Example: How did the Human Rights Commission Assuwa prepare to develop its gender strategy? The Human Rights Commission of Assuwa – Phase 1 Ten years after its inauguration, the HRC Assuwa realised that it needed to address the quite concerning issues for women, girls and gender diverse people in the country. Gender equality was included as a human rights priority in its NHRI Strategic Plan (2025 – 2030). In order to focus on this priority, the Commission planned to develop a gender strategy that would run parallel with the organisation’s Strategic Plan. They pulled together a team of expert staff, received sign-off from leadership and began to plan how they would approach it. Soon into this process they realised that, while they knew anecdotally what the gender priorities were, they didn’t have organised and conclusive evidence to guide their thinking. They paused the strategic planning process and spent 2 months working with external experts to facilitate a participatory gender audit. What initially surprised them was that the audit areas included internal as well as external criteria. However, following discussions they realised that in order to work effectively in their communities they also needed to be sure that gender was mainstreamed through their internal operations also. The gender audit highlighted areas where HRCA was doing well and areas where they could improve. It also identified the external gender issues that staff and key stakeholders saw as being of serious concern. Overall the audit established a baseline of information that could be used for planning the Commission’s gender equality strategy and set a benchmark for future monitoring and evaluation of activity and impact. The Board and Leadership Team were enthusiastic to continue toward developing their Gender Strategy. Given the Audit had just been completed, they had rich information with which they were able to continue with this process. A Gender Strategy Development Team, (representative of key people in the HRCA) was pulled together led by Commissioner for Gender Equality and Inclusion, Dr. Leina Maravene. With over 20 years’ experience in gender policy and human rights across the Asia–Pacific, Dr. Maravene is a strong promoter of practical, community-driven solutions to advance gender justice. Over the next two months Dr. Maravene and her team worked internally to prepare the NHRI to begin the process of developing the plan. An action plan was developed. An internal and external stakeholder engagement map identified who need to be involved in the development of the strategy and who need to be kept informed. Much effort was put into communication and structured engagement. They knew that if people came on board early, it was more likely that the strategy would be understood, accepted and owned. When they felt the NHRI was ready to enter the next phase, the GSDT met to discuss the development of the Strategic Framework. Gender Strategy Toolkit 2026 30