Capacity development programs to support APF members Our capacity development programs help NHRIs carry out their core functions including monitoring human rights, receiving and addressing complaints, advising governments, reviewing laws, and conducting human rights education. We design our programs to address the evolving challenges NHRIs face in safeguarding human rights while building the skills and knowledge they need to fulfil their mandates effectively. Over the past year, our programs covered a wide range of topics, focusing on the APF’s key thematic priorities of gender equality, the human rights impact of climate change, and the protection of HRDs. Supporting NHRIs to implement OPCAT and strengthen national preventive mechanisms In December 2024, the APF and APT worked with the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (‘NHRCT’) to deliver a week-long national torture prevention programme that combined high-level advocacy with practical capacity building. The national dialogue on ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (‘OPCAT’) brought together parliamentarians, government agencies, civil society, media and international partners, followed by training on detention visits and preventive monitoring methodologies, including joint visits to a prison and police station. The programme strengthened shared understanding of OPCAT safeguards, introduced practical tools for monitoring places of deprivation of liberty and supported the NHRCT to commit to follow up actions including campaigning for OPCAT ratification, refining monitoring tools and reviewing implementation of Thailand’s Torture Prevention Act. APF Annual Report 2023-24 2024-25 17