Regional Action Plan on Human Rights Defenders Key international partners – UN agencies, Human Rights Council (HRC) Special Procedures mandate holders, embassies, research institutes and international donors – will also be engaged for their technical, political and financial support for the rights of HRDs at the regional level. REGIONAL ACTION 3: Facilitate collaboration between NHRIs • Digital community of practice on HRD protection and promotion • Peer-to-peer networking among NHRI staff • Support cross-border HRD protection casework Collaboration between different NHRIs across the APF membership and broader Asia Pacific region is an important mechanism to share experience on national protection and promotion activities, building skills and strengthening systems. APF will support this collaboration through a number of key regional activities over the course of the Action Plan. NHRIs will be supported to showcase their national work and lessons learned through a digital community of practice on HRDs, where APF members can learn about national initiatives elsewhere in the region. The online APF Community will be a member-only platform to allow individual members of the APF to build on the experience of other members to support the implementation of many of the national actions in the Action Plan. Cross-border collaboration between NHRIs is also an important mechanism to support protection casework on HRDs. This arises, for instance, in the case of private sector violations where a company ordinarily resident in one jurisdiction commits violations against defenders in another. Cross-border NHRI collaboration in these contexts will be crucial in monitoring the violations and bringing the perpetrator to justice. To strengthen its digital presence and respond to the need for greater remote service delivery, the APF is also developing an ‘APF Community’ as an online space for knowledge, learning, and peerto-peer engagement. The APF will facilitate cross border collaboration through its professional networks and the APF Community. The APF will also support collaboration between APF member NHRIs through a professional network of legal and policy officers. The APF has established professional networks for other functional areas of NHRIs, including communications, education, and senior executive officers. Building a professional network for NHRI staff responsible for the legal and policy functions of their NHRI will provide a platform for peer-to-peer collaboration and experience sharing on HRDs support initiatives. 20