Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions 4.2 International mechanisms Human Rights Council The five-year review of the Human Rights Council, completed in 2011, culminated in the creation of five new contribution opportunities for ‘A’ status NHRIs to the Council’s work. As a result of the APF’s advocacy, APF members are now concentrating their efforts on making the most of these opportunities, which include the use of video conferencing technology to address the Council. This innovation enables ‘A’ status NHRIs to make important contributions to the Council’s deliberations and decision-making processes without incurring the significant costs of travel to Geneva. The Timor-Leste NHRI became the first NHRI worldwide to address the Council by video. Dr Sebastiao Dias Ximenes, who heads the Office of the Provedor for Human Rights and Justice, presented a threeminute statement as part of the NHRI’s follow-up activities to the February 2011 visit to Timor-Leste by the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. Following up on the APF’s work on sexual orientation and gender identity, at the March 2012 session of the Council, a coalition of 12 NHRIs, including Australia, New Zealand, Mongolia and Thailand from the Asia Pacific region, made a joint statement to the Council welcoming the “the commitment of the Human Rights Council, the OHCHR, Special Procedures, Treaty Bodies, non-governmental organisations and human rights defenders worldwide to addressing the issue of violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.” While “working in a diversity of societies and cultures”, the NHRIs expressed their “unanimity in condemning human rights violations whenever and wherever they occur and on whatever basis that they occur.” The NHRIs went on to state that “where possible and appropriate, we will work towards increasing our understanding and capacity in this area to enable us to speak out against discrimination and violations, and welcome the sharing – including through international and regional networks – of experiences and best practice in addressing legal, social, cultural and religious barriers for realising the rights of LGBTI individuals. Where appropriate and possible, we commit ourselves to work with relevant authorities and the community to monitor and inform on incidents of discrimination and violence linked to sexual orientation and gender identity, and to commit to continuing to engage with the Human Rights Council and Member States to ensure that these human rights violations are adequately addressed.” Delegates request the floor during the Human Rights Council’s panel on discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity. UN Photo by Violaine Martin. 42 | 4. Engage with regional and international human rights mechanisms