THE ASIA PACIFIC FORUM OF NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTIONS The APF is a network of NHRIs in the Asia and Pacific region. It has 22 members – 15 full members and seven associate members.9 It provides advisory, networking and capacity-building services to its members to support them in their efforts to comply with international standards and to promote and protect human rights.10 The 2015–2020 Strategic Plan identifies six functions: 1. Providing advice and expertise: the APF provides expert advice to our members, other NHRIs, governments and civil society in the region 2. Building stronger national human rights institutions: the APF strengthens the capacity of our members through training, capacity assessments and high level dialogues 3. Collaborating and sharing knowledge: the APF exchanges information and experiences, builds cooperation and develops professional human rights networks to encourage peer-to-peer learning 4. Promoting gender equality: the APF promotes gender equality and integrates gender considerations across all our work 5. Contributing at the national, regional and international level: the APF engages nationally, regionally and internationally to promote our members’ participation and views and to share their expertise with others 6. Strengthening organisational leadership and governance: the APF is diverse, effectively governed and sustainably resourced.10 As part of its work the APF has produced a series of manuals to assist NHRIs and others to understand the particular roles of NHRIs on key human rights issues and functions and to promote learning among its members from their varied experiences. To date, the APF’s manuals have dealt with: • Preventing Torture: An Operational Guide for National Human Rights Institutions (2010; also available in Arabic, Spanish and French), published jointly with the Association for the Prevention of Torture and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) • International Human Rights and the International Human Rights System: A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions (2012) • Manual on Conducting a National Inquiry into Systemic Patterns of Human Rights Violation (2012; also available in Arabic and Indonesian), published jointly with the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law • Promoting and Protecting the Rights of Migrant Workers: A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions (2012; also available in Arabic), published with input from the Diplomacy Training Program • Human Rights Education: A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions (2013) 9 As at 31 December 2015. 10 APF, Strategic Plan 2015-2020; at www.asiapacificforum.net/resources/apf-strategic-plan-2015-2020/. Introduction for users | 3