Regional Action Plan on Human Rights Defenders Acknowledgements The APF is grateful for the dedication of its members who contributed to the preparation of the Regional Action Plan, through a Drafting Group which convened between June and October 2020. The following APF member representatives participated in the Drafting Group: Dr Ali Akram Zain Alabdeen Al-Bayati Commissioner, Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights Dr Swee Neo Cheah Secretary, Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Dr Ammar Dwaik Secretary-General, Independent Commission on Human Rights of Palestine Ms Ola Adawi International Relations and Program Development Officer, Independent Commission on Human Rights of Palestine Mr Abdul Latheef Issadeen Regional Coordinator, Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka Ms Hannah Northover Senior Legal Advisor, New Zealand Human Rights Commission Atty Jasmin Regino Head, Protection Office, Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines Mr Naqib Salarzai Executive Director, Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission The APF also extends its gratitude to members of a Reference Group of external stakeholders, which provided valuable comments on draft versions of the Action Plan. The Reference Group was comprised of the following members: The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of HRDs Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM ASIA) Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI) Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) United Nations Development Program (UNDP) APF Special Envoy, Chris Sidoti The APF would also like to express its gratitude to Covenants Watch for providing support with the Chinese translation of the Action Plan. 4