We delivered online training for NHRIs on gender equality During 2021-22, we developed a capacity development course on gender equality, to support NHRI staff to increase their knowledge and understanding of gender equality as it relates to their work. The course covered key concepts, with a focus on increasing understanding of gender analysis, mainstreaming and gender specialisation. A total of 44 participants took part in the four-week course, which took place during September and October 2021. This included staff from APF member institutions as well as from the Ombudsman of the Cook Islands, a prospective APF member. Following completion of the course, participants were invited to join the APF Gender Network. This resulted in an increase in the network membership from nine to 18 NHRI participants. We supported the protection of SOGIESC and LGBTI rights In late 2021, we held an online course to strengthen the capacity of NHRI staff to engage in the work of promoting and protecting human rights in relation to sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC). the course focused on the impacts of the COVID pandemic on lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) communities. This discussion also provided an opportunity to understand NHRI responses and share examples from the region. The course was based on APF’s manual for NHRIs Promoting and Protecting Human Rights in relation to Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Sex Characteristics and its guidelines Part of our Everyday Work: NHRI Guidelines for Mainstreaming SOGIESC Work. Participants from the NHRIs of Australia, Bangladesh, Fiji, India, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor Leste, took part in the course. Following the course, APF facilitators continued to engage with participants to document case studies from the region, leading to development of a resource guide for NHRIs. An NHRI Guide on Responding to COVID impacts on LGBTI People was published in April 2022 and shared widely with APF members at various forums. To contribute to a deeper understanding of SOGIESC and human rights issues one of the live discussions held during Integrating reproductive rights into the work of NHRIs in the Asia Pacific NHRIs play an important role in protecting and promoting human rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, at the national level. To support this work, the APF, in partnership with UNFPA Asia Pacific Regional Office, conducted a study to examine how NHRIs in the region have addressed reproductive rights, the obstacles they have encountered, and how reproductive rights could be more effectively integrated into their work. This current initiative is a follow-up to a study conducted in 2011 and resulted in an update of the report Integrating Reproductive Rights into the Work of National Human Rights Institutions of the Asia Pacific region. The new report will be released in 2023. APF Annual Report 2021-2022 23