larger than that is likely to become unwieldy to manage and can be perceived as overpowering by the NHRI being assessed. CAs of very large NHRIs, however, may require a slightly larger team because of the need for members of the CA team to work in two or three groups simultaneously to enable them to meet all the staff. Each member of the CA team should have expertise that is relevant to the CA, either in the nature and work of NHRIs or in the CA process itself. Each member should understand the responsibilities of members of the CA team. A statement of the qualifications required of CA team members and of the responsibilities of CA team members is attached (Appendix 6). Experience with some CAs to date has shown the difficulties that arise when a member of the CA team is based in the country of the NHRI undertaking the CA. Someone with an existing and continuing professional relationship with the NHRI may find that relationship complicated due to participation in the CA where staff are encouraged to speak openly and confidentially and where the CA report could contain material that the NHRI will find difficult to accept. In addition, the NHRI may feel that an in-country team member comes to the CA with pre-conceptions. Possible complications are avoided when all team members come to the task without close existing or continuing relationships in-country with the NHRI. Participating as a team member in the CA process was a valuable experience that has meant I have brought new ideas and approaches back from a fellow NHRI to positively impact on our work at the AHRC, while also being able to reciprocate by sharing some of our successes. The process has further strengthened the relationship between our two institutions. DARREN DICK Director of Programs, Australian Human Rights Commission Team member for the New Zealand Human Rights Commission CA 2012 24